Baked Corn Rice

Pujo Pujo Pujo and now Pujo is over. As everyone is busy bidding adieu to the goddess Durga, I pray that I make it to Kolkata next year, missing the fervour and exhilaration associated with Kolkata pujo three years in a row. It's utterly painful as you see Facebook pages flooded with the snaps of friends, attired in brand new clothes, swept away into the celebration while you spending the time alone secluded from all nears and dear ones in a foreign land with no vestige of festivity close by, your heart sinks into despair.

 

I might have mentioned in my earlier posts about how so long as Puja is going on I occupy myself in cooking delicacies to evade the feeling of heavyheartedness, a small attempt to derive consolation from; so taken over by such an orgy recently I tried a vegetarian version of stroganoff with fried potato chunks and sweet corn sauce lacing the flavour with irrepressible charm. I swear each spoonful of this dish exudes the warmth comparable only to the Chicken Stroganoff served in a popular restaurant in Kolkata the very memory of which brings water to my mouth.

The pictures of the dish didn't come out good, however, due to low light exposure. I swear to post some good quality snaps soon, replacing the ones published now.

For more recipes on rice, please click the links below:

Paneer Fried Rice
Mint Pilaf - Pudine Rice
Arroz Con Pollo - Spanish Rice with Chicken
Pulao with Coconut Milk
Egg Prawn Fried Rice
 

Ingredients:                                        Cooking time: 30 minutes ü  300 gm long grain basmati rice ü  1 medium size onion (chopped) ü  4-5 green chillies (chopped) ü  1 cup of sweet corn kernels ü  Black pepper, taste wise ü  2 medium size potatoes (boiled and mashed) ü  1 tsp paprika ü  Salt to taste ü  1 1/2 cup white sauce ü  White oil for cooking Method: 1) Cook the rice 80% either on stove top or in microwave. (I usually cook rice in microwave timing it for 18 minutes. In order to have the rice 80% cooked only, I reduced the time by 5 minutes keeping the rice in microwave for 13 minutes. ) 2) As the rice is cooking, mix in salt and black pepper with the mashed potatoes. Make small balls out of the mixture and deep fry them. Keep aside. 3) Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a skillet and shallow fry corn kernels and green chillies. Pour white sauce into it and combine well, stirring continuously for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and bring the mixture down to room temperature before grinding into smooth puree. 4) Heat oil in another skillet and shallow fry onion till it changes color. Add paprika and black pepper. Add the rice and mix them all together, stirring continuously for 1-2 minutes. 5) Then spread the rice mixture in a microwave safe bowl. Arrange the potato balls on the bed of rice, few spaces apart from each other. Dribble the white sauce and corn puree on top and cover the dish with microwave safe plastic wrap. Poke few holes on the plastic wrap with a skewer for letting the steam out. 6) Place the dish in microwave oven and cook on high for 5 minutes. 7) Mix everything well with a spatula before serving.