Methi Rice/Pulao (Menthikoora annam)

Today, I am sharing another easy lunch-box recipe – Methi rice. This is very similar in preparation to peas pulao with the only difference being adding some tomatoes to cut the strong flavor of the methi and some corn kernels for a sweet bite.

This is easy and quick to prepare and can be served with any curry, dal or simply dahi/curd. So, add this to your list of lunch-box meals and keep preparing this once in a while !! 🙂

My other rice recipes – palak rice, vegetable pulao, fried rice, dum biryani and more.

Ingredients:

Basmati/regular rice – 1 cup (soaked in 2 cups water for 30mins)

Methi leaves/menthikoora – 1/2 cup (loosely packed)

Mint leaves – ¼ cup (tightly packed)

Sweet corn/corn kernels – ¼ cup

Coriander leaves – ¼ cup (roughly chopped)

Onion – ¼ cup (finely chopped)

Tomato – ¼ cup (roughly chopped)

Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Green chili – 4 (slit lengthwise)

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Cloves – 4

Peppercorns – 5

Cumin seeds/jeera – 1 tbsp

Cinnamon – ½ inch piece

Green cardamom – 2

Salt – to taste

Oil – 1 tsp

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add cloves, jeera, cinnamon, peppercorns, cardamoms and fry for 2 minutes till a nice aroma comes.
2. Add the green chili, ginger-garlic paste and onions. Fry till onions become soft.
3. Add the methi leaves, mint leaves, coriander leaves, corn, tomatoes and fry for a minute.
4. Add the coriander-cumin powder and mix well.
5. Add the drained basmati rice (do not discard the water, we will use the same water for cooking the rice) and with a gentle hand combine well. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
6. Transfer them to a bowl good enough to pressure cook the rice. If using rice cooker, you may do all the cooking directly in the rice cooker.
7. Add the drained water obtained from soaking the basmati rice, salt to taste.
8. Pressure cook for about 4-5 whistles. Remove from heat and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
9. Remove and serve with any nice gravy or dal. I served with dal tadka (recipe soon).

Note:

1. Discard the stems of the methi leaves, add only the leaves and do not chop the leaves as it may give a bitter taste to the dish.
2. You may add some garam masala powder if you want a slightly spicy pulao.
3. Add a tsp of ghee to get a very rich flavor.

Related Images: