Who doesn’t like corn? Although we find very good corn around the year here, I miss fresh babycorn. I haven’t seen it yet here in Kansas (not a fan of canned one). So when I found it in Bangalore during my last India trip, I had to try it. I made couple of dishes with it and loved to eat every last bit of babycorn.
Here is a simple pulav I made with babycorn. I used one of my favorite spices – Dagad phool. Please note, it is not same as star anise. This looks like dried flowers or lichens that are often seen on trees. It has a very strong smell.  Aayi uses this in her chicken curry, so for me, this spice has typical chicken curry smell  .
Ingredients: 2 cups basmati rice 1 cup chopped babycorn 1 cup vegetables like carrot, cauliflower, capsicum(bellpepper) 1 tea spn chopped ginger 1 tea spn chopped garlic 3 green chillies 1 tea spn coriander seeds 1 tea spn dagad phool 1 tea spn cumin seeds 1 tbl spn fresh/frozen coconut 2-3 cloves 2″ cinnamon 1/2 cup onion Ghee/oil Salt
Method: Heat a little oil and fry coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, 1/4 cup onion, dagad phool, ginger, garlic, chopped green chillies and fry for few minutes. Grind  this with coconut to a paste.
 Heat ghee and fry remaining onion. Now add the paste and fry till a nice aroma comes out. Add all the vegetables and saute for few minutes.
 Now add rice and fry it well. Pour in 4 cups of water, salt. Cover the lid and let it cook on a medium-low heat till done. Serve hot.
Serves : 4-5 Preparation time : 40 mins
Temperatures are dropping here way too quickly. This kind of weather calls for some hot soup. So I thought of posting this recipe which we love so much. I have been cooking with lots of vegetables lately.  This soup is a one pot, wholesome dish in itself. I have prepared this couple of times for potlucks and it is loved by both kids and adults alike. The butternut squash gives a sweet taste to this. This freezes beautifully, so this can be prepared in a big pot and frozen for later use.
Ingredients: 1/2 cup beans (I use bean mix which has lot of different beans, barley) 3 cups butternut squash (or pumpkin) pieces 2 cups carrot pieces 1/2 cup onion 2 tea spns chopped ginger 1/2 tea spn cumin powder 1/2 tea spn chili flakes 1 finely chopped green chilli 1/2 cup red bellpepper 3 cups vegetable stock or water 1 cup chopped tomatoes Olive oil 1 tbl spn finely chopped coriander leaves Salt
Method: Soak beans for atleast 4-5hrs. Â In a pan, heat some oil and add chopped green chillies and ginger. Fry for a minute and then add onion, garlic, bellpepper, carrots and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add salt, cumin powder, chilli flakes, tomatoes. Fry for few more minutes. Now add beans, butternut squash, stock/water, coriander leaves and cook till vegetables and beans are completely cooked (I do this step in rice cooker or pressure cooker. This can also be done in slow cooker. Just make sure the squash still holds its shape when done). Serve hot.
Serves : 6-7 Preparation time : 1hr
PS: I frequently cook broccoli and carrots in salted boiling water for about 3-4mins for different pasta sauces that I make for Ishaan. I take out the vegetables and save the water to use in soups. Instead of making the stock for the soup or buying stock, I use this water in this soup.
