Little Millet Palak Corn Pulao | Instant Pot Spinach Pulao with Millet

5 from 2 votes

Healthy and delicious spinach/palak pulao with little millet made in Instant Pot! Incorporate millets into your diet with this palak pulao.

Prep Time20

Cook Time12

Pressure Cooking + Pressure Releasing Time20

Total Time52

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: instant pot millet pulao, millet palak pulao, spinach rice

Servings:

Calories: 274kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Clean the spinach and place it in a bowl along with green chilies. Add 2 to 3 cups of hot water to the spinach and cover the bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes. Make sure you add sufficient hot water so that the spinach leaves are completely immersed in the water.
After 10 minutes, drain the water and puree the spinach and green chilies without adding any water. Set it aside.

Wash the little millet until the water becomes clear, and you can see the millet through the water. Soak the millet in water for 30 minutes and drain the water.

Set the Instant Pot in saute mode, and when it is hot, add the oil. Meanwhile, crush the cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom roughly. Now add the fennel seeds, bay leaf, crushed cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves and saute for 30 seconds.
Next, add the onions and saute the onion for 5 minutes.
Now add the spinach-green chili puree, red chili powder, and salt. Mix well.
Add the millet, frozen corn, and coconut milk.
Mix gently. Press the cancel button, close the Instant Pot lid and make sure the vent is in the sealing position.
Press the "Rice" preset button and when the cooking is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally. Carefully open the lid after releasing the pressure and allow the pulav to cool for 5 minutes.
Then fluff it up with a fork or spatula.
Serve it hot with your favorite curry or raita.

For this pulao, you can use up to 100grams of spinach. If you add more spinach, the pulao will have a vibrant green color and bold spinach flavor. My version has subtle flavors, so adjust accordingly.
Like rice, each and every variety and brand of millet is different. This timing and water worked for me, and we loved this texture. Adjust the timing accordingly. You can try cooking for 3 to 4 minutes in high-pressure mode and release the pressure after 10 minutes.
You can also make this in the open pot method. Please refer to my foxtail millet biryani post. If you are using the open-pot method, use 1.5 cups of liquid for 1 cup of millet. The same measure goes for the pressure cooker also. In the case of a stove-top pressure cooker, cook for two whistles.
You can add a little cilantro for different flavors along with spinach, but I did not add any.
The red chili powder is optional and as always, adjust the spices and salt as per your preference.
I used the round cinnamon stick for this recipe. You can use up to 3-inch cinnamon bark.