What Else Can You Cook In A Rice Cooker Apart From Rice?

When a busy office goer invests in a kitchen appliance, the essential purpose is to make everyday cooking faster, smoother and efficient. A rice cooker is one such handy equipment to have in the kitchen that can be used to prepare a variety of dishes. Rice cooker recipes are excellent make-ahead options too that stay warm for hours until it is time to eat.

Judging by its name alone, one would imagine that the rice cooker is a single-utility equipment that simply steams generous quantities of fluffy rice. But that is far from the actual potential of this handy appliance found in many kitchens. When busy professionals look for a kitchen appliance, their essential need is to optimise its use as much as possible. This is where the rice cooker actually becomes useful. Everyday cooking is made easier as a result of rice cooker recipes that go beyond steaming or cooking warm rice. 

Everything from soups and broths to stews, dals and pulaos can be prepared in the rice cooker, transforming this appliance from a single-use equipment to a rather multi-functional unit that adorns a kitchen. The use of the rice cooker can be maximised by the busy professional by turning to these dishes which can be made in the morning and which stay fresh for many hours afterwards.

Steamed Vegetables

Of different rice cooker recipes, if there is one which exudes a lot of healthy and nourishing properties, it is steamed vegetables. Fresh produce such as broccoli, carrots, beans, potatoes and corn can be steamed in the rice cooker in an absolutely hassle-free way. As your masalas for a mixed vegetable sabzi cook on the fry pan, the steamed vegetables can be readied on the side in a steaming tray that generally accompanies rice cookers. The vegetables can then be directly transferred from the rice cooker into the sabzi masala cooking on the pan. This really cuts down on the time required to cook veggies on the stove and makes everyday food preparation a very smooth activity for the working professional. Veggies like asparagus stalks and carrots steamed in the rice cooker can also be served with grilled fish or chicken as a healthy option in a lean protein meal plan.

Chicken Broth And Vegetable Soups

Many different kinds of vegetable soups can be made in the rice cooker by following a few handy steps. Prepare a purée of the raw vegetables of your choice such as beetroots, tomatoes, pumpkins or carrots in a grinder or blender. Make the soup by adding the purée to a rice cooker along with some butter, spices like black pepper and bay leaves, salt and water. Let the soup cook for a generous amount of time, until the purée softens, the spices release their aromas and all the flavours come together. The same process can be followed for making a consommé-style chicken broth in the rice cooker too, where the broth is allowed to simmer for a long time until it is fully cooked. 

Vegetable Pulao Variations

Along with steaming rice, other rice cooker recipes involve preparing different pulao variations. Diced vegetables like carrots, beans, potatoes and cauliflower can be added to washed rice to make a simple vegetable pulao. As the rice cooks, it can be infused with whole spices including bay leaves, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon for additional aroma. Pulao variations can also mean adding palak purée, coriander paste or tomato syrup to make rice varieties like palak pulao, coriander rice or tangy tomato rice in the rice cooker itself. The electric cooker not only steams the rice beautifully into a fragrant, aromatic dish but it also cooks the vegetables and different accompanying purées, pastes and masalas ground in the mixer grinder to prepare rice variations with a stunning efficiency.

One-Pot Curries

For working professionals, of all rice cooker recipes, this one is perhaps a bonafide life-saver. Whether it is guests coming over for a last-minute dinner or a hurried morning when there is little time to spend in the kitchen, one-pot curries prepared in the rice cooker can be excellent options for an on-the-go cook. Best for beginner-friendly cooking, all curry pastes, vegetables, paneer, spices and condiments can be thrust right into the large rice cooker pot. The functionalities of a premium rice cooker offer the option to cook curries at the press of a button. Rotis can be prepared on the side as the curry cooks, leading to the making of a quick, hassle-free and most of all, delicious tiffin on a busy day.

Moong And Tur Dal

Another dish in the roster of rice cooker recipes that makes the rice cooker quite an efficient appliance to have is dal. In fact, lentils can be cooked in bulk in the rice cooker and stored in little airtight containers in the fridge to be brought out to make dal tadka in a kadai as and when required. When it comes to preparing warm meals, moong or tur dal can be cooked in the rice cooker with minimal effort and very low supervision until all other sabzis and rotis are prepared on the gas stove. Then, the cooked dal can either be given a tadka or it can be had as a broth or soup with the rest of the meal as a nourishing dish served warm straight out of the rice cooker.

Creamy Pasta

Interestingly, pasta is one unlikely rice cooker recipe that can actually be prepared quite smoothly in this appliance. On those days when you crave an indulgent treat but find yourself short on time, go for a creamy pasta dish in which the boiling and cooking happens simultaneously. This means, raw pasta can be mixed with veggies like mushrooms and corn, some herbs such as fresh rosemary and oregano and the sauce base comprising milk, cream and cheese. All this can be cooked simultaneously in the rice cooker for about 20-25 minutes to make a pot full of delicious, steaming hot pasta. This process holds forth for different types of pasta sauces, particularly when the dish is being prepared for a large gathering.