Corn Rice — Java, Indonesia

Corn rice is a plain, everyday staple that stretches rice with cracked maize, cooked together into grains that are lighter and slightly sweeter than rice alone. It was, and in many households still is, a working meal rather than a special dish, eaten with whatever vegetables, fried fish or sambal happen to be at hand. It is reported from Java, particularly from drier regions where maize grows more reliably than wet rice and where, in leaner seasons, it made a limited rice harvest go further. It remains common in home kitchens and at simple food stalls, often alongside grated cassava or other grain substitutes used for the same reason. Dried corn kernels are first cracked or coarsely ground, then soaked to soften them before being steamed together with washed rice, sometimes in two stages so the harder corn cooks through fully. A little salt is the only seasoning added at this stage; the corn rice is served plain, to be eaten with side dishes that carry the flavour. What distinguishes this version from other maize-and-rice mixtures found across the eastern islands is the proportion of corn to rice, which can run from a small addition to nearly equal parts depending on the household and the season, and the double steaming that keeps the grains separate rather than mashed. Some cooks add a little coconut for richness; others keep it plain.