There is provided an apparatus (100, 200) and method (300) of cooking starch-containing food. A vessel (202) of the apparatus (100, 200) is directly heated in a pretreatment step (304) to at least partially puff the starch-containing food before the at least partially puffed starch-containing food is cooked (308) in the same vessel (202) in one or both of water and steam, wherein the bottom of the vessel is in direct contact with a heater and is heated by the heater conductively or inductively.