When it comes to monsoon treats, I understand the bhajiyas, the ginger tea, the soups: I think there’s something almost sadistic though, about our monsoon craze for fire-roasted corn. Watching bedraggled rain-revellers on the corniche, standing around the bhutta cart I always get distracted by the guy doing the roasting. His coal-stove is
always too darn small for the number of customers he has and water that gets into the salty chilli powder makes it pastey as he dresses each cob using a cut lemon as a brush. When it’s blustery, the coal sends blistering embers and sparks shooting out, causing his crowd of customers to keep moving, ensemble, out of the “down-wind” as the breeze plays truant. When it’s raining — really — you think you will never be handed that cob. And then you are — and it’s usually burnt on the out and undercooked on the in — and you enjoy the monsoon cliché but rarely the corn.
Corn, on the cob or as kernels, is one of those un-self-conscious sides that is happy to always be the bridesmaid, never the bride. Just think, even in its most fanciful form, it is polenta. But really, it’s best eaten simply, in hot, peppery sweet corn soup or boiled, roasted, seasoned simply, salt, pepper, garlic, butter; healthy, unpretentious good stuff — and my kids salute the genius who first started serving it at movie theatres in a cup. It’s been a rainy weekend, as I write this and the bhutta walla has done brisk (well not brisk enough) business. I home-roasted all the corn used in the recipes below, oil-less, in a hot wok. It took time but the corn was roasted to sweet toasty perfection. If you have the patience to wait by his cart, you can just buy ready-roasted corn from the bhutta walla, slice off the kernels and use them in some of the recipes below.
You can start a conversation with the author about food at http://loveinthekitchenlaughteratthetable [1]. blogspot.com
Three Butters
The love of butter is unfortunately the love that dare not speak its name. While many women crave Louis Vuitton, I’ve secretly always thought my dream bag would be one with a cold-storage compartment for a little butter and a few slivers of smoked salmon. Now we’re going out and proud about our love of beautiful, golden, good quality butter. The one that claims to be the taste of India, salty and yellow as it is, is our standard of how great butter can be but others, imported, Parsi, hand churned, white, unsalted will do fine. After chunky, multigrain toast, corn on the cob, still smoking from the roasting is turned magical with a big dollop of plain butter. Great tossed into pasta too or boiled corn, these butters will make you wish you too had a “special” bag to take to the bhutta-walla.
Sweet Chilli Butter
Ingredients:
1 tbs gur (jaggery)
½ red pepper
2 fresh red chillies
2 tbs butter
Pinch salt
Method:
Fire-roast the red pepper and peel the blackened skin off. Deseed the red chillies. Crumble the jaggery into the spice blender and blend with the butter, red chillies and roasted red pepper. It will turn runny but a couple of hours in the fridge will have it set beautifully.
***
Roast Corn and Bacon Breakfast Pudding
This is like a quiche filling without the crust or a frittata without the fuss of the oven. It’s very yummy and if you’re having people over for breakfast/brunch, you can cook individual servings in small glass bowls and up-end them when it’s time to serve. I’d add a little crème fraiche to fancy it up. Bacon can be replaced by smoked salmon or mushrooms fried in butter till crisp.
Ingredients:
6 rashers smoked bacon
½ cup roasted corn kernels
2 large eggs
2 tbs cream
2 tbs milk
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
½ cup grated parmesan or strong cheddar
1 tbs cornflour
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Pile the bacon rashers up and cut them into cubes: best done when the bacon is still frozen. Fry on high until most of the fat runs off and you have small bacon squares. Drain and toss the bacon with the onion, parsley, cheese, corn, cornflour and season with lots of pepper. Beat the eggs and cream and milk into the mix evenly. Grease your bowl with butter. Pour the mix in. Microwave for 6 minutes and leave to stand for another 2 or three minutes. Using a spoon, gently pry the pudding out of the bowl and slide onto a plate. Serve while still warm.
***
Bacon and Parsley Butter
Ingredients:
2 tbs bacon oil
2 tbs butter
1 clove garlic
1 tbs chopped
parsley
Pinch salt
Method:
Decadent, smoky and delicious. Get the bacon oil by draining the excess fat off after frying your rashers of bacon. Just blend the whole lots together and leave to set. It’s very addictive.
Capers and Dill Butter
Ingredients:
2 tbs chopped dill
1 tbs chopped fennel bulb
2 tbs capers
2 tbs butter
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Pinch salt
Method:
In a spice grinder, blend the dill and fennel with the oil. When as smooth as possible, add the butter and salt and then the capers. You don’t want to pulverise the capers completely so just give it a couple of whizzes. Leave in the fridge to set before serving.
***
Roast Corn Couscous
Couscous and roast corn just go together. This is also very rainy weather comfort food. It’s so easy to put together and you can serve large bowls of it to distract your family from the cabin fever funk they’re getting into from having to sit indoors because of the rain. Use stock for the couscous — if you don’t have it, buy good quality cubes or really, this is the season to make stock and freeze it — it elevates this simple dish. This works well as a side to roast chicken or grilled fish and vegetables or even a simple broth.
ingredients
1 cup couscous
1 cup hot stock
½ tsp salt
½ roast corn kernels
½ cup white sesame seeds
½ clove garlic chopped
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs roast red pepper chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tbs chopped parsley
Method:
Cover the couscous with the hot stock, cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes. The couscous will absorb the liquid and turn fluffy, separate and fragrant. If it’s still not cooked properly or seems dry, sprinkle some water and microwave it for a couple of minutes. Toast the sesame seeds until they start to pop and lightly change colour. Toss everything together and serve warm, mounted with a little extra virgin olive oil.
***
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Roast Corn and Turkey Meatballs
Pardon me if I repeat myself, but I have such a crush on Yotam Ottolenghi. Not only was his column, The New Vegetarian always inspiring, his recipe book(s) are treats for the eye and the mind and eventually the palate. It’s a feast of ideas and attitudes to food made from easy to access ingredients and uncomplicated processes. This recipe calls for minced turkey but chicken mince will do. He serves these with a roast red pepper sauce but hot chilli sauce will work beautifully in the rains.
Ingredients:
1 cup roasted corn kernels
200 gm chicken mince
2 slices of white bread
2 tbs chopped parsley
1 large egg
½ cup chopped onion
2 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp salt (or more)
½ tsp ground pepper
2 cloves garlic
Method:
Crush and chop the garlic. Hand-chop the corn kernels till they’re quite small. Don’t be niggly about it, it’s okay. Soak the bread, squeeze it and crumble it into a large bowl. Mix in the mince, parsley, corn, onion, jeera powder, pepper, garlic, salt. Finally, add the egg and mix properly. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large pan. Round out small golf-ball sized balls and try-fry one meatball for a couple of minutes on each side. Taste when cooked for salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning if you have to and fry the rest.
Links:
[1] http://loveinthekitchenlaughteratthetable