Indian Corn on the Cob | How to Cook Indian Corn
What will you find in this post?
- How to make Indian style corn on gas stove?
- How to choose a ear of corn?
It was super packed day for us. We were in San Francisco hosting a pop-up meal at an AirBnB space. I created 5 course “Madras Thattu Kadai Tasting Menu” for travelers visiting SF. It was an AirBnb private event. Thattu means plate and kadai means shop in Tamil, my mother tongue so the literal translation means “Plate Shop”. Thattu Kadai is a common term for portable restaurant like set up created in streets of Madras. The chef prepares the meal right in front of you and serves it hot. This is the staple food for workers, students or anyone who needs quick and affordable meals. The food is served in a plastic plate covered with a cling wrapper. Kothu parotta, idli, egg dosa are few of the popular foods that are served in this set up. In this meal, I created the popular meals with my tweaks.
After a long day at work and a long evening hosting the meal, we returned home around 12:00 am tired. My parents put my kids to bed and I snuggled in to sleep with them. I dozed off within minutes. I love dreams and I remember few the following day. Yesterday I dreamt of a beautiful house on the beach. I am the daughter of the sea. Ocean calms me. Seafood makes me happy. I love sea and I enjoy the soothing sound of the waves. I continued to dream. I woke up to the warm sun that reached through long glass doors. I stepped out and there was water everywhere. I walked into the water and started to swim.
There in the distance I see my kids building sand castles and my husband reading a book in the hammock. When I walked out of the water, I see my mother with a platter of roasted corn splashed with lemon juice and spice powders. I took one that was perfectly roasted and mildly charred. As I sink my teeth into it, the salty-tangy juice splashed into my eyes. I pulled a good amount of the meaty corn kermel and devoured its flavor in every bite. The saltiness in the air and spices in the corn made the whole experience so memorable.
But I woke up thinking how on earth my mom arrived with flame roasted corn on the cob? I am still thinking about it and of course the taste of that fire roasted sweet corn. Every time we grill corn I get transported to Madras Marina Beach. We don’t call it Indian corn on the cob for nothing!
Today I am sharing the recipe for a super easy roasted corn. I pick corn from farmers market and these are steps I follow:
- I look for heavy corns. If it is heavy for its size, then it is a good corn.
- I look for slightly damp husks as it means that the corn is fresh
- I gently run my fingers to separate the husks down to the hair and take a quick peek of the inside. I wouldn’t recommend peeling the entire husk to check for its freshness. Farmers need to sell it so lets me mindful of not removing the husk completely.
Once you bring the corn home, I store it in the fridge. I use it within 2-3 days. My family loves fire roasted corn. We eat it as a snack or I add the kernels to the salad.
Ingredients
- 4 medium sized sweet corn (remove the husk, clean and pat dry with a kitchen towel)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp
turmeric powder - Salt to taste
- 1 Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Place a grilling basket or grilling pan over the flame. Arrange the corn on top of it and let it roast the corn for 8-10 minutes turning everytime you see that it is getting burnt.
- It will take 15 minutes to roasted them
- In a small bowl, mix turmeric powder, chili powder, salt and lemon juice. Don’t discard the lemon wedges. Use that as a brush to smear the spice mix over the roasted corn. Serve hot.
