Chef Sohail Karimi Shares 3 Delightful Corn Recipes For The Monsoon

Along with relief from the scorching summer, the monsoon also brings a variety of delectable seasonal delicacies. The classic chai-pakora, chaats, warming soups, and kachoris are some of the most popular foods that are enjoyed across the country this season. Talking about the monsoon, how can we miss the iconic corn?

Also known as bhutta, these gorgeous yellow delights are far better than those fried snacks. Perfect for munching during the rainy season, it is best enjoyed as a snack with lemon juice and masala. According to Healthline, corn is rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It is good for eye health, prevents heart problems, and enhances memory. Some popular corn recipes are corn on the cob, chaat, pakoras, and soups.

Rock Corn Tempura

Ingredients  

• 100 g of American corn
• 50 g of tempura flour
• 50 ml of chilled water
• 20 g spring onion green

For spicy mayonnaise sauce

• 50 g Mayonnaise 
• 5 g of wasabi
• 10 g of sugar
• 5 ml of lemon juice
• 2 g chilli flakes
• Salt to taste

For presentation 

• 10 g of lollo rosso lettuce
• 1 g of shredded nori sheet
• 3 g spring onion
• 1 g chilli flakes

Method 

• To make mayonnaise sauce, combine mayonnaise, wasabi, sugar, lemon juice, chilli flakes, and salt. Mix together and keep aside. 
• Then make a pourable batter by mixing tempura flour and chilled water.
• Combine corn kernels and chopped spring onion greens in a bowl, sprinkle with flour to lightly coat them, and add the batter mix.
• Make small, uneven-shaped balls and deep fry them in oil on medium heat till golden brown and crispy. 
• Remove from oil and drain excess oil. Take rock corn in a tossing bowl, add mayo sauce, and toss. Sprinkle with chopped spring onion and chilli flakes.
• Take a serving bowl, line it with lollo rosso leaves, put tossed rock corn tempura in the centre, top it with shredded nori sheets, and serve.

Creamy Spinach Corn Tarts

Ingredients

For pastry dough

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 100 g of butter
• a pinch of salt
• 2-3 tablespoons of cold water to knead the dough. 

For the filling

• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of fresh spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup sweet corn, boiled
• 4-5 tablespoons of fresh cream
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
• ½ tablespoons paprika powder
• ½ tablespoons black pepper
• a pinch of nutmeg powder 
• Salt to taste
• 50 g of parmesan cheese
• 50 g of grated mozzarella cheese
• Oil for cooking

Method  

For the pastry dough:

• In a mixing bowl, sift in all the flour and salt. Now add butter cubes. Now add 3 tablespoons of water and make a firm dough.
• Once done, wrap it in cling film and chill for at least 2 hours.
• Take a little oil in a pan and sauté garlic in it. Add the chopped spinach and cook well until the raw smell goes away.
• In another pan, add butter; once the butter melts, add flour and mix well. Now slowly add fresh milk and keep stirring to avoid lumps. Let it cook until it has the consistency of white sauce.
• Add the spinach-garlic mixture, sweet corn, paprika powder, nutmeg powder, salt, and pepper to the white sauce and mix well. Remove from flame and keep aside. The filling is ready.
• Once the dough has chilled for two hours, preheat the oven to 180°C and grease mini tart moulds.
• Roll the chilled dough on a floured surface and cut out circles with a cookie cutter. Press the circle into each mould until it reaches the edge, and cut off the rest. Make the rest of the tarts like this.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes. Once done, take them out of the oven and let them cool.
• Once the tarts have cooled down, fill them with the prepared stuffing and top them with grated cheese. Bake them again for 5 minutes at 180°C.
• Once done, take it out of the oven and serve it warm. 

Cheese Corn Balls

Ingredients 

• ½ cups grated processed cheese
• ½ cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 boiled potato, mashed
• 1 cup corn kernels, boiled and mashed
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons jalapeno chopped
• 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• ½ tablespoons black pepper powder
• 1/8 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 ½ tablespoons corn flour
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• Water as required for batter
• 2 cups panko crumbs
• Oil as required for deep frying

Method 

• In a mixing bowl, add the grated cheese, boiled and mashed potatoes and sweet corn, parsley, jalapeno, red chilli flakes, crushed oregano, a little pepper, garlic paste, corn flour, and salt, and mix everything well.
• Apply a little oil to your palm and make about 1/2-inch balls from the mixture. In a bowl, add all-purpose flour and water and mix them to get a pourable consistency.
• In a kadai, heat enough oil to deep fry. Put some plain flour on one side and breadcrumbs on the other side of your work surface.
• Roll the cheese balls in plain flour, dip them in all-purpose flour batter, and then roll them in breadcrumbs. Repeat the same process to coat all corn and cheese balls in a similar way.
• Deep-fry coated cheese balls on a medium flame. Serve corn cheese balls hot with dips like tomato ketchup and peanut chilli sauce.