Name: Vaghareli makai (Spiced corn salad)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 French or red Asian shallots, thinly sliced; 150 ml (5 fl oz) coconut water; 1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste; 1 garlic clove, sliced; 2 Indian green chillies, finely chopped; ¼ bunch mint, leaves removed and torn; ¼ bunch coriander (cilantro), leaves picked and roughly chopped; ½ teaspoon Chaat masala; ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder; juice and zest of 1 lemon; 3 fresh corn cobs; ½ cup Kara boondi (optional); 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil; 2 fresh corn cobs; 2 cm (¾ inch) knob of fresh turmeric, peeled and grated, or ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 onion, finely diced

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
1 hr

Appears in

Lands of the Curry Leaf

By Peter Kuruvita

Published 2018

About

The beautiful Mexican street snack, elotes, are grilled corn cobs, spiced with chilli and smeared with mayonnaise. Here is the Indian version, turned into a salad — so simple and tasty, not to mention healthy. Serve it as a side, pack it for a picnic, or serve it in a cup during kids’ parties.

Ingredients

2 fresh corn cobs
2 cm (¾ inch) knob of fresh turmeric, peeled and grated, or

Method

For the smashed corn, cut the kernels from the three cobs of corn using a sharp knife. Put half the kernels through a juicer.

Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2–5 minutes, or until translucent; you don’t want them to colour.

Stir in the corn juice, remaining corn kernels and the coconut water, ensuring the