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Corn Mania

The monsoon season is just round the corner and with the impeding pitter patter of rain comes memories of crunchy munchies. They could be crisp pakodas and chips with cups of hot tea or coffee. Apart from these there is another thing which can thoroughly be enjoyed during this season and that is corn cobs, which are also known as bhuttas, roasted over coal fire, rubbed with red chilli powder, salt and lemon juice. 

 

On and off the cob
It tastes just as great on and off the cob. Like I said earlier roast it over burning coals and it acquires a wonderful smoky flavour that you simply cannot resist. There is another way to enjoy the corn kernels. Just separate the kernels from the cob, boil it in water, add butter, salt and a dash of black pepper powder and then…then what, savour it of course. 

Soupy tales and more

Tell me frankly, which recipe comes to mind at the moment you say the word ‘corn’ or ‘sweet corn’. But of course sweet corn soup either with vegetables or chicken or crab. Slurp…the just the mention of this soup makes me smack my lips. There is another way to enjoy the corn kernels. Just separate the kernels from the cob, boil it in water, add butter, salt and a dash of black pepper powder and then…then what, savour it of course. 

Other things that can bring a smile on your face are pizza with corn topping, corn fritters, corn chowder, corn and pepper salad, corn salsa, corn burger, corn pancakes, corn cone, corn pie are among the many continental recipes. You can cook some delicious Indian recipes too like makki ki tikki, corn rabdi, makki ki roti, makki murgh, corn raita, makki ka bharta, corn dhokla, corn upma…and a lot many delicious recipes.

Where did it come from

Ever wondered what is it about this golden globules that make us salivate at its very thought? We will talk about that later but first let us see what this delicious corn is and where it came from.

Where did it come from
The story of corn takes us to the western civilization when in 1492 Columbus's men discovered it in Cuba. Thence it was exported to Europe. At first Europe did not take corn seriously but this was not for long. Soon it came to be recognized as a valuable food grain. It took but a few years for it to spread throughout France, Italy, and all of southeastern Europe and northern Africa. And by 1575 people in western China, Philippines and East Indies became acquainted with it. Then it didn’t take long for corn to spread elsewhere in the world and rule over the hearts and palates of foodies. 

Preserving the kernels
Since corn is so popular, it is important to preserve it right. So ground corn meal and corn in relishes became common food items, and have remained so to this day.

In the earlier days when freezing and canning were not popularly used to preserve anything, corn kernels used to be dried and stored. To use these they just had to be soaked in water and then used in cooking.

Did you know
You will find that the word ‘corn’ means differently depending on the country you are in. In United States of America it is also called maize or Indian corn. In England it means wheat; in Scotland and Ireland it means oats. In Bible corn is perhaps used to refer to wheat or barley. 

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Corn Upma

This recipe is from FoodFood TV channel & has featured on Turban Tadka.

Corn and rawa merge to make this delicious upma.


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Makai Halwa

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Ground corn cooked with nuts and khoya.


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MasterChef Sanjeev Kapoor

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor is the most celebrated face of Indian cuisine. He is Chef extraordinaire, runs a successful TV Channel FoodFood, hosted Khana Khazana cookery show on television for more than 17 years, author of 150+ best selling cookbooks, restaurateur and winner of several culinary awards. He is living his dream of making Indian cuisine the number one in the world and empowering women through power of cooking to become self sufficient. His recipe portal www.sanjeevkapoor.com is a complete cookery manual with a compendium of more than 10,000 tried & tested recipes, videos, articles, tips & trivia and a wealth of information on the art and craft of cooking in both English and Hindi.