Thursday, July 28, 2016

Celebrate Monsoons with Yummy Sweet Corn Recipes

Hi folks. Here we are enjoying the Monsoons. In fact we Indians, celebrate each season with much enthusiasm. We have so many ways to celebrate them-festivals, songs, dances and of course food. 

Monsoon is celebrated as we get refreshed with the showers after a long hot and dusty summers. The rains bless us with not only, cool climate but also the much required water filling up our lakes, rivers and other water bodies. India being predominantly an agri-based country, our farmers start their activities.

Well whether in cities or towns or in villages, everyone needs some hot, healthy food which is also very yummy. Moreover, if you can make it easily with simple ingredients then it is worth noting down and trying. 

Sweet corn has become very popular in India and is now readily available through out the year in super markets as well as our local vegetable markets. We can get the corn cobs and separate the kernels or if we don't have that much time separated kernels are also available but a bit pricey. 

Sweet corn is delicious and healthy. It is rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. It is sweet to taste and can be eaten raw, if it is fresh.

Here I am giving you some recipes which are easy to make yummy and popular with young and old alike at the same time healthy and nutritious... 

Boiled Corn

Bring to boil 2 cups of water in a pan, add a cup of sweet corn, cover and cook on low heat till done. 

Drain the water, and it is ready for use. 


Note: 

  • If the corn is fresh and tender, it will be cooked within 5 to 10 minutes. 
  • This will serve one person.
  • 1 cup of fresh corn means roughly 175gms
  • 1Tbsp of butter is roughly 14 gms


The following recipes will use this boiled corn and the corn should be hot and served hot

Recipe-1- Boiled Corn-Salt and Pepper


Boiled Corn- 1 cup 
Butter - 1 tbsp
Black Pepper/White Pepper powder  - to taste
Salt to taste

Take the boiled corn in a serving cup/bowl, add butter, salt and pepper powder. Mix well and serve hot. Since we use hot boiled corn, the butter will melt by itself. Serve it hot.

Recipe-2- Boiled Corn-Salt and Papparika

Boiled Corn- 1 cup 
Butter - 1 tbsp
Red Pepper(chillies) powder  - to taste
Salt to taste

Take the boiled corn in a serving cup/bowl, add salt and pepper powder. Mix well and serve hot. 

Recipe-3-Spicy Indian Corn

Boiled Corn- 1 cup 
Butter - 1 tbsp
Red Pepper(chillies) powder  - to taste
Garam Masala powder- a pinch
Turmeric Powder- a pinch
Salt to taste

Take the boiled corn in a serving cup/bowl, add salt, butter and spices. Mix well and serve hot. 

Recipe-4- Yummy Chinese Corn

Boiled Corn- 1 cup 
Butter - 1 tbsp
Green Chilly Sauce- to taste
Salt to taste (if required)

Take the boiled corn in a serving cup/bowl, butter and sauce. Mix well and serve hot. 

The Sauce contains salt and oil. So adjust the quantity of butter or avoid it if you don't want it to be too fatty. I prefer to add butter as the sauce is spicy.

Similarly for the salt, first add the sauce to the corn and if required add salt according to your taste.
 
Recipe-5- Spicy Schezwan Corn

Boiled Corn- 1 cup 
Butter - 1 tbsp
Schezwan Sauce- to taste
Salt to taste (if required)

Take the boiled corn in a serving cup/bowl, butter and sauce. Mix well and serve hot. 

The Sauce contains salt and oil. So adjust the quantity of butter or avoid it if you don't want it to be too fatty. 

Similarly for the salt, first add the sauce to the corn and if required add salt according to your taste.

So try out these recipes, Celebrate Monsoons with my Yummy Sweet Corn Recipes...Please let me know how you like them...

Watch out for more ....

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Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Making Popcorn-1

We all love popcorn. Don't you? Actually snacking on it while watching a movie is what I like. It is a healthy and nutritious snack.

Have you ever made popcorn on the stove? Do you know how popcorn was traditionally made?

Well these days you have machines for that. 

But traditionally popcorn in India was made and still being made in villages and little towns in two ways. One is no oil and the other is with oil method.

No oil method:

In earlier days, some farmers in the village used to puff up the grains like wheat, rice, corn etc and sell them. They use hot sand for this. This method is also used to roast peanuts, chickpeas, peas etc. The veranda or the room in the front serves as a shop for them.

Even today some people are dependent on this as occupation. They either use their own grain, in which case they charge for the entire thing. We can also give them the grain and get it puffed up. They charge some meager amount for this.

In this method, a big iron wok is kept on a stove made of bricks and plastered with soil and cow dung mixture. Now they are using iron stoves. Wood is used as fuel. Other things like, coal, husk, wood shavings, saw dust, bagasse(the remains of sugar cane after the juice is extracted), or other agri waste like dried wheat/rice/grain stalks after harvesting may also be used.

The wok is filled with fine sand. Once the stove is lighted, the sand is left to heat up. Then they add the maize kernels(corn seeds), on to the sand and close it with a lid. When the kernels pop out, they are removed and sieved to remove any sand. In order to make it salty, the corn kernels are put into salted water for sometime and then dried.

You can watch it here:

Popcorn making the Indian way

Unlike what people think, sand does not stick to it. So it is quite safe to eat. This is healthy as there is no oil is used for making the popcorn. My grandmother and my mother too used to make this way. Even I use this method it some times.

Oil Method:

This was most popular before the machines came into the market. Here is how I often make simple popcorn.

Simple Salty Popcorn

Ingredients: 

Maize kernels(corn seeds)  1/4 cup
Oil    1 Tbsp or Butter  1+1/2 Tbsp butter
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Salt   To taste



Method:

  • Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. I use my cooker.
  • Once oil(butter) is hot, reduce the flame to minimum, add turmeric, salt and the kernels.
  • Just stir it once so that turmeric and salt get coated onto the kernels and close with a lid.
  • Let it sit for a while. The kernels start popping. Wait until the popping stops.
  • Switch off the stove.
  • Now it is ready to eat.


This is very easy to make, healthy, hygeinic  and less costly. It can be prepared in just 10 minutes. Goes well with afternoon tea too.  



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