When you live in the Midwest, there are very few things that are more fresh in summer than the locally grown ears of sweet corn. It's peak corn season at the farmer's markets right now. While nothing beats a fresh corn on the cob, be it grilled, boiled, microwaved or even raw; there are some other ways that we enjoy corn in our family.
I once made this corn chat in wonton cups (recipe here) for our guests, this salad with corn is pretty hit too and this sweet corn soup recipe is one of the most popular recipes on the blog. Both Ms.Little A and Mr. Little V love corn on the cob with butters slathered on it. Dr. A often brings back corn from work when he is visiting his farmer friends in the area. This creamy corn curry is my Indian ode to the sweetest and juiciest corn that you will ever eat.
Jump to Recipe
Apart from being a great source of carbs, corn has a lot of water in it along with decent amount of protein and high in fiber. So when the kids get home from school or from playing outside, it is a perfect snack. Few weeks ago, we had invited some friends over for dinner. I was working through a menu of appetizers, main dishes and desserts etc. And you know me - I was trying to make the most of seasonal and local ingredients. Dr. A had gotten a dozen fresh corn from a farm stand and while we were enjoying them for snack at least once a day, there were some ears of corn sitting on the counter begging for my attention.
So, on a whim, I wrote down "creamy corn curry" under the tab of main dishes. I wanted to add traditional north Indian flavors to the curry, make it little fancy since I was making it for company, while keeping corn to be the star of the dish.
Recipe run down
The recipe starts with a usual Punjabi/North Indian masala preparation.Bhoono onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic with dry spices. Cashew paste adds the creaminess and rich flavor to the curry along with cream (optional). Next go in the sweet corn kernels freshly cut from the cob (use a sharp knife like this one). I then finished the dish with garam masala, kasuri methi and fresh chopped cilantro. You can serve it fresh homemade roti, jeera or cumin rice, plain rice or homemade garlic naan. Yummy!
Creamy Fresh Sweet Corn Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1 clove
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic see notes
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger see notes
- 1.5 cup chopped tomato see notes
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder optional
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 5-6 cashews soaked in milk (see notes)
- ¼ cup milk see notes
- 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 3 ears corn husks and silk removed, see notes
- 2 cup water or as needed
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream optional
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt, to taste
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon kasoori methis dried fenugreek leaves
- 5-6 sprigs cilantro, leaves chopped optional for garnish
Instructions
- Set a heavy bottomed skillet on medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil to it.
- Once the oil is nice and shiny, add green cardamoms, clove and bay leaf. Wait for 30 seconds and then add cumin seeds.
- Wait for the cumin seeds to crackle a bit and then add the onions with a pinch of salt. Adding salt to onions helps in cooking them faster by extracting the moisture out.
- Add the ginger garlic paste and bhoono (cook) the masala till the onions turn light brown in color. This will take 5-7 minutes.
- While the onion masala is cooking, take a very sharp knife and carefully cut the kernels off of the cob. Set aside,
- Now add turmeric, red chili (if using) and coriander powders to the onion masala. Mix.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and scrape any bits of the onion masala that might be sticking to the pan. Mix and cook the tomato masala for another 5 minutes or so.
- Grind the soaked cashews with the milk (or water) that they were soaked in.
- Once the masala is cooked, you should be able to see tiny droplets of oil appear on the edges of the masala. Add tomato ketchup.
- Add the cashew paste, mix and cook for another 30 seconds. Now add water, and corn kernels.
- Stir in salt to taste, sugar and increase the heat to high. Bring to a boil, add more water to adjust consistency, lower the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, add heavy cream ,garam masala and kasoori methi powder. Give the curry a taste check and adjust seasoning if needed. Turn the heat off.
- Sprinkle chopped cilantro and serve hot with roti (recipe here), rice (recipe here) or homemade garlic naan (recipe here).
Notes
Hope you will give this recipe a try and let me know if you do it.
Love - Vaishali.
Tools Used
Knives: Chopping Board:
Blender: Skillet/Pan:
Isaac
When I saw the ketchup in this list I knew it was a real home-tested recipe. I followed it to the letter (except for cooking the onions longer, of course) and it was as good as I could have hoped.
Vaishali
Ha ha...thanks Isaac! I'm glad you liked it!
Petra
I have to try this!!
Jimmy
this looks yummy
Vaishali
Thanks Jimmy
Matthew Wager
This looks really good! I'll have to check this out
Vaishali
Thanks Matthew!
Eva Petruzziello
I’m a vegetarian and this looks amazing!
Vaishali
Indeed! A perfect meatless dish!
Jenna from Heavenly Spiced
Wow, this creamy corn curry sounds so so yummy! I have a bunch of corn at the moment, I want to try this. Thank you for sharing!
Vaishali
Thanks Jenna! You are a master yourself...I'm sure you will like it!
Alina
Sounds delicious, need to try it!
Vaishali
Thanks Alina. I hope you enjoy it!
Urodoc
great recipe. well balanced. loved it! I roasted the corn as well as some paneer on a griddle pan before adding to the mix
Vaishali
Urodoc, thanks! What a great idea to roast the corn and paneer to deepen the flavors.
ashok
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
Vaishali
Thank you so much Ashok. I am glad you and your family enjoyed the fresh sweet corn curry,
Imogen
Just finished making this. In order to keep it vegan, I used soya milk to soak the nuts and coconut cream instead of heavy cream. I always use more spices than people suggest, but actually, this was pretty spot on! The curry is rich and full of flavor. I've added a load of water to it and I'll leave it to slow cook overnight, curry is *always* better slow cooked and left until the next day! Thanks so much!
Vaishali
oh wow. Thanks for trying Imogen. And your substitutions sound great.