CORNY PANCAKES IN YOGURT SAUCE

The thought of corn and I see myself in a corn field. Plants taller than me and the corn silk just like an old woman's hair tickling me as I brush past. This is a scene from my chldhood, holidays spent in my grandma's beautiful home in the lake city of Udaipur. There was a nest of a spotted bird we called Titaheri, who laid spotted eggs and attacked us every time we walked past. This corn field was part of the kitchen garden and in the evenings we kids were ordered to pluck some corn and then these were barbequed on coal and brushed with lemon juice mixed with salt and pepper. We used to hop around on the lawn and play with the tortoise we had picked up from the roadside on our way to drop grandfather at the airport, while digging our tiny teeth into the corn.

Barbequed corn on the cob is a very romantic dish that you get all over India freshly barbequed on hand-carts, on the beaches and at hill-stations and couples eating them together walking hand-in-hand. So from childhood to a romantic adulthood barbequed corn is a must eat.

corny pancakes in yogurt sauce

Well I have used the corn thus barbequed to create a dish for one of my parties.

This makes a lovely side dish and can also be served as an appetizer or at a tea party.



Corn is low in saturated fats and very low in sodium and cholesterol.

Corn is rich in minerals such as copper, zinc, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, iron selenium and small amounts of potassium and Vitamins such as Vitamin B and traces of A and E. It contains insoluble dietary fiber.

It is a cereal and just like other cereals needs to be combined with another protein food such as pulses, lentils, milk products to compliment the protein to give a more complete protein source and improve the quality of protein.
100gm of corn gives about 342 calories.


corny pancakes



CORNY PANCAKES IN YOGURT SAUCE

makes approx 10


Ingredients:
for the batter
.Corn kernels...........................125gm.
.Ginger paste...........................1 tsp.
.Green chilies...........................16gm.
.Chickpea flour........................1/2 cup
.Salt.........................................to taste
.Semolina.................................2 Tbsp.*
.Yogurt.....................................2 Tbsp.
.Soda-bi-carbonate...................1/2 tsp.
.Oil...........................................2 Tbsp.
.Water.....................................1/4th cup or as required to make a thick batter


for the filling:
.Corn kernels...........................125gm.
.Onion......................................1/2 medium , finely chopped
.Green chilies...........................1tsp., finely chopped
.Coriander leaves......................1/4th cup, finely chopped
.Salt...........................................to taste

for the yogurt sauce:
.Yogurt......................................1 1/2 cup
.Cream......................................1/4th cup
.Salt...........................................to taste
.Black salt.................................1 pinch
.Roasted cumin powder............1/2 tsp.
.Red chili powder......................1/2 tsp.
.Honey......................................1 tsp.
.Spicy coriander dip..................2 tsp.
.Tamarind dip............................2 tsp.
.Coriander leaves......................for garnishing

Method:
for the batter
.Blitz together corn kernels, ginger paste, green chili to make a smooth paste.
.Mix together in a bowl the corn paste, chickpea flour, salt, semolina, yogurt, soda-bi-carbonate to
 form a smooth paste.
for the filling
.Barbeque the corn on the cob.
.Cut it off the cob.
.Alternatively used canned corn kernels.
.If using canned corn kernels, drain and toast them in a pan.
.Put the corn in a chopper for a minute and blitz till the corn is just broken into 4 to 5 pieces.
.Chop onions, green chili, coriander leaves finely.
.Mix together with corn in a bowl. Add salt and mix well.
for the yogurt sauce:
.Mix together yogurt, cream, salt, honey, and black salt and set aside.
how to proceed:
.Heat a griddle. Brush it with a little oil. Spread 2 Tbsp. of the batter into roundels. Spread as many as 
 will fit, vey quickly.
.Immediately spread 1Tbsp of the filling on each roundel.
.Quickly cover it with 2 Tbsp. of the batter. It should cover the filling completely.
.Leave to cook for 1 minute or until cooked on one side.
.Flip the pancake carefully and drizzle a little oil to shallow fry the pancake and cook till golden.
.Make as many as you an get.
.Arrange in a serving platter.
.Pour the yogurt sauce on top.
.Garnish with roasted cumin seed powder, red chili powder and coriander leaves, a little spicy
 coriander dip (recipe in my blog) and tamarind dip(optional - can be bought from Indian stores ).

Roasted cumin powder
.To make roasted cumin seed powder, heat a griddle. Add 1/4th cup  cumin seeds and toast them till
 fragrant and change colour to a light brown. Immediately remove in a plate or flat container  to
 cool and will burn it as it continues to cook after taking off the heat.
.Powder it using a mortar and pestle or grind to a coarse powder in a grinder.
.When cool store in a glass jar for further use.
.I always have it available as I use this powder in a variety of dishes sometimes as a garnish and
 sometimes as a spice.

Note:
*Semolina can be substituted by yellow or blue corn grits.
.Adjust the green chili according to the heat required.