Monday, May 31, 2010

Meatless Monday...Take The Corn Off The Cob!


What should greet us this morning as we returned from our early morning coffee run to the Basque Boulangerie but a large turkey vulture sitting on the branch of a tree looking down at our house.

"Whoa!" I thought. What a kickoff to Meatless Monday. Whatever that big bird was looking for, he was not going to find it in my kitchen this afternoon.
 It was Meatless Monday at our house and the Vulture was out of luck.
  I love meatless Monday but it always hits me with a bit of a thud after the weekend.  Especially this last weekend and the big Lamb Biryani dinner I'd cooked. for Paula Wolfert. So, I wound up spending time thinking about vegetables last night. What was fresh, what was available and what I felt like eating.
 Not wanting Alan to be hungry, I thought three courses would do it. One hot, one cold and one room temperature. Two solids and a soup.
 I decided I'd try a great and easy-to-whip-up corn salad. Since today is Memorial Day and the kick off to the Summer Season, it only seemed fitting that I'd fix a salad that would go just as well on a Meatless Monday as on a Whole Hog Saturday.
 This is a traditional corn salad from the West coast of India. Here's what to do.
Cut the kernels off of 6 ears of corn. I used three white ears and three yellow ears for contrast.

 Take half of the kernels and place them in a blender. Grind them up and mix them back in with the rest of the raw corn kernels.
                          
In a large skillet or kadhai heat 2 Tbs of vegetable oil.
 When the oil is hot toss in:
 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds. As soon as they start to get fragrant and change color add in:
 1/8 tsp of turmeric powder 
 All the corn.

 Stir it around then put a lid on the pan  and cook for about 10 minutes or so. Check it once in a while and make sure the corn isn't sticking. If it does, add a few tablespoons of milk to keep things moving. 
 Take the lid off the pan and add in:
 1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/4 tsp of ground cumin
1/8 tsp of kashmiri chili powder (cayenne if you can't get it)
1/2 tsp of lemon juice
 Once again, stir it up over a low heat to make sure everything is blended in, then take if off the stove and mix in
 1/2 cup of grated unsweetened coconut.

 Set it aside and serve it at room temperature.
 I've gotta add that Alan loved this dish. So did I, and it's another winning salad that I'm going to be serving a lot this Summer.

 This Meatless Monday is really working out. Tomorrow...soup for you!
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

9 comments :

  1. I always take my corn off the cob so much easier to eat! love the white and yellow this looks good with the coconut yum~

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  2. Yumm! Never tried corn with coconut before. This sounds great and easy! Following you!

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  3. Lovely! Corn and coconut are a great combination, and nothing kicks off the summer season like sweet corn. I cannot wait to try this. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. That is cool. corn and coconut. Must try it. I am onto Meatless Mondays now!

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  5. I'll eat corn anyway it comes on my plate but this is a neat way to cook and serve it. Love the spices!

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  6. Lovely corn recipe, and I am like Claudia prefer to it off the cob, it's easier on the teeth! That bird is huge, and somehow scary I have to say, I can't believe you get that in your garden!

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  7. This is a really interesting dish - I do a meatless maque choux, a Creole off-the-cob dish, you should try that for Meatless Monday sometime - it's got cayenne, I bet you'd like it. I'll definitely be tying this! Yum.

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  8. When we first looked at our house, we came around the corner of the deck to find a turkey vulture perched on the railing staring right at us...we took it as a good omen (even though they really are quite ugly birds).

    The sweetness of the corn and coconut mixed with the cumin and chili sounds delicious!

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  9. I love corn. I have 30 plants that are coming along nicely, but not nearly enough to satisfy us for more than one meal, two at best. I do dread taking the kernels off the corn because I make such a mess. Any tips?

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