Summers are for corn…and chaat. Summers are for corn chaat. Sweet corn gets tossed with onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, kala namak (black salt), spices, and a hefty dose of chaat masala.
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Welcome to the chaat series, where we just bow down to chaat masala all day. And since it’s summer, it’s only right to start this series off with the queen of the season, corn. Chaat is a savory Indian snack (snack? meal? whatever you want to call it) that is simultaneously sweet, sour, spicy, and crunchy. It usually has chaat masala, which is a really zingy spice blend made of unique ingredients like dried mango, musk melon, mint leaves, hing, among other spices. It’s irreplaceable and you can use it for more than just chaat. I’d recommend avocado toast and watermelon, but please report back with your findings.
This corn chaat is one of my favorites from summers in India because when it’s scorching hot and humid and the cravings for something besides papaya hits, this will do it. Just cook the corn kernels, let them cool, and combine with kala namak (black salt), chaat masala, some spices, onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers.
How to Make Corn Chaat
Prepare the corn.
You can boil, pressure cook, or sauté – feel free to cook your corn however you like it. Either separate the corn into kernels before cooking or after cooking. It doesn’t really matter.
If you’re going for a warm vibe, you can serve immediately, but I like my chaat cooler in the summer months!
Chop the veggies.
Only staples here: onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and cilantros.
Spice it up.
Enough said. Just get the chaat masala. The rest is low-key optional but really good.
Corn Chaat
Ingredients
- 2 ears of corn, separated into kernels
- 1 tbsp olive oil or another cooking oil
- ¼ tsp sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 tomato, diced
- ¼ red onion, finely chopped
- ½ green bell pepper, finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro and mint, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp kala namak + more to taste
- 1.5 tsp chaat masala + more to taste
- juice from 1 lime
- sev (crispy chickpea/gram flour snack found at your local Indian store) for serving
Instructions
- Shuck the corn and separate it into a kernels by using a knife to get the kernels off the cob (tip: place a bowl on top of a dish towel. hold the corn vertically in the bowl and cut the kernels off from each side of the cob, from top to bottom.)
- Add oil to a cast iron skillet or medium pan over medium heat. Add the corn and a pinch of salt and cook for 7-8 minutes. Let the corn cool down.
- Toss the corn with the rest of the ingredients. Add kala namak, chaat masala, and lime juice to taste!
For more chaat recipes, you need to try…
