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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Healthy N Nutritious Snacks-3

Nuts N Seeds-1-Sun Flower Seeds-1

I have started doing a series of posts on Healthy N Nutritious Snacks.My previous posts are here:

http://spiceomylife.blogspot.com/search/label/Healthy%20N%20Nutritious%20Snacks

I have not yet completed posting on the puffed rice recipes. But I have to do this post as I want to share with you something else.

One of the healthy N nutritious Snacks are Nuts and Seeds. Nuts and seeds are tasty healthy can be eaten as a snack or added to some of our foods and consumed. Now here is one of them...

Recently I have been on a visit to Rayalaseema area of Andhra Pradesh- a very dry area, where climate is dry and very hot. Added to that they have scarcity of water. Ground nuts are major crop and are used very extensively in their recipes. However I am not going to talk about it here. I will post about it separately.

On one of my walks in the evening, I came across some street vendors, selling roasted peanuts, salted peanuts, and fried and spiced lentils. I came across Sunflower seeds. I know Sunflower seeds as I grow them in my garden, and I also know that Sunflower oil is being widely used in Indian homes as a medium of cooking, I was surprised to know that the seeds are eaten as a snack. Many people were buying a handful or two to munch along their shopping or walking. 

So I bought some...and they were very tasty. Here is a glimpse for you..

Here are the flowers. These are of small variety. There are also very huge flowers. I used to grow them. The flowers used to attract parrots in large numbers. I think they like the seeds. Now I have enquired around and found that the parrot feed contains these seeds as these are very healthy. 

These are the seeds. They have tear drop shape. Their husks are black or grey with black stripes. These seeds are small. I have seen bigger seeds.

I removed the husks with my hands as I didn't have any other method. Here are the nuts inside. These are roasted and salted. They have mild nutty flavour and very tasty. They are also eaten with out roasting. But since they are high in oil content it is better to roast them before eating. Sunflower oil is extracted from these seeds. Today it is the most popular medium for cooking in Indian homes because of various health benefits.

Benefits from Sunflower Seeds

• Sunflower seeds are the best whole food source of vitamin E. They contain around 90% of Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant and protects against heart disease . 
• They also contain 30% of Selenium which along with vitamin E works as an antioxidant and protects cells from damage that may lead to cancer, heart disease, and other health problems.
• They also contain contain  Manganese  36%, Magnesium 31%, Phosphorus 25%, Copper, Iron Zinc  etc which are good for our health.
• Sunflower seeds are a good source of plant protein, which supplies amino acids, that build, maintain and repair body tissues.  
• Sunflower seeds contain Folate or B vitamin for a good and healthy heart and Pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6, Thiamin and Niacin which give energy.  
• Sunflower seeds and oil contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat which lowers Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol, and Triglycerides,  maintaining beneficial High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which is needed to carry the “bad” cholesterol away. Around 90% of the fat in sunflower seeds is good, unsaturated fat.
• They contain Fiber which help in easy digestion, lowering constipation and there by many diseases.

However since these seeds contain high amounts of oil, and source of high energy level, one should consume them moderately as per their life styles.

Tips for buying and storing:

• They are available unshelled where I saw but may be available shelled too. I have to enquire. In other countries shelled and unshelled are available.
• They should smell fresh
• The unshelled ones should be firm and not limp or soft and the shells should not be broken 
• The shelled ones should not be yellowish in colour. 
• Due to oil content these seeds turn rancid quickly.
• Store them in air tight container and better not to store for long
• Store them in air tight package in the deep freezer

Tips for using:

• Shelling is a problem especially with hand is painstaking and difficult
• Few handfuls at a time can be put in small container of the Mixie and just on and off few times. This way some of the seeds might be crushed but many may be shelled. Pour the mixture into this bamboo kitchen aid which is available in all Indian homes known as Chaata in Telugu and Soop in Hindi. I don't know the English equivalent. The crushed seeds are then tossed which throws out the husk and seeds remain back.

• These seeds (with shells) can be roasted in a thick bottomed pan and then shells removed before eating. Traditionally in India, these are roasted over hot sand. While roasting them salt water is sprinkled to give them salty taste. These salted ones are easily available in Indian markets. Roasted one keep for a long time.
• But I feel it is better to avoid salted ones as the salt intake of Indians as it is , is very high
• A handful of roasted or unroasted and shelled seeds can be eaten as it is. These can be added to salads, sweets and desserts like halwa, burfi etc. Add these slightly crushed or whole to curries or chutneys.

Watch my blog for recipes using Sunflower seeds...

Healthy N Nutritious Snacks-1

It is already hot here. Days are hot with temperatures rising day by day. But mornings and late nights are still cool. Though some snacks are supposed to be eaten during winter time, I feel that one can eat any time as they are tasty nutritious and healthy. These are spicy, tangy, a combination of sweet and sour-one can adjust the tastes to ones liking.

Chats, bhujias, pakodas,...the list of such snacks is endless.These are our traditional snacks  undergoing some changes now with the influence of  other cuisines. But the basic recipe remains the same. I also add my twist to these snacks now and then to create something new.

But Health experts may say that Chatpata snacks may always be not healthy-that is more oily, more spicy and may affect our digestive systems as well as our health in general. I am not saying that our traditional recipes are not healthy. They are healthy. It is our changed and sedentary life styles or the change in ingredients or cooking styles which make it difficult for us to eat that stuff now.  

However there is a way out for this. We need not simply abstain from eating these snacks. There are ways and means to cook them in a healthy way. How it is you will learn in the coming posts. I will post the traditional recipes with improved methods of cooking...

Here is the first one...

Pidata kindi Pappu Or Masala Maramaraalu

This is one of the most common snacks sold on the streets of India especially South India and was most popular till a few years back and still is to some extent. I love this and just thinking about it makes me drool. Pidata means a small earthen ware pot. Pappu means lentil. Pidata kindi pappu is a snack where, the puffed chick pea lentil (even boiled) and spiced chickpea, puffed rice along with other ingredients is kept hot by a small earthen ware pot with burning coals in it. It is spicy and a very light snack. Its healthy, requires no oil, easy to make and any time snack. Children or grown ups all will like this once they get to taste it.

This snack is made in many parts of India. Recipe may differ form region to region. It is known as Jhaal Muri or Masal Muri in Bengal or Bhel puri in North India.


Before going into the preparation and the recipe, let us see what Puffed Rice is.

          Puffed Rice-Maramaraalu
Puffed Rice known as Maramaraalu (Telugu) and Murmure (Hindi). It is made by roasting  the rice on hot sands. Its some thing like how pop corn is made from corn. It is eaten as a snack in most of India. Some snacks or dishes are also made out of it.


Read more on it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffed_rice

Now for the recipes...


1. Simple Recipe


Ingredients:
Puffed rice                    1 cup
Ghee (clarified butter)   1 tsp or 1 Tbsp
Salt                               To taste
Red chilli powder           1/2 tsp to 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder     1/2 tsp
Lemon juice                   to taste


Method:

• Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and serve. 
• Roast the puffed rice slightly in a pan to give it crispness.
• Alternately, while roasting add the ghee and other ingredients, mix well and serve.
• Depending upon the amount of the puffed rice and calorie counting, you can use 1tsp or 1 tbsp of ghee.
• If you are dieting and want to avoid calories, avoid ghee all together as lemon juice will help in binding the  spice powders.
• This is very easy to make, simple, low calorie, healthy snack one can eat any time.
• This is good for children too but adjust spices according to their taste.

More recipes to come ...keep an eye on my blog.....