Exploring Madhya Pradesh cuisine this month with my fellow food bloggers on the Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge Group, I am once more amazed at the sheer variety in Indian cuisine. Not only does each region in India have its own distinct set of food influenced by the environment, climate and availability of produce, each Indian State again has several different types of food preparations. This Makai Ki Sabzi is just one item out of the many that comprise the rich repertoire of food that Madhya Pradesh has to offer.
Indore and its street food are well known among foodies. Madhya Pradesh’s cuisine is not however limited to Indore. We have other parts of the State with their delicious offerings: Bhopal with its Achar Gosht, Keema Pulav, Bafla, and not the least – Bhopali Paan! Creamy Shikanji, Litti Chokha from Satna with its UP and Bihari influences; Etawa (Bina) with Kheer Puri, Bhutte ka Khees, Dal Puri;  Jabalpur with its Carrot and Peas Pilaf, Malpua, Khoa Jalebi; Khanwa with Palak Puri, Kusli, Lavang Lata. Indore of course has a plethora of dishes to tempt the discerning foodie: Poha-Jalebi, Moong Bhajiya, Kachori, Samosa, Dabeli, Sabudana Khichidi, Daal Bafla, Khopra Patties and a long list of namkeens.
With fresh corn available in plenty at this season, I was glad when my partner for this month’s challenge on the Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge Group, the vivacious Veena Krishna Kumar, gave me as the two secret ingredients, corn and salt.
Butte ka Khees is a popular item from Madhya Pradesh but I didn’t want to make a sweet dish or one with milk in it. A little bit of research suggested Makai Ki Sabzi instead.
Once I posted the image of the Makai Ki Sabzi on our group, the other members guessed the secret ingredients without too much difficulty. Vidya Narayan is on fire nowadays and guesses most of the ingredients of images we post quite easily. Renu Agrawal Dongre guessed ‘salt’ correctly. It is a lot of fun, being in this group!
My partner for this month is Veena Krishna Kumar. Veena and I had met at a class for Sourdough bread baking, but I have been familiar with her blog, VeenasVegnation  even before we met. The blog has 500+ posts, with a wide variety – from South Indian recipes to those from other parts of India as well from other countries – Sri Lanka, Singapore etc. Do check out her blog. for interesting recipes like the one for Walnut Dosai Milagai Podi! For Veena, I suggested as the secret ingredients, flour and chilli and she has turned out this step by step recipe for Dal Bafla, a speciality from Madhya Pradesh.Â
This month I also had the privilege of selecting the secret ingredients for our popular member, Mayuri Patel. Mayuri blogs at Mayuri’s Jikoni. Have you browsed her site? It truly is a place where meals and memories are made. It has hundreds of recipes ranging from nourishing soups and salads to delectable food from Gujarati cuisine, as well as recipes from many regions of India and from other parts of the World. Check out the amazing array of Indian Breads she has posted for the A-Z challenge she participated in, you won’t be disappointed! For Mayuri, the ingredients I suggested were oil and chilli. I do like to give fairly common ingredients to give my partners a wider choice of what to make. See what good use Mayuri has made of these two ingredients to make Indori Sev Tamatar Sabji, using the oil effectively to make sev.
About the recipe for Makai Ki Sabzi:
This is a very simple curry, with its flavours created by the fresh corn. I grated the corn from its cob and then sautéed the creamy sweet grated corn with basic spices. No onions or tomatoes or any other vegetable is required, the curry has all the great taste one would want.
If you liked this recipe, you may be interested in other recipes from the blog:Vegetable Au Gratin – Vegetables baked in a creamy white sauce
Makai Ki Sabzi - Spicy Masala Corn Curry
Ingredients
- 2 cobs corn - 1.5 cups when grated
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- a few curry leaves
- 1 green chilli - sliced
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon salt - or to taste
- ½ cup coriander leaves - minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Peel the husk (leaves) and silky threads from the cobs. Grate the corn using the large holes of a grater. Collect the grated corn in a bowl and set aside till required. Slice the chillies and mince the coriander leaves
- Heat the oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and once they crackle, add the cumin seeds. As the cumin seeds begin to darken, add curry leaves. Add the green chillies and turn them so that they scald on all sides. Keeping the gas flame on low, add the masalas one by one and stir: turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Stir till the raw pungent smell of the masalas has disappeared (about 1 minute)
- Add the grated corn and still keeping the gas on low, sauté, stirring frequently as the corn can catch at the bottom of the pan. Wehn the mixture begins to look dry (about 5 minutes) add 2 tablespoons of water and the salt. Stir frequently and cook till the corn is soft and tender and most of the water has evaporated. By now the masalas would have blended in.
- Once the gravy thickens, turn off the heat and transfer the curry to a serving dish. Garnish with minced coriander and add lemon juice. Serve with rice or with chappati. I did have some in a wrap, and it was really yum!
wow sujatha. You remembered our sough dough class. Almost a year now. This masaledaar version of corn subzi looks too inviting. Bookmarked!!!
Thank you Veena. Of course I remember, and what a fun day it was.
I like corn and this is so tempting. Tastes good with hot phulkas
Thank you Jayashree! Yes it does taste good with hot phulkas as well as with dal and rice!
Masaledar makai ki sabzi sounds perfect treat for spice lovers like me. Would love to give it a try soon. Thanks for the share di .
Thank you Poonam. Nice to use the same ingredients in different ways!
Wow! I now know what I will be picking up in the market this Sunday! Thanks this is one delicious recipe that I can use and of course tweak! Great share Sujataji.
Thank you so much! It’s nice to have a variety of recipes to cook from, isn’t it!
So similar, yet so different from bhutte ke kees. New curry for me and we are corn lovers, so sure to try this sometime soon 🙂
Thank you, Kalyani! Its the first time Ive made a curry from corn, and I enjoyed it!
I love corn in anything. And this curry looks spicy and mouthwatering. Enjoyed your write up. Its something similar to bhutte ki kees. Loved the detailed recipe. Now I want some corn to try it. Awesome share.
Thank you Sujata Roy. I was a little hesitant about grating the corn, I thought it would be difficult, but actually it was a breeze!
such an interesting recipe…loved it
Thank you so much!
Even I tried this recipe and love your spicy version.. Sounds delicious !
Thank you, Priya!
I am always baffled about what to do with corn beyond eating is on the cob after it has been roasted on coals. This spicy sabzi answers that question and appeals to me because of the “spicy” bit.
One for the to-do list.
Isn’t it nice to find new ways of using our favourite veggies and fruits!
I think the only difficult part in making this dish is grating the corn. Otherwise it is such a simple dish. Your pic is super tempting.
Yes Anu, the grating is the only ‘job’ in making this corn sabzi. However its actually very easy, takes just a few minutes as the corn easily gets grated.
I love the way there is a contrast between the popular Butte ke kees and the makai ki sabji. One screams comfort and the other flavour… I will soon try this masalaedaar vesion.
Thank you! I should try the butte ke kees one too!
Though grating corn is a tedious work, am sure this makai ki sabzi is definitely worth to try. I can have some rotis with this curry without any fuss.
Thank you, Priya. As I was telling other readers, the grating is actually quite easy, I was able to grate each part with just a swipe against the grater!
Voww anythg with corn will be heavenly… Urs look delicious n can be gone with few hot rotis😋.. Very nice one
Thank you so much, Prathima. It did taste great with hot rotis!
The makai sabzi looks delightful! An easy dish for those lazy dinners…
Thanks a lot, Rafeeda! Its a nice dish to add to ones list of curries, easy and tasty!
Firstly, the sabzi looks amazing and thank you for that lovely tag of “being on fire these days” ha ha .. quite enjoyed reading that about me. I have to try this soon now post Diwali and btw, the book in the background is excellent.
Thank you Vidya! And yes, you do keep us on our toes to try and guess some ingredients before you do!
This recipe looks so easy to make and yet looks delicious. I have never grated the corn in this way, would try it.
Thank you Renu! This was a new method for me too, and the curry had a lovely texture
I like using corn a lot. This is a new recipe for me.. I always make makai ki sabzi with whole corn kernels but I’m sure grated corn adds a nice a texture.. will try it next time!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Ashima! Yes grating the corn makes a difference in texture and in cooking speed too!
Yummmm! The Makai Ki Sabzi looks so good! 　 Bookmarked the recipe to try out later.
Thank you Priya! I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!
Looks so delicious.. my hubby loves corn. I will make it for him.
Thank you Shobha! Earlier I had only made soups with corn – first time I made a subzi!
I’ve never thought of making a corn curry with grated corn. This curry looks so tempting and its a no fuss curry. No tomatoes used and flavorful. Just the kind of curry I’d like to make for my brother as he hates to chew corn, so will avoid a normal corn curry.
Thank you Mayuri! It tastes so good when fresh corn is used!