6 Aug 2010

Corn on the cob in a spicy tomato and peanut sauce


To my mind there are only two ways to eat corn on the cob:
  1. Cook the corn on the barbeque.  Then dip a wedge of lemon into a bowl of salt and chilli powder and smear it all over the corn.  It will make your lips burn but the flavours pop and I am drooling as I type.
  2. This recipe from my mother.  Your lips won't burn as much but the flavours are distinctive and the combination of tomatoes, nuts and corn create a thick sauce with a variety of textures.  This isn't the most elegant dish - you have to dive in and eat it with your fingers and your face will be covered with the sauce but it is definitely worth it!

Serves 2 as a main course 

Ingredients 

To cook the corn

  • 2 sweet corn cobs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
To cook the sauce
  • 1 tablespoon light tasting vegetable oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 medium red onion - chopped
  • 1 small green chilli - chopped
  • 5 grams ginger - peeled and grated
  • 1 clove garlic - crushed
  • 20 grams uncooked peanuts - coarsely chopped
  • 225 grams canned chopped tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 125 millilitres water
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander-cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Method
  1. Cut the corn cobs in half and place them in a pan.  Cover with water and add the salt and turmeric.  Stir and then place a lid on the pan.  Let the sweetcorn boil for 20 minutes.
  2. In a separate pan heat the vegetable oil.
  3. Add the cumin seeds and let them cook for a minute or two.
  4. Add the chopped onion and let them cook until transparent.
  5. Now add the green chilli, ginger, garlic and peanuts.  Stir and let them cook for a few minutes.
  6. Add the tomatoes, lemon juice, water, chilli powder, coriander-cumin powder, salt and turmeric.  Stir well.
  7. Drain the sweet corn cobs and add them to the pan with the tomato sauce.  Stir again.  The sauce will probably not cover the corn cobs but that is okay.  Place a lid on the pan and let it cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
  8. Serve immediately.

8 comments:

  1. yum! corn is one of my favourite summer vegetables. this looks fantastic!

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  2. Hi Laurel. I love corn too - hope you enjoy it! Reena

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  3. I like the chili powder and salt too, only instead of lemon, I use a lime. Try it sometime, it's fantastic.

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  4. This looks wonderful! The sauce sounds like I would love to eat it with anything and everything:) Hope you've had a lovely summer!

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  5. Hi Tiina. I've had a lovely summer thank you. I've been loving following your blog too! Beautiful photos and lovely lifestyle! Hope to see you soon. Reena

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  6. Hi ***. Lime sounds fab - will try it next time we have sweet corn. I'm beginning to drool... Reena

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  7. That's the first time I try one of your recipes and it was a true success!

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  8. Hi Anonymous. Glad that it worked for you. Hopefully you'll feel inspired to try some of the other recipes. Take care. Reena

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