Ghee Polenta with Kurkuri Bhindi
It’s really hard to escape fresh sweet corn when in season during summer. In India, every time we would go for long drives, usually out of city there will carts selling fresh corn with lots of chaat masala, lemon and chili powder. Yes, that’s how we eat freshly grilled corn. I love anything made out of corn.
We make something we call Corn ‘Khichdi’ or ‘Chevdo’. Something that’s made with fresh corn. It would often make an appearance in our house during corn season.
This recipe also reminds me of those familiar flavors but slightly in variation. While we would add more flavors, I have kept it simple. But I have topped it with Crispy fried/baked Okra.
You will love this preparation, as much as I do. There is so much flavor and texture in this dish even though it’s simple in so many ways. You can top it off with anything else of your choice, but I would encourage you to try it this way.
The Kurkuri (crispy) Bhindi (okra) is ideally deep fried but I tried baking it and it works perfectly fine.
The polenta itself, is super simple and quick to make. I have used fresh corn and a very small quantity of corn meal too. Usually, the methods I have seen asks you boil the corn kernels and then you blend it in food processor. But I would suggest saving time and extra step, to just grate your corn cobs and whatever milk/corn kernels you get after grating use as is. We are literally saving time but also not wasting any corn.
Traditional polenta takes much longer and more liquid to cook. But that also taste very comforting. It reminds me of a dish called Upma.
In terms of dairy, you can use any other cheese feta, goat cheese, sour cream, etc. I have used parmesan. You can also use nay other herbs like thyme, sage, or basil. Do what pleases your palate.
This dish will be on repeat for me until I am tired of corn, which probably is not going to happen.
Hope you like this creation. Enjoy!
Ghee Polenta with Kurkuri Bhindi
Ingredients
Polenta
- 5-6 medium, sized corn
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 tbsp corn meal
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- salt to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp parsley use any herbs
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
Kurkuri Bhindi/ Crispy Okra
- 200 gr Okra 18-20
- 1 small onion
- 2 tbsp chickpea flour
- 1 tbsp corn starch or rice flour
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- Few pinch Chaat masala
- lemon
Instructions
Kurkuri Bhindi
- Pre heat oven to 400 F. Wash okra and dry it very well with the help of a kitchen towel. Cut it into thin strips, lengthwise. Chop the onions also in thin slices. Leave it aside.
- In a bowl, add the chickpea flour, cornstarch, spices, salt. Leave out chaat masala. We will use it later.
- Whisk the flour and spices properly, then add the okra and onions and mix it all very well to make sure they are coated well with the flour and spices.
- Spray a baking tray with oil. Spread out the okra mix and bake it for about 15 minutes or until it is crispy.
- Every oven reacts differently, so you may be done in 10 minutes or might need 5 more minutes. Check after 10 mins to make sure you don’t burn it. Once it is crispy and baked. Remove it and let it cool down a bit. I always use a timer, even if it is for few minutes because you can get carried away while doing something else.
Polenta
- While that’s baking we will make polenta.
- Remove the husks and silk from the corn. With the help of a grater, grate the corn cobs.
- Heat ½ tbsp ghee in a pan, add the cherry tomatoes, and cook them for few seconds on each side and remove them in a plate. Now, add rest of the ghee, grated corn with all the milk from corn that is released while grating and cook it for few minutes on low heat stirring until the mixture thickens and starts leaving the sides of the pan and there is no liquid left in the pan, fold in the rest of the ingredients and stir everything well. Stop cooking when you get the consistency to your liking.
- Serve it in a dish, top it off with tomatoes and okra, sprinkle chaat masala on the okra. If you do not have chaat masala, use lemon. Enjoy!
XO,Devangi