Apart from the intoxicating petrichor, the highlight of every monsoon would be biting into coal roasted bhutta/corn on the cob, dal vada and this Lili Makkai no Chevdo ( not to be confused with cornflakes chivda) as we call it or Makkai ni Khichri as it is also known as. Mum made it the best. Once the seasonal desi corn arrived, the freshest and milky ones were selected, grated and cooked in milk, the treasured cashews and raisins fried to perfection were added to it, the spice level was kept minimal and the sweetness of the desi corn was balanced with a squirt of lemon juice. Mother always cooked the corn in milk. The Makkai no Chevdo is a sunshine in a bowl. It is an absolute joy to enjoy a bowl of it when it is raining. There is a mention of desi Makkai here, the one with ivory coloured kernels, a little chewy and meaty and milky. The term used to describe its kernels was ‘doodhiya/milky’. We awaited the arrival of rains, with it all the seasonal produce, corn being the highlight of the season, it ruled the snack menu during the monsoons. The Makai ni panki, Makkai ni cutlets had to be devoured every monsoon, it was a rule we followed to the T. This was at a time when we had not even heard of something called the American Sweet Corn, the omnipresent, overtly sweet corn variety we have access to all through the year.
Do we have an idea on the enormous amount of heirloom varieties have we lost in our greed for more and most foods to be enjoyed around the year, do we realise how much crap we consume when we choose to eat unseasonal foods!! Trust me, no traditional Makkai food preparation is same without the traditional bhutta that are so so hard to find these days. I hope we understand the need to preserve local varieties of produce, I hope we demand more of that and I hope we learn to respect the traditional wisdom and wait for the right season and consume seasonal produce!! The last slide is about the way desi corn seeds are preserved in Gujarati countryside
Lili Makai no Chevdo
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated desi makkai/butta (select very tender corn)
- 3/4 to 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons oil, I use peanut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 green chillies
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 1 spring curry leaves, 8-10 leaves
- 1 inch stick cinnamon
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
- 1/4 teaspoon hing
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup coriander, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh coconut, grated
Instructions
Prepare and measure the ingredients before beginning.
Mince or paste the green chillies and ginger. If you wish you can add chopped green chillies instead of minced or paste.
Cook this entire recipe on a low heat. It is important that you don't burn the curry leaves and
Place a heavy bottom pan or a kadai on medium flame.
Add the oil, once it heats up first fry the cashews to golden brown. Remove from oil and set aside. Similarly fry the raisins, remove from oil once they plump up. Set them aside too.
Now add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick and after they splutter add the curry leaves, hing, turmeric powder and grated corn in quick succession.
Sauté the corn in the oil for 3-4 minutes and all the milk. Cook the corn + milk mixture on a very low flame, stirring almost continuously till the corn has cooked. If you are using American Sweet corn you might not need to cook as much but the desi corn will take time to cook. Add salt and continue to cook. Once you see oil on the top or sides and the milk all soaked up the makai chevdo is cooked.
Now add the lemon juice and sugar (again, less if you are using American sweet corn) to balance the flavours. Add the cashews and raisins. Mix well.
Cook for a couple of minutes and turn off the flame.
Serve the Makai no Chevdo warm garnished with coriander and grated fresh coconut.
Notes
Indian desi corn is best suited for this recipe. Select teder desi bhutta to make this recipe. If using desi corn you might need to increase the amount of milk to 1 cup.
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