Corn Chaat Esquites
“E-lo-teee,” the Mexican street vendor would call out with the bells on his cart jingling in between. I’d run to flag him down before he’d pass by our apartments. He’d take out an ear of corn from a giant pot of hot water, dry it off a bit, and quickly slather the elote with all the usual fixins—butter, mayo, parmesan cheese (a substitute for cotija perhaps), chili, salt, and lime. There’s nothing about that mixture of ingredients that isn’t good. You’ve got the sweetness of corn, the tang of lime, the heat from chili, creaminess from mayo & butter, and saltiness from cheese. It wouldn’t be until much later that I’d come to know about the off-the-cob version with similar ingredients called esquites. Corn, a staple in many Latin cultures, was a popular side dish in my parents’ Indian home. I grew up in LA so we’d often have tacos for dinner—the hard shell kind you’d get at the large chain grocery store. (It would be many years later that I’d have an authentic Mexican taco.)
Corn, a staple in many Latin cultures, was a popular side dish in my parents’ Indian home.
My mom would fry the corn kernels in oil and call it a day. It was cheap, easy, and filling. But never did we ever think to add chaat masala. In fact, chaat masala wasn’t a common spice blend in our home. Garam masala yes, but chaat masala was a thing of specialty that you’d encounter only in Indian restaurants or in Ramadan fruit chaat once a year. I think because it was seen as extra and therefore too expensive to keep on hand. It hasn’t been until recently that I’ve experienced the joy of using chaat masala on everything from eggs to fruit to drinks. So what better way to accurately represent my childhood than corn chaat. This recipe cannot be easier to make and it’s delicious on its own or turned into a salad with lettuce added. You’ll want to make double the recipe and keep it for the next few days. If it lasts that is. Check out the history of corn below.
Corn Chaat Esquites
Makes: 4 servings (1/2 cup each)
Calories: About 140
Time: 20 mins
INGREDIENTS
4 ears corn (or 2 cups cooked kernels)
2 Tbs. mayonnaise
1 tsp. chaat masala
1/8 tsp. salt (to taste)
2 tsp. lime juice (half lime)
Cotija cheese
Cilantro
METHOD
Step 1
Turn on broiler to high. Peel the fresh corn ears and broil in a shallow pan for about 6 minutes. Turn over and cook for another 6 minutes. Some of the kernels will be brown but make sure the corn doesn’t completely burn. Cool the corn.
Step 2
Holding the base of the corn securely with a towel over a large bowl, scrape off the kernels with a sharp knife away from you and into the bowl. If you’re using frozen kernels, steam for a few minutes in the microwave until done, then dry completely with a paper towel.
Step 3
To the corn bowl, add the rest of the ingredients. Garnish with cotija cheese and cilantro. Refrigerate any leftovers and eat cold.
Ah-maize-ing
While early American settlers brought a majority of what they ate from the Old World (from Europe), there was one crop in particular that already existed in America and the Native Americans knew of it very well—maize or corn. Native Americans roasted corn and ground it to a meal to make cakes, breads, and porridges, among other things. In fact, 17th century recipes that referred to “Indian”—as in, Indian Bread, or Indian Pudding—meant corn bread or corn pudding. Maize was domesticated 10,000 years ago by the indigeneous people of southern Mexico. It arrived much later to North America around 200 AD. Christopher Columbus carried maize back on his ships and by 1500 it was being cultivated in Spain. Also during the 16th century, Portuguese traders carried the maize plant to East Africa and Asia, where Arab merchants were most likely responsible for its introduction to North America.
Source: One of my favorite books Cuisine & Culture by Linda Civitello
