Spicy Roasted Corn - Bhutta (* category winner of salon dot com Kitchen Challenge)

Glorious corn!

It is available to us in so many delicious forms. One of my favorite ways to eat it is roasted. It is fresh, hot and messy (for those who like to get their hands dirty while eating like me). Corn on the cob is a street food in most cultures where it is available. In my present home of New York city, 'Hot Corn Girls' of the early 19th century were the predecessors of the present day hot dog vendors.  

My earliest association of this food takes me back to the streets of South-East Asia. The spice rub used in this preparation was for me, by far, the most delicious version. The corn vendors appeared on the roadsides at the onset of the monsoon season. The bright, savory and tart taste was a perfect accompaniment to the overcast, ominous skies. Today, as these streets are being battered by incessant rains and floods, I share my spiced recipe as a tribute to these vendors in particular and the resilience of the human spirit in general, whether it is in the face of tsunamis, hurricanes or floods.


Ingredients:
4 corn on the cob
2 lemons
1 tbsp melted butter


Spice rub:
2 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp red chilli pepper
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp amchoor (mango powder- available at most Indian grocery stores), optional


Serves 4

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Shuck the corn, removing the husk and corn silk. Lay the corn in the oven on foil and roast for 10 minutes each side.  Remove, lightly brush with butter and put back in the oven changing the setting to broil high. Broil each side for about 3 minutes.

Separately, mix all the spice mix ingredients and slice the lemon into two halves.

Remove the corn from the oven when nicely browning. Lightly squeeze the lemon and use the juice to absorb the spice mix and apply directly to the corn on the cob.

Serve piping hot. 

Note: For more information on the SA floods and to contribute in any way, please visit http://www.mercycorps.org/ or http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ 


http://www.salon.com/food/recipes/2010/08/16/asian_spiced_roasted_corn_on_the_cob