Corn on the Cob Desi Style

Petrichor. That word describes one of my most favourite aromas in the world. Its the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain. That beautiful sweet, fresh, earthy fragrance that really makes me giddy with joy. 

In India, as soon as the rainy season begins, this beautiful fragrance envelops us announcing the arrival of those tiny little wet droplets that would soon fall on our faces and make the trees dance with delight. 

And with the arrival of the monsoons, a few other aromas are so strongly associated with it. Ever since I was a small kid, I remember how my mom would be charring/ roasting the corn on the open flame. If I close my eyes right now, I still smell it. 

How A-maize-ing is that! 

Along with that I also remember how pretty the green ears of the corn looked against the grey skies.... pardon my digression but I love sharing these little details about myself with you. 

Coming back to the recipe today; well it really isn't a recipe technically, but I was so eager to share this with you. Its just a very Indian way of making corn on the cob at home. 

I just pluck out the ears of the corn. Don't you just love the fresh lime green colour of them! And look at those beautiful golden sweet kernels! Ahhh.... the sweet simple pleasures of life! 

Just be extremely careful while doing this since you'll be dealing with direct fire. Use tongs and try wearing gloves if possible. 

Place the corn cob on the flame directly. Make sure its on the lowest heat. You'll see how the corn starts to blister and char. A rogue corn kernel might burst, but not to worry, it won't harm you if you are maintaining a distance. 

Keep turning the corn and moving it up and down every 10 seconds or so. The entire corn should take about 4-5 minutes of roasting and its cooked! I prefer mine to be slightly more charred than usual. My dad prefers it even more than this. 

To eat, simple seasoning is the best. Just a squeeze of a little lime combined with some salt and some red chili powder or smoked paprika and you're set! 

Bite into the soft, sweet, charred kernels...... so yum!! It personifies monsoons for me. And the best part is, you get all the healthy nutrition sans those buttered seasonings! Happy Monsoons indeed!! 

Indulge!