Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Gujarati Vaghara Makkai
Gujarati Vaghara Makkai (Spicy Sweetcorn with Ginger & Green Chilli)

Gujarati Vaghara Makkai

Spicy Sweetcorn with Ginger & Green Chilli
VegetarianOrigin Gujarat

Sweetcorn coated in a ginger-green chilli paste with a mustard-seed tempering, finished with lime and crushed peanuts. It tastes sweet, spicy and tangy, with a little crunch.

Whole spices for the tempering

3.8 gAdded to the hot oil at the start (step 2)
01
~0.3 gpinch
spice
02
3.5 g1 teaspoon
spice
Keep whole: add them together to the hot oil.

Turmeric for the paste

3 gStirred in after the chilli-ginger paste is fried (step 4)
01
3 g1 teaspoon
spice
Keep ground: stir it in on its own.

Everything else

01
520 g
vegetable
02
40 g3 tablespoons
oil/fat
03
to taste
salt
04
Coriander · Dhaniafinely chopped
1.5 g1 tablespoon
herb
05
Peanut · Moongphaliroasted, crushed
9 g1 tablespoon
nut/seed
06
25 g½ lime
fruit
07
1.5 g1 chilli
vegetable
08
Garlic · Lehsunroughly chopped
9 g3 cloves
aromatic
09
Fresh ginger · Adrakroughly chopped
20 g5 cm
aromatic

Method

  1. Blend 2 g green bird's-eye chilli, 9 g garlic, 10 g ginger and about 3 tbsp of the 520 g sweetcorn to a coarse paste. Set aside.
  2. Heat 40.5 g vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the whole spices for the tempering (0.3 g asafoetida and 3.5 g black mustard seed) and fry for a few seconds until they crackle.
  3. Add the chilli-ginger paste and fry for 1 minute, stirring.
  4. Stir in the turmeric for the paste (3 g ground turmeric), then add the rest of the 520 g sweetcorn and fry for 2 minutes.
  5. Lower the heat, season with salt, and add 1.5 g coriander and 9 g crushed roasted peanut. Cover and cook for 1 minute.
  6. Stir in 25 g lime juice and serve warm.

Don't have something?

Sweetcorn kernel
  • Canned sweetcorn kernel

    Use the same drained weight; rinse and add near the end so it does not overcook.

  • Fresh sweetcorn

    Use the same weight of kernels, boiled for 3–5 minutes before adding; it is crunchier and sweeter.

  • Frozen peas

    Use the same weight as a quick stand-in in mixed vegetable dishes; colour and sweetness differ, so adjust salt and spices.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Asafoetida
  • Garlic powder

    Use double the weight. Stir into hot oil just before adding wet ingredients; mimics the allium savoury background without the sulphurous edge.

  • Garlic paste

    Use 2 g for every 0.5 g of asafoetida. Sauté in oil until the raw smell clears; adds moisture and sweet allium depth.

Black mustard seed
  • Mustard seeds

    Use equal weight. Pop in hot fat until they crackle and turn greyish; yields an almost identical nutty, pungent finish.

  • Yellow mustard seeds

    Use equal weight. Fry over medium heat; delivers a milder, sweeter pop and turns bitter quickly if the oil is excessively hot.

Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

Coriander
  • Coriander leaf

    Use equal weight, chopped fresh and stirred in off the heat or used as garnish. Matches the citrus-herbal profile identically.

  • Mint

    Use 40% to 50% of the weight; chop finely and add at the very end. Adds fresh herbal brightness, but shifts the aroma toward cool menthol.

Peanut
  • Roasted peanut

    Use the same weight; adjust salt if they are already salted, and crush or grind as the recipe asks.

  • Cashew nut

    Use the same weight; they are richer and softer, so roast for a shorter time and reduce added fat.

  • Almond

    Use the same weight; blanch and peel for sauces, or chop for texture. They are firmer and less oily.

Lime
  • Lemon

    Use the same weight; sharper and less floral, so reduce any extra souring slightly.

  • Lemon juice

    Use about 30 g juice per lime (2 tbsp), strain pips; add at the end for fresh sourness.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 1 g amchoor for about 15 g lime juice; add early with spices; gives dry mango sourness, not citrus aroma.

Green bird's eye chilli
  • Bird's eye green chilli

    Use the same weight; heat and flavour are very close.

  • Green chilli

    Use 1.5 to 2 times the weight; deseed for less heat. Larger chillies are more watery.

  • Fresh green chilli

    Use 1.5 to 2 times the weight; chop finely and adjust heat by tasting.

Garlic
  • Garlic paste

    Use equal weight. Fry gently in oil or ghee with the ginger; incorporates smoothly into curries without visible minced bits.

  • Garlic powder

    Use 15% to 20% of the weight (about 1 g for every 5 to 6 g fresh cloves). Whisk into sauces; gives a savoury, toasted garlic flavour without raw pungency.

  • Shallot

    Use 1.5 times the weight, very finely minced. Sauté until golden; provides savoury allium sweetness, though it lacks garlic's pungent sulphur bite.

Fresh ginger
  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

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Indore Bhutte Ki Kees tastes creamy and tangy from chaat masala with whole-spice aroma, while this dish is tangy from lime with a peanut crunch.
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Gujarati Moong Dal Dhokla tastes tangy, savoury and lightly sweet with a moist crumb, while this dish tastes sweet, spicy and tangy with a little crunch.
  • Same: Gujarati Moong Dal Dhokla shares ginger, green bird's-eye chilli, lime, vegetable oil, asafoetida, black mustard seed and coriander with this dish, and both use a mustard-seed tempering and lime as the souring agent.
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