Ashia Ismail-Singer’s newest book, The Laden Table, features her deliciously inspiring home-cooked dishes. Her recipes are simple and achievable, yet packed with flavour. Using fresh ingredients and some key spices that blend cultures and traditions (from Africa to India, the Middle East, France, the UK, and New Zealand), it’s a tantalising journey of recipes to enjoy whether at home or travelling. Below is her recipe for Masala Sweetcorn on the Cob.
Serves 6
These masala sweetcorn on the cob are a favourite in our family. We grew up eating them and the highlight was always sitting around the firepit and getting our hands messy.
Ingredients
- 3 sweetcorn cobs
- 2 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp white vinegar
Method
Remove the husks and silks from the corn. Boil in salty water until tender then set aside. If the cobs don’t fit in the saucepan, cut each cob in half.
Alternatively, remove a few of the outer husks. Place in microwave for 3 minutes (per cob). Remove with a clean tea towel – it will be hot! Using a large sharp knife, slice 1cm off the stem end (place the tea towel over the corn to hold it if it is still hot). Hold the silks and husks at the bottom end and gently squeeze the corn out of the husk. Voilà! No messy silks to deal with! Cut each cob in half.
In a deep-sided frying pan, add oil, chilli powder, salt, chilli flakes and vinegar. Sizzle for about a minute, taking care not to burn the spices, then add the cooked corn on the cob.
Turn to evenly coat the cobs, and leave on the heat for a couple of minutes. Serve hot.
Tip: You can par-cook the sweetcorn and then finish off on the barbecue, before you add them to the spicy sauce. You can easily double the recipe to serve more people. If you are microwaving the sweetcorn, you can pull back the husks, remove the silks and then brush with the chilli masala, leaving the husks attached when microwaving.
Recipe from The Laden Table: Recipes to share infused with spice by Ashia Ismail-Singer, photography by Lottie Hedley, published by Bateman Books, RRP $59.99
