Corn is the Miss Popularity of the vegetable World. It seems to be the vegetable that no one rejects, even the pickiest eaters, even guys who don't "eat" vegetables, and I don't mean that in the ironic hipster sense. But speaking of hipsters, I once cooked dinner for a couple of hipster P.A.s. One guy warned me ahead of time he didn't eat vegetables so therefore I should only give him what he would eat. Meat.
Surely I thought this wasn't possible. There had to be one freakin' vegetable this kid would eat. Some plant matter had to make its way into his digestive system besides beer nuts and Doritos. So I asked him if he ate corn. "Yeah, well corn isn't really a vegetable" I was told. Dude, unless you have to hunt it down and chase it to get it into your mouth, it's a vegetable. So, it turned out there was something green and growing that he'd eat. Corn. Busted.
Corn is probably one of the easiest things in the world to cook. Fresh shucked, 2 minutes into boiling water and out. That's it. Of course there are more complicated ways of making corn, roasting, grilling, dry-rubbing with spices. All of them delicious. Almost every cuisine has a recipe for corn and Indian cuisine is no exception. One of the best is a traditional Indian corn salad made with coconut. Easy, Fast perfect for Summer eating, it's another great make-ahead dish, and who doesn't want to take some of the pressure off cooking at this time of year.
I served this corn as one of the dishes at an all vegan tasting menu at our house a couple of weeks ago. It works just as well with any backyard barbecue menu and is a great alternative to the usual grilled corn. —Kathy Gori
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