Bhutte Ka Kees / Grated Corn Snack

Bhutte ka kees is a healthy and delicious street food from the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Bhutta means corn and kees translate to grated, so it is basically a grated corn snack and is one of the most popular dishes in Indore city. Bhutte ka kees is onion-garlic free dish. It is usually served hot and serves great evening snack, especially during winters. The recipe is quick, simple, easy to follow and requires few basic ingredients.

I have many fond memories of my 2 1/2 year-long stay in Indore, 15 years back. It was the first place I moved to, with Kiran after our marriage. Kiran was working there in a Pharmaceutical firm at that time. Apart from its architectural marvels and historical past, Indore is extremely famous among foodies for its rich food culture. The street food hubs like Chappan Dukan and Sarafa Bazar serve a wide variety of local specialties like Poha, Jalebi, Garadu, Malpua, Masala Doodh, Bhutte ka Kees, Sabudana Khichadi etc. Sarafa Bazar is the only food street in India which is open till 2 am and is aptly called heaven for midnight foodies.

When Madhya Pradesh Cuisine was declared as the theme for this month on the Facebook group,  Shhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge, I knew for sure I would cook some street food from Indore. For my new readers, in this monthly event, bloggers are grouped in pairs and each pair exchanges a set of secret ingredients using which we have to cook the regional dish of that particular cuisine. The other group members take chance in guessing the secret ingredients just by looking at the picture of the dish until the recipe is published on the blog. For this month, my partner was,  Ashima Goyal, who blogs at My Weekend Kitchen. Do check out her space for some lovely recipes. She gave me 2 interesting ingredients milk and green chilly. Now usually we use milk in desserts but here in this recipe , milk is used in a savory dish along with green chilly. Bhutte ka kees turned out super yum and my family enjoyed it to the core. In return, I gave her peanuts and onion and she made Indori Poha, another classic dish. 

                                                     

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 2 large corn cobs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon ghee/oil
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 inch ginger piece grated
• Pinch of asafoetida /hing
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• grated fresh coconut for garnishing
• small bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped for garnishing
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Remove the husk from the corn cobs and grate them using a grater. If you are using sweet corn kernels, just make a coarse paste by pulsing it in a grinder jar without any liquid. 

  2.  Heat ghee/oil in a pan on medium flame. Add mustard seeds to it. Once the seeds splutter add the cumin seeds and allow them to crackle. Next tip in the green chilies and grated ginger. Saute for few seconds. Now lower the flame and add asafoetida and turmeric powder.

3. Add the grated corn along with its milk, if any. Mix well and stir fry the corn mixture on low to medium flame for 2-3 minutes.

4. Next, add milk to the corn mixture followed by salt and sugar ( if using). Mix everything very well and cover cook the mixture for 8-20 minutes. Keep stirring the mixture 2-3 times in between to ensure the mix has not dried up or stuck to the bottom of the pan,

5. Lastly, add lemon juice to the bhutte ka kees and garnish it with fresh coriander leaves and grated coconut. Spoon out the kees into individual bowls while still hot and serve immediately.

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For more dishes from Madhya Pradesh Cuisine, check out the following recipe links from my blog.

• Poha

                            

• Malpua

                            

• Masala Doodh

                            

• Sabudana Khichadi