Burnt Corn Salad..

Sometimes simple ingredients is all you need to put together a delightful recipe. During one of my evening walks along the beach i was drawn to the smell of burnt corn which made me forget about everything else ..

With summer approaching beach is full of these vendors roasting fresh and milky corn which is generally rubbed with lemon juice and a nice mix of salt and chilly powder..Yum!. The smell of burnt corn was lingering in my head that i went straight to the market and bought a nice lot of corn and decided to make a salad for dinner.

Salad is definitely a very important and favourite part of my meal. I need variety and it has to be super simple that i can toss it in a jiffy...

I go by the colours of the vegetable largely and textures too. This salad was inspired by the vendors on the beach.. I wanted similar taste but with some extra crunchiness of crisp vegetables .

So I took

2 Corns

2 Tomatoes
1 red onion

1/2 or 1 small capsicum

fresh bunch of coriander - 1/2 cup

ground cumin - 1 tsp
ground coriander - 1 tsp
salt to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
4 - 5 drops Tabasco

1/4 tsp lime juice

1. Finely cut the red onion

2. Grill the corn on gas stove or better in a coal grill ...till it is mildly burnt .

3. Cut the tomato in half horizontally and squeeze gently to remove seeds ; chop finely

4. Remove membrane and seeds from capsicum and chop finely.

5. Place the ground coriander and cumin an a small pan, stir over medium heat for one minute to enhance fragrance and flavour; cool.

6. Add all the ingredients to the corn in a salad bowl and gently combine . Refrigerate it and serve chill . It also tastes good at room temperature.

Well it certainly has Indian taste and flavour . I would have loved to add a bit of raw mango for the sourness..but i guess i will have to wait till may for it. Still it became a substantial dinner for me last night along with a bowl of pumpkin soup.

Goodness in a bowl...

Well, frankly i am not at all a porridge person. I hate the texture , the smell and the idea of adding milk in it...
I would run miles at the sight of porridge in any buffet and often wondered its presence among croissants, jam filled donuts, buttered toast, and muffins. Absolute misfit! wont you agree!!.

So when my dear friend 's' who is helping me shed my flab suggested that i should definitely reconsider my opinion - :-((( it was hard!!.


But truly i have been so biased!. Also when i followed her recipe i realised i have not been doing it right either. I think i was over doing on the milk and the quantity of oats often ending up with a mushy mess !. Of course i agree it is individual taste. I like mine when it is not too thick and gooey. I like it when it is more on the saucy and syrupy side. But the most interesting part to the recipe was adding seeds to it!.

Now we all know the goodness of flax seeds -and sunflower seeds

-Increased energy
-Lowered blood cholesterol
-Lowered high blood pressure
-Sense of calmness under stress - that's something i can do with!!
-Cancer fighting
-Increased metabolic rate with a positive impact on weight management - that's it ! my search ends here!!!!

So now for the recipe you will need -

2 -tbsp oats
Milk as required
1/2 tsp of brown sugar / honey
2 tbsp of sunflower seeds
2 tbsp of flax seeds
2 tbsp of raisins
and a dash of cinnamon - for flavouring.

I soaked the oats in water for few mins and added milk and cooked it to for few mins till it is well cooked and added all the other ings - flax seeds, brown sugar sunflower seeds and raisins and mixed it together and enjoy!

The nutty and crunchy texture of the seeds and the mild sweetness of the raisins and the sweet smell of cinnamon - all put together certainly makes me enjoy my breakfast these days!

So here you have the bowl of goodness!