Makkai Parangikai Kari (Corn Curry)

This curry is meant to be made with corn and white pumpkin, but Iyer suggests the using the inner rind of a watermelon as an alternative to the pumpkin, so I decided to give that a go. We had lots of watermelon that needed to be used anyway, so I figured that saved me going out and trying to find another ingredient.

Makkai Parangikai Kari

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom seeds (from green pods)
• 2 fresh green¹ Thai, finger, or serrano chilies, stems removed
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 2 c. fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 450g white pumpkin (or inner watermelon rind), peeled and seeded and cut into 2cm cubes
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 12 fresh or frozen curry leaves
• 1 c. water

Directions

1. Combine ginger, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, chilies, and salt in a molcajete and grind/pound to form a pulpy paste.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
3. Add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they have stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
4. Add the coconut milk.
5. Stir in the paste from the molcajete, then remove from heat and allow mixture to sit for a minute or so.
6. Add the corn, pumpkin (or watermelon rind), cilantro, curry leaves, and water.
7. Return to heat and bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are fork tender (~15 minutes).
9. Serve topped with your favourite chutney. (I like sonth/tamarind-date chutney.)

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¹ I had a few leftover fresh red finger chilies on hand, so I just used those instead here. It changed the colour of the curry (making it more pinkish than green), but was very similar otherwise. ^Back