Sweet Corn Pomegranate Salad

One of the sweetest monsoon memories of my childhood was eating 'Bhutta' or Corn on the Cob. No sooner did the rain gods arrive, these bhuttawalas used to miraculously spring up in various corners, diligently fanning & roasting bhutta's. For serving, it used to be spiced up by rubbing a lemon wedge dipped into a mixture of salt & red chilli powder. I and my friends used to crowd around a small bhutta cart near my school, eating hot corn while the rains lashed all around us.

So bhutta (which really requires a strong set of jaws) used to be my staple till I was introduced to soft and fleshy sweet corn. Those days my father used to work at Nariman point which is the business district of Mumbai. He ventured into a departmental store and bought this amazing stuff (which he explained to us as 'imported' and hence the superior look & feel). I still love a bhutta occasionally but it is sweet corn which has occupied a major place in my diet.

Sweet corn or more popularly American Sweet Corn is a variant of Maize (or Indian corn) in that it has more sugar and less starch. Sweet corn is picked up when it is immature and consumed as a vegetable.

Despite the loss of Vitamin C, it is best to consume 'cooked' sweet corn as it increases its antioxidant activity. Cooked sweet corn also releases increased levels of ferulic acid which provides health benefits, such as battling cancer.

The above information has been taken from Wikipedia.

The salad above contains cooked corn and hence to deal with the loss of Vitamin C, I have added Pomegranates which also adds crunchiness. Besides the dish too looks appetizing due to variety of colours.

You will need...

Sweet Corn - 1 cup (cooked)

Pomegranate seeds - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 (finely chopped)

Tomato - 1 (finely chopped)

Bell pepper - 1(finely chopped)

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 2 tsp

Coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together just before you serve.

If you dont have lemons you can substitute it with chaat masala. You can also add grated carrots (I didnt have one) to this salad. What you only need to do now is sit back and enjoy !