Corn Vada Recipe – Sweet Corn Fritters

• Boiled Sweet corn  – 1 cup ( frozen corn can also be used)
• Red chillies – 2 nos ( use 3-4 for more spice)
• Hing/Asafetida OR Garlic – A pinch/ 2 cloves
• Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – as needed

To mix in vada batter

• Big onion – 1no  ( chopped finely)
• Coriander leaves – few ( –do-)
• Corn flour or rice flour – 3-4 tbsp

Cooking oil – to deep fry

• Peel the sweet corn and pressure cook it adding enough water and salt. Remove the corn cob and take out the kernels.Use a knife and scrape it from one to another end. Kernels will get off easily. ( U can use frozen sweet corn too)

• Reserve 1/4 cup of boiled corn.Take the remaining 3/4 th cup of cooked sweet corn in a mixie jar. Add pinched red chillies, garlic cloves or hing, fennel seeds and grind to a coarse paste without adding water.
• For variations, you can grind raw,unboiled corn with spices and make vada.In that case, do not add whole corns. Just grind the entire 1 cup of corn kernels. As I had boiled corn in hand, I changed the original recipe.( Andhra style recipe calls for grinding raw corn)

• Remove the ground vada batter in a bowl. Add the reserved 1/4 cup of sweet corn, finely chopped big onion, coriander leaves.Batter would be too sticky.So add corn flour and mix well. Make sure you don’t add more corn flour and make the batter dry.Add little salt, Mix well. Check for taste.

• Take a small ball shaped vada batter. Pat it slightly and set aside.Heat oil in a kadai and when it gets heated , drop 3-4 vada and deep fry in batches.

• Stand a feet away because some whole corn may burst. Cook both the sides in medium flame till onion in the vada turns golden brown. Do not wait for all the bubbles to cease. ( Some whole sweet corn may tend to burst when it cooks inside the oil. So do not stand very near to the kadai while deep frying). Remove from the oil and drain in a tissue paper.Enjoy eating hot with tomato ketchup!

• For variations, you can grind raw,unboiled corn with spices and make vada.In that case, do not add whole corns. Just grind the entire 1 cup of corn kernels. As I had boiled corn in hand, I changed the original recipe.
• Add more chillies if you like spicy vada.
• You can replace corn flour with rice flour. You can also add 2 tsp of maida for binding.
• Use finely chopped mint leaves for more flavorful vada.