These makai tikkis are great as appetizers or cocktail snacks and go really fast. They can be simply served with ketchup or any chili sauce of your choice.
Makai Tikkis or corn kebabs as some call them appeared on catering menus almost two decades ago, and were a delectable offering that were difficult to ignore. Now we see Makai tikki on almost every restaurant menu, but alas they are becoming unhealthier and tasteless day by day.
The versions we get at the few take out places we frequent are mostly laden with some kind of flour, over spiced, and deep fried. You would be lucky to see any actual corn in them.
I had two large corn on the cobs ( or corns on the cob?) lying around, and a lazy Saturday evening ahead. Everyone welcomed the thought of fresh munchies while watching a nice movie. The recipe is simple and lightly spiced, since sweet corn has a subtle flavor that can be easily overpowered by spices, and I wanted the natural corn flavor to come through.
I am using partially creamed corn, but with a few kernels still intact, and then the usual base of potatoes and grated paneer. Paneer can absolutely be left out to veganize this dish. You can use tofu instead of paneer, though it will not give the same taste and texture. You can use half a cup cashew paste, however, to get a similar rich flavor.
I am using fresh boiled corn, but frozen corn or canned corn will also do. The fresh will give the best flavor. Fresh minced garlic, and dried onion flakes along with some coriander powder provide the spice base.
I am using my favorite ‘Appe patra ‘ or Ableskiver pan to make these. This pan is very handy and I get tikkis that are crispy on the outside using only a few drops of oil for each batch. You have to patiently keep turning the fritters or tikkis till you get uniformly crisped balls.
You can always deep fry these makai tikkis, if you do not care about how much oil you use. Alternately, these can be placed in neat rows on a sheet pan, sprayed with PAM etc. and baked in a 350F deg oven ( turned periodically). I got about 4 batches i.e 28-30 of these from these recipes, but they disappeared pretty fast.
The detailed recipe is as follows –
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:29]
These makai tikkis or corn fritters or corn balls are very soft on the inside and literally melt in your mouth. These are great as a party appetizer and can also be served with a toothpick inserted in them.
I hope you try this recipe for makai tikkis and let me know how it turns out.
I am married to someone named Kamal who loves corn fritters! Maybe I should make her some using this recipe!