HungryForever

CORN FRITTERS WITH YOGURT DIP

We’ve all got a can or two of corn lurking in a cabinet somewhere, and these thick savory pancakes show how easily you can transform them into an interesting light lunch or supper. The secret here is not to make the batter too wet. You are aiming for a balance of one-third batter to two-thirds filling.

Servings

Ingredients

cup ¾all-purpose flour
tsp ½baking powder
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 eggbeaten
cup ¼whole milk
olive oil
2 scallionstrimmed and thinly sliced
1 red chileseeded and finely chopped (see tip below)
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
One 8-ounce can corn kernelsdrained and dried on paper towels

FOR THE YOGURT DIP

1cup plain yogurt
½–1 red chileseeded and finely chopped, to taste
Juice of ½ lime
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

First, mix together all the ingredients for the dip. Taste and season with salt and pepper as necessary, then set aside.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix together, make a well in the middle, and add the egg and milk. Whisk, gradually bringing the flour into the wet mixture until it forms a smooth batter. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and whisk again until smooth, adding a little more milk if necessary.
Stir the scallions, chile, cilantro, and corn into the batter and mix well.
Heat a large frying pan and add a glug of oil. Put about ¼ cup of the mixture per fritter into the hot pan, pushing it down lightly. Fry in batches for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden. Keep warm.
Serve the warm fritters with the yogurt dip alongside.

HOW TO CHOP CHILES FINELY

Press a chile against a work surface and cut a line along its length, stopping just short of the stalk. Rotate the chile by an eighth of a turn and cut again. Repeat this until you have 8 cuts and the chile looks like a tassel when you hold it by the stalk. Now hold the chile down firmly with three fingers, the middle one slightly in front of the others, and, using the knuckle of your middle finger to guide the blade, slice across the chile, gradually working your way toward the stalk.