Corn Ambode
These Corn Ambode (Vada) are crisp on the outside and fluffy inside, with a delicious aroma of spices and herbs. They are made with corn kernels, chana dal (Bengal gram), spices, fresh mint leaves and coriander leaves. They are spicy, herby and taste amazing on their own but can be served with a spicy chutney or coconut chutney and masala chai. You can also make the batter ahead and refrigerate for 2 days.
About Corn Ambode
These Corn Vada are great to serve for parties or when you have guests home. They are quick to make and won’t take up much time like the traditional Medu Vada. The only time consuming part is soaking the lentils for 1 to 1½ hours. These are somewhat similar to the South Indian Masala Vada (Ambode) but with the addition of tender sweet corn kernels.
So we use the almost the same spices and herbs that go into making the masala vada. These are best deep fried in oil but can also be baked in an oven or air fried. I have the detailed instructions on my masala vada post. We usually make these with lesser chilies for a low heat option and make a spicy garlic chutney or Coconut chutney. I have shared the recipe of chutney as well in the recipe card below.
These corn vada taste slightly sweet (due to the corn) so either use a good amount of green chilies and red chilies for heat or serve with a spicy chutney. I use frozen sweet corn kernels for convenience so they may be sweeter. The frozen corn we get here are ready to use and require only 2 mins of cooking so I don’t boil them before using.
However if you are using corn on the cob, use tender cobs rather than very mature produce. If they are in between, you need to boil them if you opt not to deep fry. But if you are deep frying, they get cooked when you deep fry. I have shared how to remove and boil corn on the cob in this Crispy corn post.
Step by step Instructions
1. Wash and soak chana dal for just 1½ to 2 hours. Drain the water and set aside.
2. Add red chilies, jeera, cinnamon stick and saunf. The flavor of saunf will not be strong. If you don’t like it just skip. If you have kids home, then deseed the chilies and use. I used byadgi chilli.
3. Make a slightly coarse powder.
4. Set aside half of the chana dal. Add corn and the rest of the dal to the blender. I used frozen corn so I rinsed them well and used. Don’t forget to drain them completely if rinsing.
5. Blend to a slightly coarse mixture.
6. Add the ground mixture to the chana dal.
7. Add salt, onions, chilies, ginger paste, curry leaves, coriander leaves and pudina. If you have kids home, skip chilies or set aside a portion of these. Mix everything well.
8. If the mixture is too moist or soggy, then add 2 to 3 tbsps of besan or rice flour. I didn’t drain the corn properly after rinsing so the mixture was very moist. You may not need any flour depending on how your mixture turns out.
9. The mixture has to be come together and bind well when you make a ball.
10. You can use a clean dry cloth or foil or grease proof paper for making vadas. Divide the dough to 10 balls.
11. Flatten them gently.
12. Heat the oil on a medium flame. Check if the oil is hot by dropping a small piece of the mixture. The dough has to rise up to the surface and not brown too quickly.
13. Remove the vada to your fingers.
14. Gently shake off your fingers over the hot oil. Regulate the flame to medium.
15. Do not disturb for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly they will firm up. Flip them and fry on the other side.
16. Fry them until golden.
Remove the corn ambode /vada to a kitchen tissue. Serve corn vada with a spicy chutney. To make the red chilli garlic chutney, soak deseeded 12 to 15 red chilies in water for 30 mins. Blend together soaked chilies, 3 to 4 garlic cloves, salt, ½ tsp sugar and ½ tsp lemon juice. Add little water to make a smooth chutney. You can replace sugar with jaggery.