Corn Pakoras with a Peach Nectarine Heirloom Tomato Salad

Summer is my favorite time of the year for fruits and vegetables. The abundance of bright colors, wonderful smells makes me want to cook ALL day! I am currently loving the stone fruits like peaches and nectarines, the heirloom tomatoes and corn.

Roasted Masala Corn in Mumbai

Roasted Masala Corn or Butta (in Hindi), is one of my favorite Mumbai street foods. Come monsoon season, which starts in June, I loved eating Butta. The butta or corn is roasted on a small charcoal grill. It is then rubbed with lime, dipped in red chilli powder and salt, and a pinch of chaat masala. The combination is simply addictive and deadly.

Debut recipe for S.F.Chronicle in 2022

I first featured this recipe on S.F Chronicle that is linked here. It was my debut in the newspaper last year in July and I was super proud of the article and the recipe!

Basil Vinaigrette

The basil vinaigrette is super easy to make and has a few ingredients:

• Fresh Basil : It is available in abundance in the summer and is easy to grow as well.
• Lemon Juice : Adds a lovely zing to the vinaigrette.
• Garlic : Garlic and basil are a match made in heaven.
• Shallots : I love alliums in vinaigrettes and shallots are great in this one.
• Jalapeno : Jalapeno gives a touch of spiceness and kick to this dressing.
• Maldon salt and pepper : Always needed to round up the flavors beautifully.

The vinaigrette can be made a day or two in advance as well and best stored in the fridge.

Corn Pakoras

If you are South East Asian, Pakoras are no stranger to your home. Corn pakoras or Corn fritters are a must during monsoon or rainy season.

The ingredients of Corn Pakoras are:

• Fresh corn : Use fresh corn while in season. Or you can use frozen. Canned corn is in water so will not work.
• Rice flour and Chickpea flour : Add a level of crispiness to the pakora and I love that crunch from these two flours.
• Green chile: Adds a bit of punch to the pakoras
• Ginger : I love the taste of ginger in pakoras. Along with chai, these pakoras are a fabulous combination.
• Indian spices: Turmeric, red chili powder, coriander, cumin seeds, and chaat masala are added for that perfect Indian touch to the pakoras.

The pakoras are fairly simple to make. Some of the fresh corn is coarsely ground, along with the ginger and green chile. It is then added to all the remaining ingredients to form a batter. Small patties are formed and fried to perfection.

Assembly of the Salad

When picking the stone fruits, make sure that they are slightly soft to the touch, which indicates that they are ripe, but not too ripe. Also be sure to get the freestone ones, where the flesh is not attached to the skin. This way when you cut the fruit through the center, all around, the fruit will cut right into half, with the seed attached to one half.

This way you can get neat slices out of the fruit. Heirloom tomatoes, along with the peaches and nectarine add beautiful color to this salad. Burrata cheese is a perfect compliment, with the salad, corn pakoras and the vinaigrette.

How do I like to enjoy this salad?

Enjoy this salad with a lovely white wine or riesling! It is a great salad to take to picnics as well. Pack all the ingredients separately, and assemble it on a platter at the picnic. The pakoras will lose it’s crunch but hey, they will still retain it’s fabulous taste!

Some of my other stone fruit recipes that I enjoy, and are on my blog are:

• Easy Summer Peach, Tomato and Herb Farro Salad
• Plum Fennel and Cardamom Upside Down Cake

Hope you get to try this beautiful salad and share it with your loved ones!

XO
Amisha

Corn Pakoras with a Peach Nectarine Heirloom Tomato Salad

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• Amisha Gurbani

Come summer, stone fruit, tomatoes and corn are consumed on repeat in our home. I love coming up with easy ideas to make backyard dining fun, with these corn pakoras on a Peach, Nectarine and Heirloom Tomato Salad. Basically a fritter, the corn pakoras are an ode to my childhood with corn and spices in a chickpea and rice flour batter. They’re crispy, delicious and also gluten free.  

Serves 6 to 8 people

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Ingredients:

Basil Vinaigrette:

(Makes about 1 cup)

• 1 cup packed coarsely chopped basil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon Maldon (flake) salt
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
• ½ jalapeno
• ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (divided)

Corn Pakoras (Fritters):

Makes about 15 pakoras

• 2 cups corn kernels
• 1 green chile (omit if you do not like the hint of spiciness)
• ½ inch piece of ginger
• ½ cup finely chopped red onions
• 4 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
• 4 tablespoons chickpea flour
• 6 tablespoons rice flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon red chile powder
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ¾ teaspoon chaat masala
• Vegetable Oil for frying

For the salad:

• 4 heirloom tomatoes, cut into half, and then thirds
• 2–3 just-ripe peaches, cut into half, and then thirds
• 2–3 just-ripe nectarines, cut into half, and then thirds
• 2 balls of burrata

Garnish:

• Maldon sea salt
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• Basil leaves

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Method:

Vinaigrette:

1. In a high speed blender, add all the ingredients plus ⅓ cup of the olive oil.Blend until almost smooth. Pour into a small bowl and top off with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Set aside.

Corn Pakoras:

1. To a blender, add one cup of packed corn kernels, along with the green chile, if using,  and ginger. Puree into a coarse paste.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the remaining corn kernels, the corn paste, and the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly, using your hands. You should be able to form balls of the mixture with your hands.
3. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, add about 2 to 3 inches of oil for frying. Heat to 350 degrees. This will take about 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Place a wire rack into a baking tray and set aside.
5.  While the oil is heating, scoop out 2 tablespoons of the fritter mixture into your hand and shape into a patty, about 1 1⁄2 inches in diameter.
6. Working in batches of 3 at a time, to avoid bringing  the temperature of the oil down, fry each pakora for about 1½ minutes on each side, or until golden brown in color. Remove the pakoras with a spider skimmer, drain off excess oil and place on the wire rack.

Assemble the salad:

1. Arrange the tomatoes, peaches and nectarines on a large platter.
2. Tear the burrata into 3 pieces each, and nestle the pieces in between the tomatoes, peaches and nectarines.
3. Arrange the pakoras on top of the salad.
4. Drizzle about ¼ cup of the  basil vinaigrette over the entire platter.
5. Garnish with basil leaves. Sprinkle Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
6. Serve immediately.

Note: Any leftover vinaigrette can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Top off the vinaigrette with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to preserve.

Notes

• Rice flour and chickpea flour or besan can be easily found in Indian grocery stores.
• Fresh corn works best for the corn pakoras, to provide that little crunch.
• You can even make this vegan by omitting the cheese.
• The basil vinaigrette can be made a day to a week in advance. Keep it in a covered jar in the fridge.
• Any leftover vinaigrette can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Top off the vinaigrette with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to preserve.