Adapted from
Near & Far by
Heidi Swanson
For this recipe, you’ll need to clarify some butter, which lends an extra-buttery flavor to the corn. You’ll find instructions
here, or head to your local Indian shop for some ghee. Although this recipe is terrific with fresh corn, if it’s not available you can use frozen corn, thawed. Heidi says it’s nice made with asparagus or broccoli, but my bets are that I’ll be making it with cauliflower come winter.
The original recipe called for “2 small red chiles” so you can use whatever kind of chile pepper you want, depending on how hot and spicy you like things. I split the difference with a habanero (very hot) and jalapeno (somewhat milder). In the photo in the post, the habanero is the smaller, wrinkled pepper and the jalapeno is the longer one . Toasted cashews would make a good substitute for the peanuts, or for those avoiding nuts, use pumpkin seeds. To make it vegan, Heidi recommends using sunflower oil in place of the butter.
Note: If you have leftover red chile paste, I used mine to make a quick salsa by adding a dab to a small bowl of halved cherry tomatoes, adding a little extra salt, cilantro, oil, and a squeeze of lime juice. It got served atop grilled fish, although would be good with any grilled meat or as lively side dish with something else.