Butter bath corn with gunpowder

New

Side Summer

Serves 6

Prep 10 min

Cook 40 min

There's something deeply satisfying about corn that's been properly pampered. Today, we’ve given it a bath of milk and butter that turns each kernel creamy. The butter bath might seem extravagant, but it’s definitely worthwhile (we tried it without and it wasn't quite the same).

The gunpowder is my version of milagai podi, the South Indian spice blend that's to southerners what chaat masala is to northerners. Usually served alongside dosas and idlis or mixed into yoghurt as a marinade, I've swapped the traditional toasted dal for basmati rice and added sumac for brightness. You'll have plenty left over, which is entirely the point - it keeps for weeks and is brilliant over roasted vegetables or just a bowl of plain rice. I've even been known to dip cold watermelon straight into it from the fridge.

Ingredients

200ml	whole milk
140g	unsalted butter
6	corn on the cob
GUNPOWDER
50g	basmati rice
15g	aleppo chilli
¾ tsp	garlic granules
1½ tsp	sugar
1¼ tsp	sumac
25g	white sesame seeds, toasted and cooled
	fine sea salt

Method

Place the milk, 70g of the butter, 900ml of water and 1½ teaspoons of salt in a large pan. Bring to a boil on high heat, cut each corn cob into four rounds and add to the pan. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, until tender. Take off the heat and set aside for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the gunpowder. Add the rice to a frying pan on medium heat and toast for 15 minutes, until just golden. Place in a bowl with the Aleppo chilli, garlic, sugar, sumac and ½ teaspoon of salt, allow to cool for 2 minutes, then blitz in a spice grinder or bash in a pestle and mortar until ground, but with a little texture remaining. Add the sesame seeds and blitz until you have an almost fine mixture. Set aside in a bowl.
Drain and discard the poaching liquid and place the corn in a shallow serving bowl. Thinly slice the remaining 70g of butter and dot all over the corn. Sprinkle over some of the gunpowder and serve some more on the side.