Makka Gudaalu ~ Sauteed Corn Kernels

In this A-Z Challenge, Journey Through Telangana Cuisine, I always had M for Makka Gudaalu on my list. I did not even consider other options available for 'M'. This was most often prepared evening snack at my maternal grandparents place. As in most villages, even at my grandmother’s place lunch was served very early. Rather, it was brunch around 10:30 or 11 am. Since lunch was very early, there was always an evening snack. The most often prepared snack was gudaalu and makka gudaalu was always on top of the list.

Gudaalu are prepared with one of the following; fresh legumes, dry beans or grains. This is a distant cousin of sundal, without grated coconut. Anapakaya / avarekalu is one of the most preferred fresh legume for gudaalu, which is prepared similar to Indian beans or chikkudu gudaalu. Dry black eyed peas, cow peas, sorghum + black chana, dry corn are a few legumes and grains used to prepare gudaalu with dry grains and legumes. Preparation of gudaalu with dry grains and legumes is similar to gudaalu prepared with fresh legumes, except for presoaking and the seasoning used. Dry legumes and grains are presoaked before cooking and dry red chilies are used in the tempering and green chilies are used for fresh legumes gudaalu. Rest of the preparation is similar. Today I am presenting gudaalu with dry corn.

Makka gudalu are prepared with dry desi corn kernels. In olden days, dry kernels were gently pounded in a big mortar pestle to remove the husk and any residual corn cobs. This process of pounding is called pootu pettadam in Telugu and nowadays, these pootu pettina makkalu (corn kernels) are readily available in stores. These are not available in Hyderabad and do not know about other towns in the state but are available in most of the towns in Karimnagar district. I had some corn that amma brought when she visited us five years ago. There are no takers for this corn at home and never got to cook it. Thanks to this BM, I got to make some gudaalu and eat it all by myself. 🙂 Next time I go to India, I am going to bring back more of this corn as I can eat it for any meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner! It stays good for at least 2 - 3 days in the refrigerator.

If you happen to get your hands on desi corn kernels and plan to make these gudaalu, give yourself some extra time. Makkalu take a long time to cook in a pressure cooker. In olden days when pressure cookers were not a common usage, especially in rural areas, it use to take hours to cook on mud stove, chulha that burns with wooden sticks. In a pressure cooker it takes about 50 - 55 minutes. Mom says she cooks it on low flame, in a pressure cooker for evenly cooked makkalu.

Here is a list of few vegetables, fruits and spices.
Vegetables, Fruit, Spices & more:
Mamidikaya - Raw Mango
Mamidi Pandu - Ripe Mango
Munakkaya - Drumstick (vegetable)
Menthi Aaku - Fenugreek Leaf
Mirapakaya - Chilies
Makka Kankulu - Corn on the Cobs
Makkalu - Corn Kernels
Menthulu - Fenugreek Seeds
Miryalu - Black Pepper
Minnapappu - Urad Dal ~ Black Gram
Mamsam - Meat (since mutton is the most common meat eaten in India, mamsam is loosely used to refer to mutton)
Dishes:
Mamidikaya pappu, mamidikaya pappu charu, mamidikaya pachi pulusu, mamidikaya pachadi (both chutney and pickle), menthi kura podi pappu, menthi pachadi/thokku (fenugreek flavored mango pickle), mamsam fry (mutton dry curry), mamsam shorva (mutton stew), mamsam pachadi/thokku (mutton pickle), makka garelu, makka ginjalu gudaalu (sauteed fresh corn kernels), miryala chaaru, mirapakaya kura 1, mirapakaya kura 2

Serves: 1 - 2

Ingredients:

½ cup Makkalu ~ Dry Corn Kernels
2 ½ cups water to cook
3 tbsp. Oil (can use less)
2-3 Dry Red Chilies
¼ tsp. Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp. Mustard Seeds
½ small Onion, sliced
4-6 Curry Leaves
1 ½ tsp. Crushed Garlic
Turmeric Powder
¾ - 1 tsp. Chili Powder
¾ tsp. Salt

Preparation:

Soak makkalu overnight or at least for 6 - 8 hours.
Wash the makkalu and pressure cook with 2 ½ cups of water for 4 whistles, reduce the flame to low and cook for 45 minutes or until cooked. This is how long it took in my pressure cooker.
Let the pressure release naturally.
Heat 3 tablespoon oil.
Add 2-3 red chilies, cumin and mustard seeds. Let the seeds crackle.
Add curry leaves followed by onions. Let onions become translucent.
Add garlic and sauté for few seconds.
Add chili powder , salt, turmeric powder and mix.
Add corn with water and cook on high flame until water is evaporated. Then reduce the flame to medium and sauté until corn is fried.
Serve with chopped onion , lime and some crushed garlic.

Note: