Bhutta (Fire Roasted Corn on the Cob)

The year was 1988 and my mediocre performance in the SSC exams was followed by successful admission to the science stream at the prestigious Fergusson College with little help from my dear aunt who headed the Dept. of Physics. A decision she no doubt came to regret after going over my attendance record and my report card. As it is common knowledge, junior college is best attended as a casual student and yours truly took that piece of advice to heart. As a result, most of my time at Fergusson was spent either in deep, 'scholastic' discussions at Vaishali or under the eight odd tin sheds outside the main gate that served as two-wheeler parking. The bicycle stand was an excellent alternative to attending class, except for one problem — there wasn't any food readily available. However, all was not bleak among the Hero Hondas! Stationed right outside the gate of the ladies was a bhuttawala. With a pyramid of corn and a large bowl of live coals and the right combination of lemon, salt and chili, his corn hit the spot for many bicycle shed dwellers. The FC road bhuttawala provided the much needed 3:00 p.m. comfort as well as a reason to carry dental floss in the glove compartment of my Kinetic Honda.

Ingredients:

• 1 ear of Corn
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Chili
• 1 tsp Ghee
• 1/2 Lemon

Method

1. Roast the corn over an open flame till it has blackened evenly
2. While still hot take some ghee in your hands and rub all over the corn
3. Mix the chili and salt
4. Dip lemon in the mixture and rub it on the corn while gently squeezing it making sure that the salt, chili and lemon juice are evenly coated on the corn

Enjoy hot, ideally on a two-wheeler under a tree