Bhutte ka kees recipe with step by step photos – Bhutte ka kees is a popular as well as delicious street food snack from Indore. This dish is prepared with fresh and tender sweet corn kernels that is first grated and then cooked with fragrant spices and herbs.
Bhutta means “corn” and “kees” means “grated”. Actually bhutta is the Hindi word for corn and “kees” is the Marathi word for grated. So the name of the recipe has both the Hindi and Marathi terms.
Some cities in India are famous for their street food and Indore is one of them. One more tasty snack from Indore that you must try is this khatta meetha Indori poha.
For the recipe ideally desi corn is used. But even sweet corn can be used. It is best to serve this savory snack hot. It makes for a nice evening snack during winter. While serving don’t forget to drizzle some lemon juice on top.
Bhutte ke kees is a filling snack, so a small to medium sized bowl can be served. It will keep you full for some time. The recipe is also no onion and no garlic recipe and can be easily scaled to make for more servings.
How to make Bhutte ka Kees
1. Remove the husks from 3 large to medium sized corn cobs. You can use desi corn or sweet corn. Ideally, desi corn is used.
2. Now using a grater, grate the corn kernels carefully. Just grate the corn kernels and not the center hard portion.
You can also slice off the corn kernels with a knife and then coarsely grind them in a mixie or grinder.
3. Keep the grated corn kernel aside. Some corn milk will also be there with the grated corn.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a kadai or pan. Keep the heat to a low and add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.
Use any neutral flavored oil.
5. Then add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and let them also crackle.
6. Then add 1 teaspoon of finely chopped ginger, 1 green chili (chopped) and 4 to 5 curry leaves (chopped). You can also skip curry leaves if you do not have them. Stir and mix well.
If you want to make the dish spicy then increase the quantity of green chili.
7. Next add the following spices:
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (optional)
- a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
You can also add ¼ teaspoon of coriander powder if you want.
8. Stir and mix again very well. Make sure that the spice powders do not get burnt, so keep the heat to a low.
9. Then add the grated corn along with its milk.
10. Mix very well and begin to saute the corn mixture on a low heat. Also stir often.
11. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes stirring often.
12. Then add ½ cup milk. You can also add ½ cup of water instead of milk.
Milk adds to some richness and gives a creamier consistency to the dish.
13. Stir and mix very well.
14. Season with salt as per taste. Mix again. You can also add some sugar if you want.
If using desi corn you can add ¼ to ½ teaspoon sugar or as per your preference. For sweet corn, you can skip adding sugar.
15. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the corn mixture till it thickens.
16. In between after 3 to 4 minutes, do check the corn mixture and give a stir. Cover and simmer again.
17. Simmer for 10 to 11 minutes till the mixture has thickened and become slightly dry. Then switch off the heat. As the mixture cools down, it will become more thick.
If you cook the mixture more, it will become more dry and consistency will be upma like. We prefer some moistness, so I do not cook the mixture till upma like consistency.
Serving bhutte ka kees
18. Now spoon the hot bhutte ka kees into serving bowls.
19. Top with some freshly grated coconut.
20. Then add some chopped coriander leaves. Drizzle some lemon juice for some tang and serve hot. You can also accompany some lemon slices if you want.
21. Serve bhutte ka kees immediately.
Few more tasty Snacks Recipes for you!
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Bhutte ka kees
Ingredients
main ingredients
- 3 medium to large corn cobs – desi corn or sweet corn (bhutta or makai)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 1 green chili – chopped
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder – optional
- ¼ teaspoon Coriander Powder – optional
- 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing)
- ½ cup milk – instead of milk, ½ cup water can be added
- salt as required
for garnish
- some grated fresh coconut
- some chopped coriander leaves
- lemon juice as required
Instructions
preparation for bhutte ka kees
- Remove the husks from 3 large to medium sized corn cobs.
- Now using a grater, grate the corn kernels. You can also slice off the corn kernels with a knife and then coarsely grind them in a mixie or grinder.
- Keep the grated corn kernels aside. Some corn milk will also be there with the grated corn.
making bhutte ka kees
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a kadai or pan. Keep the flame to a low and add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- Then add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and let them crackle.
- Then add 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger, 1 green chili (chopped) and 4 to 5 curry leaves (chopped). You can also skip curry leaves if you do not have them. Mix well.
- Next add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder (optional) and a pinch of asafoetida. You can also add ¼ teaspoon coriander powder if you want.
- Mix again very well. Make sure that the spice powders do not get burnt, so keep the flame to a low.
- Then add the grated corn along with its milk.
- Mix very well and begin to saute the corn mixture on a low flame for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Then add ½ cup milk. You can also add ½ cup water instead of milk. Mix very well.
- Season with salt as per taste. Mix again.
- Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 10 to 11 minutes till the corn mixture thickens and becomes slightly dry.
- In between after 3 to 4 minutes, do check the corn mixture and give a stir. Cover and simmer again.
Serving bhutte ka kees
- Now spoon the hot bhutte ka kees in serving bowls.
- Top with some grated coconut.
- Then add some chopped coriander leaves. Drizzle some lemon juice and serve hot. you can also accompany some lemon slices if you want.
- Serve bhutte ka kees immediately.
Notes
- This recipe can be scaled as per your needs.
- You can make it spicier by adding more green chilies.
This Bhutte ka kees post from the blog archives first published in January 2017 has been republished and updated on December 2022.
Do u boil the corn ?
no. the corn is raw when grated.
Hi Dasanna,
Tried this out today evening. Let me tell you the background. It’s the first day of the year and in Europe its a complete shutdown. There were unexpected guests and I only had two frozen corn packets in the fridge. I made this and served it along with cheese garlic bread and ginger tea. It was a very filling dish. Everyone enjoyed it ????
Thanks Priyanka for this positive feedback. Glad to know that everyone liked this corn recipe. It taste yum but only difficult part is grating the corn kernels.
superb ?
Can this be made with frozen corn?
Thanks
Welcome Connie. You will get best taste with fresh corn.
Simply superb, u r awesome Dassana………..I m from Indore n u made me drooool…………this is exactly the same recipe my mom cook at home..
Thanks Harsha for your positive feedback. Glad to know that the recipe which your mom cooks is same.
hi dassana! such a wonderful indore style snack for these winter evenings.i normally prepare this during monsoon when the white corn is available.the only difference is that i pressure cook the grated corn & i add cloves in tempering & i do not add any red chilli pwdr or dhania pwdr.i do even top this kees over a slice of bread & grill it with a sprinkle of black pepper pwdr.i haven’t yet attempted it with sweet corn(personally prefer the desi one) but for someone who hasn’t tasted or attempted this bhutte ki kees recipe,yours is perfect with the ingredients & the method.
Thanks Meveera for sharing your variation. Nice to know this. I will give a try with cloves in the tempering. Desi corn is always better for this recipe.