Cheese corn balls/ corn nuggets

Name: Corn cheese balls/ corn nuggets
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1.5 cups boiled american sweet corn; 3 medium boiled potatoes; 3/4 cups grated cheese (i used mozarella); 6 tbsp all purpose flour/ maida; 4 tbsp bread crumbs; 2 tsp oregano or any dried italian herb; 1 tsp black pepper powder; 1 tsp red chilli flakes; 1 tsp salt; a handful fresh coriander leaves (optional); 100 ml refined oil (for frying)

Published March 19, 2019 · Updated March 20, 2019

These were the sure shot favourites on Adya’s b’day. We did not have a party as such. However, we wanted to have a small cake cutting party-ish kinds for Adya with just his cousins Tash, Nethra & Prithvi. Since Adyant had gone to school on his b’day & I had taken the day off, I decided I will make the cake & some quick bites for the kids & of course, us adults as well :D. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this was the most loved dish of the evening. The kids & the adults (who got to eat it) totally totally loved it. So much so that my friend Accu who I consider a mega culinary expert was so impressed with this dish that she wanted me to share the recipe (Cloud 9 moment for me). I was super glad that I had documented the steps including all the photos :D. D had some expert comments saying this wasn’t cheesy as the name suggests (and I think he was right :D). However, people simply loved this dish & I am super duper happy about that. With a bit of prep ahead (boiling potatoes & corn), this can be put together in under 30 minutes.

Also creating a memory of Adya’s one more b’day big chattai in the below pic :D. He was so happy when we made him wear this in the morning of his b’day.

Corn cheese balls/ corn nuggets

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 50 gooseberry sized balls

Ingredients

1.5 cups boiled american sweet corn
3 medium boiled potatoes
3/4 cups grated cheese i used mozarella
6 tbsp all purpose flour/ maida
4 tbsp bread crumbs
2 tsp oregano or any dried italian herb
1 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tsp salt
a handful fresh coriander leaves optional
100 ml refined oil for frying

Instructions

In a large bowl, mash the boiled potatoes after removing their skin. Mash using your hands or potato masher or the backside of a firm/ broad spatula.
To this add the boiled sweet corn kernels. Mix well.
Now add the rest of the ingredients - all purpose flour, bread crumbs, red chilli flakes, black pepper powder, dried oregano, grated cheese & salt.
Mix everything well. Check & adjust for salt/ seasoning.
The consistency of this mixture will resemble that of a pizza/ chapati dough.
Roll the mixture into small gooseberry sized balls.
Meanwhile, heat a kadai/ tawa with some oil.
Once the oil is hot enough (drop a small piece of the mixture into the kadai, it should bubble up to the top immediately), fry the corn cheese balls in batches.
Fry them on medium heat till they turn golden brown (roughly around 3-5 minutes each batch).
Remove from the oil & place it on a kitchen towel so that excess oil can be removed.
Repeat till you fry the entire batch of corn cheese balls.
Serve hot alongside some chai!! Of course, you can have this with ketchup/ dip. I prefer it with just good old chai.

Recipe Notes

Boil potatoes & sweet corn (fresh ones in case) in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles.
If you have boiled the whole cob, make sure to remove just the kernels.
Alternately, you can use frozen sweet corn. In this case, you just need to make sure to thaw before you use it. Make sure to drain any excess water formed during the thawing process.
The next time I make this, I want to do a quick pulse of the sweet corn before adding it to the mashed potatoes.
As per D, I also need to add more cheese (maybe an extra 1/4 cup).
Instead of deep frying, you can bake this or you can shallow fry this. However, if you are doing that I would suggest you flatten this into a patty.

Stepwise pictures

Remove the skin of boiled potatoes & mash them well (do this once the potatoes have cooled down). I mash using my hands but you can use a potato masher or the backside of a flat & firm spatula.