Sweet Corn Chaat, Trail Version
Freeze-dried corn, potato flakes, and sev, shaken cold in a bag with chaat masala.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 130
- protein
- 10 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 180 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Lunch
- Cold soak
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Day hike
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried sweet corn | 1 cup | rehydrates in about ten minutes cold |
|---|---|---|
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1/4 cup | stands in for the boiled diced potato |
| Dried onion flakes | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried bell pepper | 2 tbsp | the capsicum |
| Sun-dried tomato bits | 1 tbsp | |
| Chaat masala | 1 tsp | |
| Cumin powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Red chilli powder | 1/4 tsp | scale to taste, it also stands in for the green chillies |
| Salt | a pinch | |
| Lime juice powder or one lime wedge | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ghee | 1 tbsp | shelf-stable in a small screw-top jar |
| Plain sev | 1/2 cup | packed separately, crushproof |
| Dried coriander leaf | 1 tsp |
Method
- Pour 180 ml of cold water into the bag of dry mix. Seal and squish it around.
- Wait ten minutes. The corn needs most of that; the potato flakes are done immediately.
- Stir in the ghee. If it is cold enough that the ghee is solid, work it against the side of the bag until it disappears.
- Add the lime and taste. Chaat masala is already salty, so salt last.
- Dump the sev on top right before eating. It goes soft within a minute or two.
The street version leans on fresh cucumber, tomato, and onion, none of which travel. What actually carries the dish is the spice blend and the texture contrast, and both of those are dry goods. Freeze-dried corn rehydrates cold in about ten minutes and comes back with real sweetness, which is more than can be said for most dried vegetables.
Potato flakes replace the boiled diced potato. They do not look like cubes, but they thicken the water into something that clings to the corn instead of pooling at the bottom of the bag. The sev is the whole point of the last step: add it early and you get soggy noodles, add it last and you get the crunch the dish is built around.
Packing
Everything except the sev and the ghee goes in one bag at home. Sev rides in a rigid container or you arrive with dust. Ghee in a small jar with a taped lid.
Variations
- A handful of roasted chana adds crunch that survives longer than sev and another 8 g of protein.
- Skip the ghee and use olive oil to make it vegan and dairy-free.
- With a stove going, boil the water instead and it is ready in two minutes.
https://www.awesomecuisine.com/recipes/9848/sweet-corn-chaat