First, a word on this dish
If you have never made chaat before, start here. Corn chaat uses boiled kernels, or kernels cut from a grilled cob, mixed with a few fresh vegetables, lime juice and chaat masala. There is no frying, no chutney to prepare, and none of the other work that more elaborate chaats call for, so it shows plainly how chaat masala and lime can turn an ordinary ingredient into something that tastes like chaat. Street vendors sell it from carts that carry big pressure cookers of boiled corn, often next to grilled cobs (bhutta) rubbed with butter and spice.
There is so little to the dish that the corn matters more here than in nearly any other recipe in this library. Sweet corn that is fresh and in season needs hardly any help. If your corn has been sitting around, be a little more generous with the lime and chaat masala to make up for its blander, starchier taste.
The story behind the dish
There is no disputed, centuries-old story behind corn chaat of the sort that surrounds pani puri or bhel puri. It looks like a more recent, practical street snack that appeared as roadside chaat carts multiplied in Indian cities during the twentieth century, giving the familiar chaat masala and lime treatment to a cheap, easy-to-find and filling ingredient. It is sold across the country with little regional character, unlike dishes that belong firmly to one city, though the vegetables and garnishes vary from vendor to vendor and from home to home.
The method, in order
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Prep
Cook the corn
Start with fresh cobs by simmering or steaming them for 8 to 10 minutes, until a kernel gives easily when pressed. Let them cool slightly, then stand each one on its end and cut the kernels away. Frozen corn is easier, since 3 to 4 minutes in boiling water is enough. If you like a smoky edge, hold whole cobs over a flame or on a hot grill and turn them until they pick up scorched patches, then slice off the kernels.
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Prep
Gather the vegetables
Put the kernels in a bowl together with tomato, onion, cucumber if you want it, green chilli and coriander.
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Assemble
Dress and toss
Pour over the lime juice and shake on the chaat masala, cumin, chilli powder if using, and salt. Fold gently so the seasoning reaches every kernel, then taste. A good corn chaat is bright and sour from the lime, and you should clearly notice the savoury tartness of the chaat masala, not have it hide behind the corn.
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Serve
Top it and serve straight away
Spoon the chaat into bowls or cups, and add a little sev for crunch if you like. Eat it at once, because lime and salt keep drawing liquid out of the vegetables, and the longer it waits, the wetter it gets.
Ingredient stand-ins
Swap or drop the cucumber and tomato according to what is in your fridge. Pomegranate seeds, cooked chickpeas and diced bell pepper are common additions and just as good. When chaat masala is missing, mix roasted cumin, a pinch of black salt and a little amchur, which is a fairly close match. During mango season in North India, cooks often replace part of the lime juice with a spoon of finely chopped raw mango for a sharper sourness.
Making it milder or fiercer
The heat comes from the green chilli and the optional chilli powder, and you can scale each one separately. Leave out the green chilli entirely if you want a chaat that is sour and savoury with no real heat. Chaat masala is tart and savoury rather than hot, so using more of it adds depth of flavour without raising the heat much.
The slip most cooks make
Dressing the chaat too soon is the biggest trap. After salt and lime meet the vegetables, water leaches out quickly, and in 20 to 30 minutes a crisp, lively bowl turns watery. Timid seasoning is next, because corn chaat needs generous chaat masala and lime or it tastes like plain corn with a few vegetables stirred in. Then there is overcooking, which is easy with frozen kernels that go mushy after a couple of minutes at the boil. Warm them until the raw bite goes, and stop. When you grill the cobs, do not blacken them so thoroughly that the kernels dry out. A light, patchy scorch gives flavour and leaves them juicy.
Storing what is left
Fridge or counter: You may boil the corn and chop the vegetables up to a day in advance, keeping them in separate containers in the fridge, but mix and season only when you are about to serve. After dressing, the chaat lasts barely an hour, so eat it within 30 minutes if you can. When you are serving a crowd, put the dressing in a bowl on the side so guests mix their own, which protects the texture and lets everyone decide how much lime and chaat masala they like.
Bringing it back to life: Served cold or at room temperature, corn chaat is never reheated. Corn that you cooked earlier and chilled may be warmed briefly before it joins the other ingredients, though the finished bowl stays cool.
Handle with care
Rinse all fresh produce before you chop it. Corn boiled earlier should be cooled quickly and chilled and not left on the counter for long. Once it has been mixed with lime juice and fresh vegetables, handle it like a salad: keep it in the fridge if it is not eaten at once, and discard it if it has been out for more than about two hours.