Flavours of India Part 20: Bhutte ka Kees and the Street Food Capital of Madhya Pradesh

This is Part 20 of Flavours of India, our series on India's regional cuisines. Start from Part 1: Chettinad or read the previous part, Part 19: Sikkim.

Madhya Pradesh, the "heart of India", borrows from the states around it: Rajasthani-style dal bafla, Maharashtrian-influenced snacks in Indore, and the rich Mughlai-style meat dishes of Bhopal, once ruled by the Begums. But the state's culinary star is Indore, regularly called India's street-food capital.

What makes Madhya Pradesh cuisine special

• Indore's food markets: Sarafa Bazaar, a jewellery market by day that turns into a food market at night, and Chappan Dukan, a street of 56 food shops.
• Poha-jalebi: the classic Indori breakfast, topped with sev and jeeravan masala.
• Dal bafla: boiled-then-baked wheat dumplings with dal, a cousin of Rajasthan's baati.
• Bhopali cuisine: rich dishes like Bhopali gosht korma and rizala.
• Seasonal snacks: garadu (fried yam) in winter and bhutte ka kees in the monsoon corn season.

What is bhutte ka kees?

Bhutte ka kees means "grated corn". Fresh corn is grated and cooked in ghee and milk with green chillies and mustard seeds until it becomes thick and creamy, then finished with lemon, coconut and coriander. It is sweet, tangy and mildly spicy, and a must-try at Sarafa Bazaar.

Bhutte ka kees recipe

Serves: 3-4 · Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 fresh, tender corn cobs (desi or sweet corn), about 2 cups grated
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp mustard seeds and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• A pinch of hing
• 2 green chillies and 1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp sugar and salt to taste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp grated coconut, 2 tbsp coriander and nylon sev to garnish

Method

1. Grate the corn cobs on the large holes of a box grater, collecting the pulp and juice. (Or pulse the kernels coarsely in a mixer.)
2. Heat ghee in a heavy pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin and hing, then the green chillies and ginger.
3. Add the grated corn and turmeric and cook on medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring often, until it loses its raw smell.
4. Pour in the milk, add salt and sugar, and cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently, until the milk is absorbed and the mixture is thick and creamy.
5. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
6. Serve topped with coconut, coriander and a handful of sev.

Tips

• Desi corn gives the authentic, slightly starchy texture; sweet corn works but is sweeter, so reduce sugar.
• Stir often after adding milk, as the corn can stick to the pan.
• Add a pinch of jeeravan masala for true Indori flavour.

Other Madhya Pradesh dishes to try

• Poha-jalebi
• Dal bafla
• Bhopali gosht korma
• Garadu: fried yam cubes with spices, a winter street snack.
• Mawa bati and malpua

Want to try poha at home? See our kanda poha recipe.

The complete Flavours of India series

1. Part 1: Chettinad chicken curry (Tamil Nadu)
2. Part 2: Kerala fish curry (Kerala)
3. Part 3: Shorshe ilish (West Bengal)
4. Part 4: Sarson da saag and makki di roti (Punjab)
5. Part 5: Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani (Telangana)
6. Part 6: Khaman dhokla (Gujarat)
7. Part 7: Dal baati churma (Rajasthan)
8. Part 8: Rogan josh (Kashmir)
9. Part 9: Goan fish curry (Goa)
10. Part 10: Misal pav (Maharashtra)
11. Part 11: Bisi bele bath (Karnataka)
12. Part 12: Pesarattu (Andhra Pradesh)
13. Part 13: Dalma (Odisha)
14. Part 14: Litti chokha (Bihar)
15. Part 15: Galouti kebab (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)
16. Part 16: Masor tenga (Assam)
17. Part 17: Smoked pork with bamboo shoot (Nagaland)
18. Part 18: Madra (Himachal Pradesh)
19. Part 19: Momos (Sikkim)
20. Part 20: Bhutte ka kees (Madhya Pradesh), this article

Thank you for travelling across India with us, one dish at a time. Which state's food should we cover next? Let us know in the comments.