Corn Capsicum Masala (Restaurant Style)
Restaurant-style corn capsicum masala with sweet corn, crisp-tender peppers, and a creamy bhuna onion-tomato gravy. Ready in about 40 minutes.
Equipment
- Blender
- Wide pan
Ingredients
For the gravy base
- 2 tablespoons oil or ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste or 1 inch ginger + 4 garlic cloves
- 2 medium tomatoes roughly chopped
- 8-10 cashews soaked in warm water 15 minutes, optional for extra body
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder mild heat and color
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2-3/4 cup water as needed
For the corn and capsicum
- 1 1/2 cups sweet corn kernels fresh or frozen, thawed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups capsicum cut into 1-inch squares, mix of colors if possible
- 1 tablespoon oil for sautéing the corn
- 1 green chili slit, optional
To finish
- 2 tablespoons fresh cream (malai) plus more to finish
- 1 tablespoon butter optional, restaurant-style finish
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
Blend the gravy paste
- If using cashews, drain and blend them with the onion, tomatoes, and ginger-garlic paste into a smooth paste. Without cashews, blend onion, tomatoes, and ginger-garlic paste alone with 2 tablespoons water.
Sauté the corn
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide pan on medium. Add the corn and sauté 2 to 3 minutes until the kernels look a little dry and lightly toasted. Transfer to a plate.
Cook the gravy
- In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil or ghee. Add cumin seeds and let them crackle. Add the slit green chili if using.
- Pour in the blended paste. Cook 8 to 10 minutes on medium, stirring often, until the paste thickens, darkens slightly, and no longer smells raw. Splash a little water if it sticks.
- Add turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, coriander powder, and salt. Cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a gentle simmer. The gravy should look glossy and spoonable, not watery. Add a little more water only if it is too thick to coat the vegetables.
Add corn and capsicum
- Return the sautéed corn to the pan. Simmer 2 minutes.
- Add the capsicum squares. Cook on medium 3 to 4 minutes, stirring gently, until the edges soften but the pieces still look bright and hold their shape.
Finish
- Turn the heat to low. Stir in cream, butter if using, and crushed kasuri methi. Warm 1 to 2 minutes. Do not boil hard after adding cream.
- Taste for salt. Finish with garam masala and cilantro. Add a spoon more cream on top if you like it richer.
Notes
Sauté frozen corn 2 to 3 minutes before adding it to the gravy so the masala stays thick.
Add capsicum only after the gravy is ready, and cook 3 to 4 minutes so the peppers stay bright and crisp-tender.
Cook the onion-tomato paste until the raw smell goes; a rushed paste tastes sharp.
Add cream off a hard boil so the gravy stays smooth.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat gently with a splash of hot water.
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