Corn & Pomegranate Chaat Salad
Jain-friendly corn and pomegranate chaat salad with cucumber, roasted peanuts, and a lemon-chaat dressing. Ready in about 15 minutes. No onion, no garlic.
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 1/2 cups sweet corn kernels fresh or frozen
- 3/4 cup pomegranate arils
- 1 cup cucumber finely diced, peeled if skin is thick
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts roughly crushed
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro finely chopped
- 1 green chili finely chopped, optional, deseed for milder heat
- 2 tablespoons thin sev or nylon sev, for serving, optional
Chaat dressing
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice about 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1/4 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black salt kala namak, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- pinch Kashmiri red chili powder or paprika, optional, for color
Instructions
Cook and cool the corn
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil, add the corn kernels, and cook 3 to 4 minutes until tender. Drain well. Spread on a plate for 5 minutes so steam escapes. Warm corn makes the salad watery.
- Cool completely. If you are short on time, rinse briefly under cold water and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel.
Mix the dressing
- In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice, chaat masala, roasted cumin, black salt, regular salt, and chili powder if using.
Assemble the salad
- In a mixing bowl, combine cooled corn, pomegranate, cucumber, crushed peanuts, cilantro, and green chili.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently so the pomegranate does not smash. Taste and adjust lemon or salt.
- Spoon into a serving bowl. Top with sev just before eating if you want extra chaat crunch.
Notes
Jain note: This recipe skips onion, garlic, and hing. Confirm your chaat masala is onion-garlic free, or mix roasted cumin, black salt, and amchur. Skip cucumber on stricter days
Dressing timing: Dress only when ready to eat so the cucumber stays crisp.
Make-ahead: Keep dressing and chopped salad separate for up to 8 hours. Add sev at serving time.
Watery salad fix: Cool corn fully and salt cucumber only at the end.
Storage: Best the same day. Leftovers keep refrigerated up to 1 day; cucumber softens.
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