Cottage Cheese & Corn Salad
A 15-minute Jain cottage cheese corn salad with lemon-cumin yogurt dressing, cucumber, and lightly charred corn. No onion or garlic.
Ingredients
For the salad
- 2 cups corn kernels fresh or frozen, thawed and patted dry
- 1 teaspoon oil for charring
- 1 cup cottage cheese full-fat large-curd, drained of excess liquid
- 1 cup cucumber diced; Persian or English, seeded if watery
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped, plus more to garnish
- 1 small tomato optional, diced and drained
- salt pinch, for the corn
For the lemon-cumin yogurt dressing
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt or dahi
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted cumin powder bhuna jeera
- 1/4 teaspoon chaat masala or kala namak (black salt)
- salt pinch, to taste
- green chili or Kashmiri chili powder optional, to taste
Instructions
Char the corn
- Heat the oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn in a mostly single layer.
- Leave undisturbed for 2 minutes so the bottom can blister, then stir for another 2 to 3 minutes until some kernels are golden. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and cool for about 5 minutes so the cheese does not melt into the corn.
Mix the dressing
- In a small bowl, whisk yogurt, lemon juice, toasted cumin powder, chaat masala or black salt, a pinch of salt, and optional chili.
- For a creamier dressing, mash 1/4 cup of the cottage cheese into the mixture until loose and spoonable. Keep the rest in soft spoonfuls.
Assemble and serve
- Add the remaining cottage cheese, cucumber, cilantro, and optional tomato to the warm (not hot) corn.
- Pour over the dressing and fold gently until mixed. Taste and finish with more lemon and chaat masala if needed.
- Rest 5 minutes, then serve cool or at room temperature.
Notes
Fully whipped cottage cheese tastes fine day one but can turn pasty overnight; soft spoonfuls plus a thin yogurt dressing keep better texture.
For lunchboxes, pack undressed corn, cucumber, and cheese separately from the dressing.
Paneer cubes work as a 1:1 swap for the cottage cheese if that is what you have.
Store leftovers airtight in the fridge up to 2 days; refresh with lemon before serving.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!