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Southern Curried Corn

Fresh corn combines with butter, cream, curry, and cilantro in this old, traditional deep south dish. Great for cookouts or dinner parties.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
This recipe for Curried Corn combines fresh corn kernels with butter, cream, curry, and cilantro in an old, traditional deep south dish. Great for cookouts or dinner parties. https://www.lanascooking.com/curried-corn/

This recipe for Southern Curried Corn combines fresh corn kernels with butter, cream, curry, and cilantro in an old, traditional deep south dish. Great for cookouts or dinner parties.

I hope you all remember the new Progressive Eats blogging group I introduced you to last month. We’re a varied group of bloggers who have joined together to create a virtual “progressive dinner” via our blogs once each month. We each take turns hosting and choosing the theme for the party.

This recipe for Curried Corn combines fresh corn kernels with butter, cream, curry, and cilantro in an old, traditional deep south dish. Great for cookouts or dinner parties. https://www.lanascooking.com/curried-corn/

This month’s hostess is Liz who blogs at That Skinny Chick Can Bake and our theme is “Summer Barbecue.” Perfect theme for the end of August, isn’t it!

I did pause for a moment when considering my recipe for this month’s Progressive Eats post. When Liz chose summer barbecue as the theme, being the died-in-the-wool southerner that I am, I naturally thought of the southern definition of barbecue.

I know I’ve explained this before, but barbecue in the south is a noun, not a verb, so when planning my recipe I had to mentally translate barbecue to “cookout.” As I explained it in one of my oldest posts

Now, before I start the recipe, let me just clear up one thing about “barbecue.” In some parts of the world, cooking outdoors over a flame is called a “barbecue.” In the South, that is called “grilling” or “cooking out.” Around here folks getting together to cook outdoors isn’t referred to as having a barbecue…it’s a cook-out.

In the South, barbecue is any food that has had a barbecue sauce applied to it. It does not mean that the food has been cooked outdoors on a grill although it may well have been.

 A steak cooked outdoors on a grill is a grilled steak, but not barbecued unless you have put some barbecue sauce on said steak. That all cleared up for you? Good.

This side dish of Southern Curried Corn is a very old, traditional southern preparation. You may be surprised to know that curry powder is actually very widely used in the southern coastal areas.

It came into ports with ships’ captains who traveled the spice route from India in the 1800s and appears in old recipes such as Chicken Country Captain and Baked Curried Fruit which are long-loved favorites of many southerners.

My Curried Corn is only slightly updated from the traditional recipe in that I add fresh cilantro. That would not have been included in older recipes since it was unavailable in most areas of the south until just a couple of decades ago. I like it, though, as I think it marries well with the curry powder.

How to Make Southern Curried Corn

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and drop in the ears of corn. Let the water return to the boil.

Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and let it cool until it can be easily handled.

Cutting kernels from ears of blanched corn.

When cool, cut the kernels and then scrape the cobs to also capture all the juices.

Cooking bell peppers and curry powder in a cast iron skillet.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until the pepper is slightly softened.

Sprinkle the curry powder over the pepper and continue cooking for an additional 30 seconds.

Adding corn kernels and juices to skillet.

Add the corn along with the juices you scraped from the cobs, salt, and black pepper. Cook and stir for a minute or two.

Adding the cream and butter to the skillet.

Add the cream and remaining butter. Stir until the butter has melted.

Adding cilantro to corn mixture in skillet.

 

Remove the pan from the heat and stir through the cilantro. Serve immediately.

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Finished curried corn in a vintage serving bowl.
Lana Stuart.

More Questions? I’m happy to help!

If you have more questions about the recipe, or if you’ve made it and would like to leave a comment, scroll down to leave your thoughts, questions, and/or rating!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

This recipe for Curried Corn combines fresh corn kernels with butter, cream, curry, and cilantro in an old, traditional deep south dish. Great for cookouts or dinner parties. https://www.lanascooking.com/curried-corn/

Curried Corn

Fresh corn combines with butter, cream, curry, and cilantro in this old, traditional deep south dish. Great for cookouts or dinner parties.
5 from 1 vote
Print It Rate It Save Text It
Course: Vegetables
Cuisine: Southern, Vintage
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 210kcal
Author: Lana Stuart

Ingredients

  • 4 ears fresh corn husks and silks removed
  • 3 tablespoons butter divided
  • ½ cup diced green bell pepper
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to the boil and drop in the ears of corn. Let the water return to the boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let stand for 5 minutes.
  • Remove the corn from the water and let it cool until it can be easily handled.
  • When cool, cut the kernels and then scrape the cobs to capture all the juices.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until the pepper is slightly softened.
  • Sprinkle the curry powder over the pepper and continue cooking for an additional 30 seconds.
  • Add the corn, salt, and black pepper. Cook and stir for a minute or two.
  • Add the cream and remaining butter. Stir until the butter has melted.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and stir through the cilantro.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

Nutrition Information

Serving 1 | Calories 210kcal | Carbohydrates 18g | Protein 4g | Fat 15g | Saturated Fat 9g | Trans Fat 1g | Cholesterol 43mg | Sodium 240mg | Potassium 300mg | Fiber 2g | Sugar 6g | Vitamin A 737IU | Vitamin C 21mg | Calcium 19mg | Iron 1mg

Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.

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39 Comments

  1. I’m curious about what you’re using to hold the corn cob as you’re cutting off the kernels. Is it simply a bowl within a bowl? Love fresh corn off the cob but the getting it off part can be tricky – and messy. Your recipe looks wonderful!

    1. Patti, yes, it’s a small bowl turned upside down in a larger bowl. It works pretty well!

  2. How fun to have the curry to spice it up and the cream to cool it down. Perfect addition to our barbecue.

  3. Thanx for the explanation about barbecue in the south. I am a Northerner, so you know what I think barbecue is. I had no idea that curry was commonly used in the south either. Albeit your explanation was quite reasonable. I am a big curry fan, so I like this recipe.

  4. I’m always looking for a unique way to make corn….this is one of them! Great idea.

  5. I never would have guessed that curry was common in the south. How interesting – and delicious! I’m a huge fan and I bet its amazing with the sweetness of the corn.