Bhutte ka Kees (Indore Style)

Bhutte ka kees recipe with step by step photos – Bhutte ka kees is a popular as well as delicious street food snack from Indore. This dish is prepared with fresh and tender sweet corn kernels that is first grated and then cooked with fragrant spices and herbs.

Bhutta means “corn” and “kees” means “grated”. Actually bhutta is the Hindi word for corn and “kees” is the Marathi word for grated. So the name of the recipe has both the Hindi and Marathi terms.

Some cities in India are famous for their street food and Indore is one of them. One more tasty snack from Indore that you must try is this khatta meetha Indori poha.

For the recipe ideally desi corn is used. But even sweet corn can be used. It is best to serve this savory snack hot. It makes for a nice evening snack during winter. While serving don’t forget to drizzle some lemon juice on top.

Bhutte ke kees is a filling snack, so a small to medium sized bowl can be served. It will keep you full for some time. The recipe is also no onion and no garlic recipe and can be easily scaled to make for more servings.

How to make Bhutte ka Kees

1. Remove the husks from 3 large to medium sized corn cobs. You can use desi corn or sweet corn. Ideally, desi corn is used.

2. Now using a grater, grate the corn kernels carefully. Just grate the corn kernels and not the center hard portion.

You can also slice off the corn kernels with a knife and then coarsely grind them in a mixie or grinder.

3. Keep the grated corn kernel aside. Some corn milk will also be there with the grated corn.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a kadai or pan. Keep the heat to a low and add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.

Use any neutral flavored oil.

5. Then add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and let them also crackle.

6. Then add 1 teaspoon of finely chopped ginger, 1 green chili (chopped) and 4 to 5 curry leaves (chopped). You can also skip curry leaves if you do not have them. Stir and mix well.

If you want to make the dish spicy then increase the quantity of green chili.

7. Next add the following spices:

• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (optional)
• a pinch of asafoetida (hing)

You can also add ¼ teaspoon of coriander powder if you want.

8. Stir and mix again very well. Make sure that the spice powders do not get burnt, so keep the heat to a low.

9. Then add the grated corn along with its milk.

10. Mix very well and begin to saute the corn mixture on a low heat. Also stir often.

11. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes stirring often.

12. Then add ½ cup milk. You can also add ½ cup of water instead of milk.

Milk adds to some richness and gives a creamier consistency to the dish.

13. Stir and mix very well.

14. Season with salt as per taste. Mix again. You can also add some sugar if you want.

If using desi corn you can add ¼ to ½ teaspoon sugar or as per your preference. For sweet corn, you can skip adding sugar.

15. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the corn mixture till it thickens.

16. In between after 3 to 4 minutes, do check the corn mixture and give a stir. Cover and simmer again.

17. Simmer for 10 to 11 minutes till the mixture has thickened and become slightly dry. Then switch off the heat. As the mixture cools down, it will become more thick.

If you cook the mixture more, it will become more dry and consistency will be upma like. We prefer some moistness, so I do not cook the mixture till upma like consistency.

Serving bhutte ka kees

18. Now spoon the hot bhutte ka kees into serving bowls.

19. Top with some freshly grated coconut.

20. Then add some chopped coriander leaves. Drizzle some lemon juice for some tang and serve hot. You can also accompany some lemon slices if you want.

21. Serve bhutte ka kees immediately.

Few more tasty Snacks Recipes for you!

• Masala puri
• Corn chaat
• Aloo chaat
• Pav bhaji

This Bhutte ka kees post from the blog archives first published in January 2017 has been republished and updated on December 2022.