A traditional Persian experience: Balal Persian Street Corn. Fresh corn on the cobb grilled to a blackened state and soaked in saltwater for flavor! The wafting smell of grilling corn is common in big cities as well as coastal beach towns in Iran. The good news is that it is simple to make at home with only 3 ingredients.
One of the few memories I have of Iran is of the taste and smell of fresh corn on the cobb grilled to a blackened state, soaked in saltwater, and served and sold on the streets. Corn in Farsi is called Balal.
Once you have a taste for char-grilled, salty street corn, boiled corn just won’t do it. My family emigrated to the U.S. in 1970 when I was a toddler. I’m not sure I had enough teeth to eat balal in those early days I was in Iran. I do have vivid memories of smelling the street corn on a summer visit later when I was about 9 years old. The smoky waft of burning corn is weirdly intoxicating and is probably why I love burning my popcorn just a touch.
The ingredients for making Persian street corn couldn’t be simpler.
Ingredients:
- corn on the cobb
- hot water
- salt
On the streets of Iran, the corn is typically straight on hot charcoals. Husks remain intact to help grab ahold of the corn and flip it around on the grill to cook on all sides. The smart street method for cooling it off quickly by vendors is to submerge into a saltwater solution. The home method is not much different.
In Iranian culture, if you’re grilling and having a barbecue, corn is almost always on the menu as a side dish. I have been known to take the easy way out and buy pre-packaged corn on the cobb that has already had the husks removed and the knob of the cobb cut off. Home grilling normally requires some big grill tongs so turning and flipping the trimmed up corn is not an issue.
Pour 1/2 cup salt into a pitcher of water to create a saltwater brine – after the corn is grilled and cooked, soak to cool off and for a fresh salty taste!
This being said I’ve seen some very creative methods for getting close to bbq perfect results. Many folks will resort to using a home stove burner. I’ve seen this done but have never tried it. Living in California we don’t have the excuse of bad weather for choosing not to grill outside. I fear a kitchen fire or a smoke detector going off and prefer to take it outside. A good friend of mine whose hubby is the home cook shared a clever method for grilling his corn. He uses a kitchen blowtorch to blacken his cooked corn!
Here is a short video showing how to make Persian street corn at home using our electric grill:
Persian street corn is a delicious side dish that pairs well with Persian Slider Burgers! Another great option to grill alongside balal is this great Flank Steak Marinade recipe.
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