Hot Garlic Baby Corn

Recipe Courtesy: http://sanjeevkapoor.com/hot-garlic-babycorn.aspx

Baby corn or Candle corn is a vegetable obtained from immature maize and it can be eaten raw or cooked. Now a days bio-genetically developed baby corn is available in the market. Baby corn is a favourite vegetable among the Asians, especially the Chinese and Thai people. A variety of baby corn dishes can be made such as kebabs, fritters, manchurian, chilly fried, fried rice, noodles and a hot and spicy Indo-Chinese dish Hot Garlic Baby Corn.

Hot garlic baby corn is a main coarse dish normally eaten with noodles or fried rice. It has the goodness of garlic, onions, red chillies, sauces and at least two varieties of bell peppers, green and red or yellow. We tried the recipe by super Chef Sanjeev Kapoor at least a dozen times and each attempt was a fiery hot success. This dish can be eaten as a starter or as accompaniment. The succulent taste of fried baby corn cooked in spices and sauces lingers on for a long time. This is a definite hit with your family, especially kids!

Black bean paste is widely available now a days at major super stores and that gives the dish a special consistency and taste. The recipe recommends yellow bell peppers along with the green ones but we made it with red bell peppers this time. These bell peppers are sweet and crunchy. Don't over cook them. Just cook them on high flame for just 2 minutes to get the best consistency, as you bite into them along with the fried crunchy baby corn. Sesame oil is a must but you can also use olive oil or peanut oil, in case you don't get sesame oil easily. Red chilli paste can be made at home and kept in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Ingredients:
Garlic,finely chopped- 10-12 cloves
Baby corns,cut diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces - 20-25
Cornflour/ corn starch     4 tablespoons
Oil - 3 tablespoons + to deep fry
Dried red chillies,broken into 2 pieces    2-3
Tomato sauce - 4 tablespoons
Vinegar - 1 tablespoon
Red chilli paste - 2 tablespoons(Soak 20 long and 4 short chillies in water for 1 hour and grind to a thick fine paste)
Hot black bean paste - 1 tablespoon
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Vegetable stock - 1 cup
Green capsicum,cut into 1/2 inch diamonds - 1/2 medium
Yellow capsicum,cut into 1/2 inch diamonds - 1/2 medium
Onion ,quartered and layers separated - 1 medium
Spring onion bulb ,sliced thinly - 1
Sesame oil (til oil) - 1 tablespoon
Red chilli flakes - 1 tablespoon

Method:
Sprinkle two tablespoons of cornflour on the baby corn pieces and mix well.
Sprinkle two tablespoons of water if you find it too dry.
Heat sufficient oil in a wok and deep fry baby corn for three to four minutes or until crisp.
Drain on absorbent kitchen towel.
Mix two tablespoons of cornflour in one cup of water.
Heat three tablespoons oil in a wok, add red chillies and garlic stir-fry for half a minute.
Add tomato sauce, vinegar, red chilli paste, hot black bean paste, sugar and salt.
Stir in vegetable stock and continue to cook on high heat for a minute.
Add both the capsicums, onion and spring onion and cook for a couple of minutes more.
Stir in cornflour mixture and cook till the sauce begins to thicken.
Add deep fried baby corn and toss well to coat.
Drizzle sesame oil, sprinkle red chilli flakes and serve hot with fried rice or noodles of your choice, or as starter dish.