Chilli Baby Corn
Chilli Baby Corn
Chilli Baby Corn is a popular vegetarian Indo-Chinese dish which is popular all over India. Chilli baby corn is made from deep fried baby corn tossed in Chinese sauces with an Indian twist giving it a spicy, umami flavour.
Indo-Chinese cuisine is an adaptation of Chinese cooking techniques and sauces to Indian taste. It is a perfect fusion of Chinese spices with Indian background flavours of ginger, garlic and chillies. It has its own distinct flavours and textures and hugely popular in India and worldwide.
Brought up in Mumbai, I always liked the street food especially the Indo-Chinese food and anything to do with baby corn was my favourite. Just like Chilli Paneer, Chilli Baby Corn is perfect starter. Semi-dry in texture, chilli baby corn is more on the spicier side (hence the name). I love cooking with baby corn as it is such a versatile vegetable full of fibre and just soaks up all the flavours of the sauce.
This dish can be served even as a starter or an appetizer. Moreover, this dish can be eaten as it is without the need of any more sauces or dips! Chilli baby corn is crispy, spicy flavoursome Indo-Chinese dish!
Ingredients
250 grams baby corns(slit vertically in half)
Oil for deep frying
For The Batter
½ cup plain flour
¼ cup corn flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped green chillies
For The Sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped green chillies
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
½ cup diced onion
½ cup diced green pepper
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons vinegar
2 teaspoons green chilli sauce
2 teaspoons red chilli sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons corn flour
2 tablespoons spring onions
Directions
In a bowl, add the baby corns, plain flour, corn flour, salt, white pepper, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Toss everything together to coat the baby corn. Add 2-3 tablespoons cold water and mix until the baby corns are evenly coated.
Heat oil for frying. To check if the oil is ready for frying add a small amount of batter in the oil. If it comes steadily and quickly on the surface, then that means the oil has the right temperature to fry.
Gently slide each baby corn in the hot oil and fry them on medium heat. Fry the baby corns in batches until they turn golden and crisp on all sides.
Use a slotted spoon to fish them from the oil. Drain the baby corn on a kitchen roll/ absorbent paper to soak up excess oil.
Heat oil in a pan and sauté the green chili, ginger and garlic for a minute.
Next add the diced onions and green pepper and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Add green chilli sauce, red chilli sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, white pepper and baby corn and toss to mix on high heat. Add ½ cup of water and let the sauce come to a boil.
Mix corn flour in 2 tablespoons of water and mix it to form smooth corn flour slurry.
Add corn flour slurry and spring onions to the baby corn and gently mix to coat the baby corn evenly with the sauce.
Serve hot garnished with spring onions.
