Chilli garlic babycorn

So Viv had a cricket meeting tonight, meaning I was in the extremely undesirable position of having to cook for one. Making dough for two chapatis was so not worth it, and then I would have to make a sabzi to go with it. There were no fresh vegetables in the fridge but when I raided the cupboard, I found a can of baby corn.

Bingo.

I decided that this was the best opportunity to try out something new because even if it backfired, poor Viv wouldn't have to suffer the consequences (Bhai in pativrata mode, eh? Hota hai. Kabhi kabhi.)

So here it is, the recipe for the chilli garlic babycorn that I just made and am chomping down as I type.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of babycorn
  


• 1 small onion, finely chopped
  


• 10 green chillis (please control this as per your taste; mine's a bit insane), finely chopped
  


• 4 cloves of garlic, grated (I hate biting on garlic pieces so I always grate it instead of chopping it. No matter how finely I chop it, I still end up biting on a piece and going "Bleeaaah!")
  


• Green chilli sauce (I used Ching's, available everywhere in India and now, FINALLY, in Mustafa in Singapore! Yipeee!)
  


• Red chilli sauce (Ching's again, though Maggi may work too)
  


• Soya sauce (If you live in Singapore, use no brand other than Kikkoman! Others will ruin your dish!)
  


• Vinegar
  


• Salt
  


• Pepper
  


• 2 tablespoons cornflour
  


• Spring onion
  

Method:

1. Wash the babycorn pieces and slice them horizontally.

2. Add a dash of soya sauce and red chilli sauce.

3. Sprinkle the cornflour and a little salt. Mix well.

4. Let it marinate for about 20 minutes. (I chopped the vegetables while it marinated.)

5. Heat sufficient oil to shallow fry the babycorn. (I had just given darshan at the gym yesterday and didn't want to deep-fry, though I suspect deep-frying would make it tastier. Oh well.)

6. Fish out the babycorn pieces from the marinade and shallow fry them for about 5-10 minutes till reddish-golden. There will be some marinade left but don't throw it -- we'll use it later for the sauce.

7. Remove and place on a piece of kitchen towel. Place another piece of kitchen towel on top and press lightly to absorb the extra oil.

8. Heat about 1-2 tablespoons of oil. (Fortunately, the oil left over after shallow frying was just enough to make the sauce. You may want to use a suitable amount of oil to achieve this, it saves the jhanjhat of reusing the once-fried oil for other stuff.)

9. Add the chopped green chillies, grated garlic and chopped onions and fry for a while.

10. Add some vinegar, some soya sauce and some green chilli sauce (all quantities andaaz se). Don't ask why red chilli sauce to marinate the babycorn and green to make the sauce. Ainwain. Mann kiya.

11. Add a little salt and pepper.

12. Add the leftover marinade and stir well. You may have to add a little water to get the right consistency.

13. Toss in the babycorn and mix well.

14. Garnish with spring onion and serve immediately. Yum!

PS: Yeah, I saved a little (only a little) for Viv. :P