Chilli Baby Corn

A few days back I was flipping through old photo albums, memories from school and college. Back then we didn't own a digital camera and so the pictures are not only limited, but are a pleasant few. There is one picture of my friends and I eating at a roadside "chaineese" gaadi. This was one place we frequented, anytime hunger pangs hit. Much that this gaadi wala's menu was fun to read - bcoz of all the various ways you can spell (read misspell) 'chinese' dishes, his food was to die for! I don't quite remember eating Baby corn there, but mom made Baby Corn Manchuri or Chilli Baby corn at home.

With all these thoughts of yummy manchuris I simply had to make some right away. We like our food spiccyyyy, so if you want to try this and are not up for a heat attack on your tastebuds, tone it down to the way you like it.

You will need:

15-20 Babycorn, cut lengthwise and into one inch bits

½ Cup Cornflour

Water as required

Oil for deep frying

2 tbsp Oil

1 Bellpepper, cut into 1” strips

1 Onion, cut into 1” strips

4 cloves garlic, chopped

½ tsp grated Ginger

12 Green chillies, cut lengthwise

2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce

1 tsp Hot chilli paste

½ tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

Make a paste of cornflour using water. The consistency should be enough to coat the babycorn. Drop in hot oil and fry till golden brown, drain on paper towels.

In a non-stick skillet, heat the 2 tbsp of oil. Add the green chillies, chopped garlic, grated ginger, onions and bell pepper. Saute on medium heat, till the onions are translucent and bell pepper is soft. Add the soy sauce, hot chilli paste and sugar. Cook for 30 seconds and then stir in the fried baby corn. Coat the baby corn with the sauce and veggies.Cook for a minute and season with salt.

Mmmmm, this was lip smacking good!!

Pesarattu(Moong Dal Dosa) with Upma

Pesarattu is a popular breakfast dish in Andhra Pradesh. Traditionally it is served with a sprinkle of onions and fresh corriander on the inside, eaten with coconut chutney. This tastes best when freshly made and not a dosa you can stop at one :) Adding upma on the inside adds to the taste and is probably a practice which started off in South Karnataka (more so in Telugu households) to make the dosa more fulfilling.




There are two ways of making Pesarattu. One with whole green moong dal and the other with split yellow moong dal. The taste of the dosa varies from one another. I personally prefer the whole green moong, which imparts a nice green colour to the dosa, a change from typical white dosas.

You will need:
For the Pesarattu: Makes 8-9 dosas

½ Cup Whole green Moong, soaked overnight
3 tbsp Rice flour
6 Green chillies
Salt

For the upma:
2 tbsp Oil
½ tsp Mustard seeds
½ tsp Urad Dal
½ tsp Chana Dal
¼ cup onion, chopped
Few curry leaves
½ cup Semolina, dry roasted
1 cup Hot water
Salt to taste

Pesarattu Toppings: Chopped onions, chopped cilantro

Prepare the Batter: Grind the soaked moong dal and green chillies with little water to a smooth paste. Stir in the rice flour and salt.


Prepare the Upma: Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard and when it begins to splutter, add the urad and chana dals. Add the curry leaves and chopped onion. Saute till onion is soft. Pour the hot water and bring to a boil. When the water begins to boil slowly add the roasted semolina while stirring to avoid lumps. Turn heat to low and cook covered for 3 minutes. Add salt. Remove from heat.

To make the Pesarattu: Oil a hot non-stick pan. Wipe the oil with a paper towel. Pour a ladle of batter in the centre and swirl clockwise with the ladle. Drizzle a tsp of oil on top. Top with chopped onions and cilantro.

Cook for 2 minutes and then flip, cook for another 15 seconds. Flip over and place two tablespoons of upma on one half of the dosa. Close the other half over the upma. Remove from heat.












Before making another dosa, wipe the pan with the paper towel. If the pan is oily, then its hard to swirl the batter. We had our Pesarattus with Garlic chutney.

Make this over a weekend and savour the dosas at your own pace. :)