Indian Chinese Vegetarian Recipes | Baby Corn Recipes
I have always been a sucker for Indo-Chinese food . I mean during those teenage years, thanks to few friends, some of the dishes that I have fallen in love with are in fact Indian Chinese fusion food. I did not care to know the cuisine and the food specifics did not matter then. All that mattered was that delightful plate of scrumptious food. Years down the line, I know better. I know more.
Indian Chinese Vegetarian Recipes | Baby Corn Recipes
I now feel outright silly at being extremely put out that the Chinese restaurant, we visited for the first time in the US, cheated us out of good Chinese food. My husband was a gentleman who did not insist on my misconception but asked me to "let it go"! Gawd, how much he smirked within is something I now know. Anyways, this feeling is quite common among Indians. You cannot blame us 'cos we have been spoiled rotten by some extremely delicious fusion food and just forgotten that this is so not Chinese cuisine. I think I have tried every single Indo-Chinese (vegetarian) food, there is.
I have a distant memory of eating Baby Corn Manchurian at my college canteen - not clear about the place, but extremely sure about the taste. Chewy fried baby corn with a slight bite to it yet soft and coated with a spicy sweet and sour sauce. It was heaven on a plate especially for a savory lover like me. I did not try to make it myself until about 2 years or so ago.   The memory of that was refreshed the other day when I spotted a bunch of fresh baby corn at my Farmer's market. I bought a big bunch 'cos I knew what I was going to make for dinner that day.
  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Serves: 2 people
Ingredients
    For the Manchurian
  • 15 regular sized Baby Corn, see Tips
  • 2 tbsp Whole wheat Pastry flour, see Tips
  • 2 tbsp Cornstarch, see Tips
  • Pinch of Baking Soda
  • Pinch of Salt and Pepper, each
  • Red Pepper flakes/ Chilli powder to taste
    For the Gravy
  • 5 med-large Spring Onion, sliced thinly - greens and whites separated
  • 1 red Bell Pepper, chopped finely
  • 2 tsp Sesame Chilli Oil, see Tips
  • 3-4 cloves Garlic, chopped finely
  • Abt 2" Ginger, peeled and chopped finely
  • 1 tbsp Soy sauce, or to taste - see Tips
  • 1/2 tsp White Vinegar
  • Pinch of Salt, Sugar and Pepper, each (or to taste)
  • 2 tbsp Cornstarch
Tips
1. Baby Corn: Since mine were fresh and I did the peeling myself, the size of the baby corns varied from small, medium and large. So I used 18 of them for this recipe. If using regular size, about 15 of them should suffice. If you think the batter is not sufficient, you can always add another tsp of flour and cornstarch along with seasoning to make extra for frying.
2. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: You can use All Purpose flour instead.
3.Cornstarch: You can also use Cornflour.
4. Sesame Chilli Oil: I used sesame oil that's flavored with chilli. Because we don't prefer too much heat in our food, this oil suffices for us. If you do not have this oil with you, you can use regular sesame oil and add chilli paste (or sauce - whatever you have on hand) to your taste.
5. Soy Sauce: Depending upon the brand and your taste preference you might need to use less or more of the amount mentioned. If you are Gluten Free, then use Tamari instead.
Method
1. Heat oil for deep frying. On the side, steam the Baby corn until just tender. Depending up the size, you might need anywhere upto 2-8 minutes.
2. While that's steaming, add the ingredients for frying - the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, pepper and chilli powder.
3. Add enough water to make a batter, thick enough to coat the baby corn.
4. Next add the baby corn to the batter. If your baby corn are small, then use them whole. But if large or of varying sizes (like mine), chop them into equal sized smaller pieces.
5. Fry them until brown. These are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. You might be tempted to munch them up ;)  Drop them on paper towels and set aside.
6. Since its high heat cooking, you need to keep all the ingredients ready. Each ingredient will be cooked for just seconds instead of minutes. Heat a wok or saucepan ( on high heat), add the oil and when hot, drop in the garlic and ginger. Saute for 4-5 seconds.
7. The minute the aroma starts wafting, add in the spring onion whites. Saute for 7-8 seconds.
8. Next goes in bell peppers and saute for 20 seconds or until the belle pepper is cooked yet crisp.
9. Add 2 cups water (or vegetable stock)
10. When it starts to bubble, add the vinegar and soy sauce. You can at this point also add additional chilli sauce/paste if needed.
11. Stir and cook for about a minute. Taste the broth to adjust seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste. Since red bell peppers are naturally sweet, I did not add any sugar but if you are using green variety, you might need to add a little for the balance.
12. While that's coming to a boil, mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water until there are no lumps.
13. Add this mixture to the gravy.
14. You will find the gravy starting to thicken and also become velvety in appearance.
15. About 10 minutes before serving, add the fried baby corns to this gravy.
Serve warm, garnished with scallion greens. Indian Chinese Vegetarian Recipes | Baby Corn Recipes

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Recipe Reference

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1 Member Reviews

By Apeksha on Jan 29, 2014

Super yummm...

16 Comments

By jasleen on Oct 8, 2015

Looks delicious.... Your explanation is very much understandable. will surely try today itself.

By diya on Nov 8, 2014

Luvly recipe bt instead of cornstarch can i use sumthng else

By Anisha on Jul 5, 2014

Super yummy plus a quicky recipe... My husband and I love the gravy.. Thank you so much

By Apeksha on Jan 28, 2014

I finally made it & lemme tell u DK, its super yummmm....

By Deepa on Jan 25, 2014

Hi DK, Can you share your sesame chilli oil measurement? How many chillies per cup oil? Tempted to try it! Love ur blog!

Actually its a store bought oil. Thank you so much for the kind words. --DK

By Dipti on Nov 7, 2012

I just like your method of showing , which have created intrest in my own to try once this receipe. Keep going with such more intresting receipes. Dipti

By PJ on Nov 3, 2012

Hi DK. Lovely gravy and one of my favs too. I sent you a mail.Do check it out...

By kiran singh on Nov 3, 2012

this is my husband's favourite dish and its so delicious. thanks d.k :-P

By radha on Nov 1, 2012

I like this! And less work than a veg manchurian. It looks delicious too.

By Shoba on Oct 30, 2012

manchurian any version with any veggie...we are game at home any day...I specially loved the ginger capsicum fried rice that serves at Mainland China.... lovely clicks. Shobha

By Charul @ Tadka Masala on Oct 30, 2012

Looks yumm! And my brother loves baby corn, this would be a perfect recipe for him. :)

By Archena on Oct 30, 2012

Nice recipe although have never seen fresh baby corn in the Metro ATL area, only have some tins, can give this a try.

By Jay on Oct 30, 2012

Nice recipe. Will try it soon. I have a request to make that has been lingering in my mind from a long time. Can you please post a photo of your pantry in your website? I just want to get an idea of how to organize different stuffs - various kinds of flour, grains, spices and other items esp when we buy and use items specific to each cuisine? Thanks!

By Priya on Oct 30, 2012

Goes awesome with a bowl of fried rice, inviting..

By Madhuram on Oct 29, 2012

The manchurian looks perfect DK. Just like the one we get in the Indo-chinese restaurant nearby. For some reason I have never tried any manchurian recipe so far. I'm definitely trying this pretty soon. I have to see if I'm able to get some fresh baby corn here.

By Uma on Oct 29, 2012

looks inviting !