Baby Corn Pepper Fry

The Free-Spirit Bloggers are back again this month, and you can only 'begin' thinking of what we've got in store for you. Appetizers, starters, hors d'oeuvres or if you really care less about terminology...ahem, snacks. Call it by whatever name you want,  they're all are served with a purpose. They keep you occupied and get people conversing with each other until the main course arrives. 

Why are we all so partial to potatoes and oil when it comes to party starters? Sometimes, it is simply nice to swing things in a totally different direction. Try this - Baby Corn Pepper Fry. This one's very close to my heart, from my childhood days really, and I'd like to serve this up for this month's Free-Spirit Blogger's theme. This peppery, crunchy, tickle-your-tongue starter was a regular item on our table every time our family visited the Billiards Club in Bangalore. You'd be surprised to know this  was the first time I tried making it at home myself. No great shakes, this recipe...but great flavor, is in here!

Ingredients


NOTE - I know the ratio of baby corn to pepper in this version seems pretty out of proportion. Here's why - The baby corn I bought was really tender and sweet and the pepper I have on hand is extremely mild. You might want to reduce the quantity of pepper if the variety you have is very strong.

2 Cups Baby Corn, washed and sliced into pieces. I used canned baby corn and chopped it across diagonally
3-4 Garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 Cup Onion, chopped
10-15 Curry leaves/Kadipatta
1/2 tsp Turmeric
6 tsp Ground pepper
2 tbsp Oil (I used olive oil. Go ahead and use whatever you normally do to cook)
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- Heat oil in a large wok/kadai
- Add chopped garlic and fry for a few seconds
- Toss in the onions and stir fry until golden brown
- Add the curry leaves and stir until they splutter, about a few seconds again
- Toss in the chopped baby corn and add turmeric, salt and pepper and on high heat stir fry the corn until almost all the moisture is released
- Now, lower the flame and stir fry until the baby corn turns crisp
- Serve hot with a chilled glass of your favorite drink

Serves 3 to 4

Don't forget to check out what the other FSB-ites Madhuri, Dhivya, Lataji, Mittu, Siri, Nags and Anupama have in store for your next party.