Baby Corn and Green Peas Masala

My friends used to tell me, life changes after having kids. Yeah, it does. For us, our outing venues have changed. Instead of restaurants and movies, we go to places like zoos and parks with our baby. That gives me a chance to cook something special myself. Of course, I love cooking for my family. Butter Naan and a creamy restaurant style curry is one of our weekend indulgences these days.

Ingredients:
Baby Corn - about 100 gm
Green Peas - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Garlic - 4 cloves
Dry Red Chilies - 5
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Bay Leaf/Tamalpatra/Tejpatta - 1
Fennel Seeds/Saunf/Badishep - 1 tsp
Almonds/Badam - 1/4 cup
Whole Milk - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp
Salt

How to cook Indian Baby Corn and Green Peas Masala:

• Soak almonds (or any other nuts) in about 1 cup of water overnight. Peel the soaked almonds and blend them with milk to a smooth paste. Set the almond milk paste aside.

• Julienne slice the onions. Medium chop garlic and tomatoes. Break the chilies into 2 or 3 pieces. Discard the seeds if you want to reduce the heat of the chilies.
• Chop each baby corn into 2 or 3 pieces.

• Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a kadhai or pan. Add fennel seeds. After few seconds, add onions. Saute until onions soften. Next, add garlic and dry red chilies.
• I use Byadagi variety of dry red chilies which are mild. You can use Kashmiri Lal Powder as well. 
• Saute until onions turn slightly brown. Lastly, add tomatoes and continue cooking until tomatoes are soft and mushy. Let this onion tomato paste cool. After cooling, grind it to a smooth paste. Add little water if required.

• In the same pan, add about 1/2 tbsp oil. Add bay leaf and after few seconds, add chopped baby corn. Saute for a minute. Next, add green peas and saute for another minute or so.
• Now, add the ground onion tomato paste and salt. Stir and cook it covered until baby corn pieces are cooked.
• Next, add the almond milk paste and stir. Add water if required. Lastly, add garam masala or any other Indian seasoning (like kitchen king masala or meat masala) and stir. Cook it covered until the curry comes to a boil.
• The onion tomato paste is thick enough as a sauce for this curry. To reduce the calories, you can skip the almond milk paste or add half of it. Coconut milk is a very good vegan substitute of dairy milk.

Garnish Baby Corn and Green Peas Masala with chopped cilantro and serve with roti, naan or rice.