Gobi Manchurian

Gobi Manchurian needs no elaborate intro, and is a favourite among most of the people. This is a tasty appetizer if served dry, or a perfect side dish when served with fried rice for vegetarians. I have not made many changes in the recipe except that I have added Kashmiri chilli paste instead of red food colour. The florets are blanched and then coated with a marinade, deep-fried and then coated with sauces. I do make it often as kids love Gobi manchurian with fried rice and so, recipes that are made frequently always takes time to be on blog or videos as I always think to take pics or videos the next time which never happens. Finally, the day has come when I took up the video and is on blog too, check the recipe here and do comment if you make the same way. The veg fried rice without sauces is here, if you wish to try the recipe.

Preparation time ~ 20 minutes

Cooking time ~ 20 minutes

Serves ~ 5-6 

Author ~ Julie

Ingredients

gobi/ cauliflower 1 medium-sized (450 g)

maida (all-purpose flour) 1/2 cup

corn flour 1/2 cup + 3tbsp

hot chilli powder, 1 tsp

turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

ginger paste 1 tsp

salt

oil for frying

for manchurian

garlic chopped fine 2 tbsp

capsicum/ green bell pepper 1/4 cup chopped

onion 1 small-sized, chopped 

green onions/ spring onion 3 tbsp + 2 tbsp

tomato sauce 4 tbsp (1/4 cup)

dark soy sauce 2 tbsp

Kashmiri chilli powder paste 2 tsp

pepper powder 1/2 tsp (optional)

vinegar 1 tsp (optional)

corn flour 1 tbsp

water 1-1.5 cups

salt to taste

Watch on YouTube-

Method

• Cut the cauliflower florets in bite size pieces and add to hot water mixed with salt. Leave the florets to blanch for 5 minutes so that the florets get cleaned. Rinse in cold water and drain water.
• Add the florets to a plate and add maida, corn starch(1/2 cup), ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder and salt. Mix well to give a nice coating. The coating shouldn't be very thick and should be lightly covered on all sides.
• Before frying, add the corn flour(3 tbsp) in a plate and roll each of the florets in the corn flour, shed off excess (helps retain the crunchiness for long after frying) and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and fry the florets by dropping one by one and in batches. Fry until crisp by flipping all sides, drain from oil and place on paper towels. Remove from paper towels when warm to retain the crunchiness of fried florets.
• Then, heat oil (same oil can be used for frying) in a wok and add the chopped garlic and fry till light crisp. To this, add the chopped capsicum and onion, fry lightly along with chopped green onions (reserve the green tips for garnish). Then add the soy sauce, tomato sauce, chilli paste, vinegar, pepper powder, salt. Mix well.
• Mix the corn starch with water (1/4 cup) without lumps. Bring to a boil and wait till the sauce thickens. Add half a cup more of water (total water used 1 cup) to adjust consistency. 
• Finally, add the fried florets and give a quick toss. Add cut green onions for garnish. Serve warm with fried rice.

NOTES

* You can omit adding Kashmiri chilli powder when frying. But I prefer adding, as I don't use red food colour.

* You can add chopped green chilli when making gravy. I omit that, as kids don't like biting green chillies in gravy.

* Add chilli sauce instead of chilli powder in the gravy. I generally add Kashmiri chilli powder only, which adds to the colour.

* Adding vinegar spikes up the flavours, but you can add or omit.

* You can use wheat flour instead of maida, doesn't retain crunch for long but otherwise is healthy.

* You can add 1/4 tsp sugar too to balance tastes. 

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