The Manchurian style of cooking is basically a creation of Chinese restaurants in India, and bears little resemblance to traditional Manchu or Chinese cooking. It is said to have been invented in 1975 by Nelson Wang, who described his invention process as starting from the basic ingredients of an Indian dish, namely chopped garlic, ginger, and green chilis, but next, instead of adding garam masala, he put in soy sauce, followed by cornstarch and the chicken itself. A popular vegetarian variant replaces chicken with cauliflower, and is commonly known as Gobi Manchurian. this type of cooking can be adopted to Chicken, Prawn, Fish, Mutton, Vegetables and Paneer as long as it is made in a spicy brown sauce. (Source: Wikipedia)
Recipe Notes:
> You can make both a dry version as well as a gravy one. As you can see in the images below. The only difference is, for the dry, you add less liquid and for the gravy, you add more.
> If you are making this for a get-together or party, I would advice you to add the veg balls to the gravy just before serving. This way they remain crispy longer as they tend to absorb the liquid over a period of time.
> I don't recommend using frozen veggies to make this dish, as they tend to retain water in the refrigerator, and we need the vegetables to be moisture-free in order for the veg balls to turn nice and crispy. If there is too much moisture in the balls, they may break a part while frying.
> When it comes to the cabbage, once you've cut and washed it, the best way to remove the water is to use a salad spinner. If you don't have one, you could air dry it on a kitchen cloth. In this recipe, I finely chopped the cabbage and carrot in a food processor. Then I squeezed the excess liquid out.
You can also check out the demo video on my Youtube Channel at - COMING SOON
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Here is my version of Indo-Chinese Veg Manchurian. Hope you guys give it a go!
Ingredients:
For the veg balls:
2 cups cabbage, shredded
1 cup carrot, shredded
1/2 cup beans, finely chopped
1 tbsp bell pepper, grated
1 cup spring onions, finely chopped
4 tbsp cornflour
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp pepper powder
1 tsp ginger & garlic paste
A pinch of salt
Oil for frying
For the sauce:
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of spring onions, chopped
1/4 cup bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp pepper powder
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tbsp cornflour
1/2 cup of water to dissolve the corn flour
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Method:
Step 1 - Making the Veg Balls
In a large plate or mixing bowl, add all the ingredients mentioned under 'For the Veg Balls', other than the oil. Avoid adding too much salt as this tends to cause the veggies to let out more moisture.
Mix gently to combine all the ingredients.
Start making the balls. Ideally, they should be the size of golf balls or maybe a little bigger. When forming the balls, try not to squeeze the mixture too much. If the mixture is too sticky, grease your palms with a little bit of oil.
In this recipe, you will get around 12 to 15 veg balls, depending on the size.
It's best to fry the veg balls immediately as they may not hold their shape for long.
Now heat the oil in a deep frying pan on medium heat. To see if the oil has reached the correct temperature you can dip the handle part of a wooden spoon inside. If bubbles form, the oil is ready.
Now gently slide the balls one at a time into the oil. Do not over crowd the pan.
Once the balls are in the oil, do not stir and leave them untouched until they firm up.
Once you feel they're quite firm, gently rotate to fry them evenly on all sides. They should be golden brown in colour when done.
Remove and drain on a kitchen towel.
Step 2 - Making the Veg Manchurian
Mix the soy sauce, chilli sauce, red chilli powder, pepper powder and white vinegar together and leave aside.
Dissolve the cornflour with the water and leave aside.
Add the oil into a wok or shallow frying pan and heat on a medium to high flame.
Immediately add the garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds.
Add the bell pepper and saute for about a minute.
Add the spring onions and saute for another minute.
Make sure not to burn the ingredients.
Pour in the sauce mix and combine well for a minute or so.
Pour in the cornflour mixture and mix well.
If you want more of a gravy consistency, add more water at this time.
Gently add the veg balls and combine well.
The dish is ready... Enjoy!
Serve hot with your favourite Chinese food accompaniments like fried rice, chilli chicken, etc.
For my other Chinese Recipes:
Indo-Chines Chilli Chicken
Indo-Chinese Chilli Potato
SL Chinese Fried Rice
XOXO, Jovanka
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