Gobi Manchurian

Gobi Manchurian, fried rice, hakka noodles are probably some of the most sought after and extremely popular Indo-chinese dishes. In chennai, other than the specialty Chinese restaurants even the specialty restaurants in Southern Cuisine/ Northern Cuisine serve these dishes . As a kid, we rarely went to a Chinese restaurant or ordered chinese foods, thanks to the ajinotomo(MSG)-is-carcinogenic rumor of the 90’s in India. My mom insisted on making these dishes at home than having them at any restaurant so that she can control what goes into the dishes. Once in a while, when a cousin visited from abroad, all of us cousins would sneak out to Rangis or Dynasty(these were some of the very few specialty Chinese restaurants in the city in the early 90s) for a yummy Chinese Meal.

A couple of weeks ago, we were inviting some friends over for dinner and I decided I was going with a Asian-cuisine(Ind0-chinese and Thai) fare. The menu included Tofu-lettuce wraps,vegetable fried rice, gobi manchurian,thai spicy peanut noodles,green curry with veggies and tofu,sticky rice with mangoes and a non-alcoholic mangotini(mango martini). Food apart, the meal turned out be so much fun. I should admit that the mess in my kitchen seemed staggering but thanks to my hubby everything was set straight in the matter of minutes(or what seemed like minutes to me 😀 ). Although I came up with the menu, a dear friend helped me so much with the cooking(she made the fried rice and lent a hand in almost everything I made that evening). Thanks M…you are just amazing, girl!

Today I thought I shall post the recipe for gobi manchurian, although thousands of recipes for this dish have been posted, shown on TV, written in books-I felt I should share my version.

The time-tested tasty gobi manchurian

Cauliflower, medium sized, broken into individual florets -1

corn flour-1 cup

maida-3 tbsp

salt to taste

ginger garlic paste-1.5 tsps

kashmiri red chilli powder-2 tsps

Oil-3 tbsp

water-1/4 cup

Cook cauliflower florets in a pan filled with water. Sprinkle a tsp of salt in the boiling water. Drain and keep aside.

In a small, slightly deep pan heat oil(small,deep pans require less oil but of course take a longer time!). Mix all the above ingredients, except the cooked cauliflower, with 1/4 cup water to make a slightly thick batter(the consistency should be watery than that for bajji). Dip the florets in the batter and fry. Keep these aside.

For the gravy:

Garlic, chopped-3 nos

Green chillies, chopped-2 nos.

ginger-garlic paste-1/2 tsp

soy sauce-2 tbsps

tomato ketchup-3 tbsps

chiili sauce(Sriracha does a great job)-2 tbsps

water-1 cup

cornstarch-2 tsps

spring onion(scallions), chopped-3 nos

oil-1 tbsp

Heat oil in a pan. Saute garlic, green chillies, white end of the scallions. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute  for a minute. Now add all the sauces and water. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1 tbsp water. Add this mixture to the sauces. Just as it starts thickening, add the fried florets. Garnish with the chopped, green end of the scallions. Serve with plain or fried rice.

P.S: Thanks SJ for the pictures, I didn’t even have to use Picassa to edit them. I think you are soooo ready for a SLR!

The green spring onions against the orange manchurian and the placemat make a beautiful pic, doesn't it?

On an aside, I found some interesting titbit about the origin of the Mighty Manchurian. It was the ingenious brainchild of the father of Indo-Chinese food, Mr. Nelson Wang(who runs an restaurant called China Garden in Mumbai). This dish supposedly came into existence in the mid 70’s in Kolkota. Read more about it here.