Gobi Manchurian

• portions: 3
• temps actif: 10 minutes
• temps total: 35 minutes

Ingrédients

INGREDIENTS (US CUP = 240ML )

250 grams cauliflower florets (gobi cleaned)

Oil for deep frying as needed

To Make Batter

½ cup all-purpose flour (maida, prefer organic or at least unbleached)

¼ cup cornstarch (white corn flour or yellow corn flour)

½ to 1 teaspoon red chilli powder or paste (less spicy variety) (optional)

¼ teaspoon black pepper crushed or ground

¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)

½ cup water (more if needed)

To Make Gobi Manchurian Sauce

1½ tablespoons oil (for sauce)

1 tablespoon garlic fine chopped

½ tablespoon ginger fine chopped

1 green chili chopped (optional)

⅓ cup onions or spring onions fine chopped

¼ cup bell pepper (capsicum chopped fine) (optional)

1 tablespoon soya sauce (organic or naturally brewed)(or tamari)

2 to 3 tablespoon Red Chilli sauce (or 2 tsps hot sauce, adjust to taste)

1 to 2 tablespoon tomato ketchup (optional, use if using hot sauce)

½ teaspoon Red chili powder (optional) (less spicy variety)

½ tablespoon rice vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

1 teaspoon sugar (adjust to taste)

salt as needed

3 to 4 tablespoons water

½ to ¾ teaspoon black pepper crushed or ground

⅛ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)

2 tablespoons spring onion greens chopped for garnish

Instructions

1. Clean cauliflower florets and add them to hot water, not to very hot or boiling water. Rest them for 3 to 5 mins. Discard the water and rinse them well few times. Drain them to a colander. Allow the water to drain completely.

2. Spread them on a clean cotton cloth or a wide colander. Air dry for sometime. This is done to remove excess moisture after washing. I usually leave them in a wide basket colander for sometime.

3. Begin to heat oil in a kadai on a medium flame. Meanwhile prepare the batter. To a large mixing bowl, add plain flour/ maida, corn flour, red chilli powder, salt and pepper. Mix.

4. Add water as needed and make a free flowing batter.

5. The batter must be smooth, free flowing and thick. It should not be runny or too thick. Check the salt, if needed add more.

6. Add gobi to this batter and coat them well.

7. Check if the oil is hot enough and pick up the florets one by one and gently slide in hot oil.

Fry cauliflower

8. This two step guide will help you to make perfect crunchy fried gobi.

Make sure the flame is medium when you begin to add the florets and the oil is hot. Gradually as you add more florets to the pan, slightly increase the flame to maintain the temperature.

9. Once you finish adding the florets, regulate the flame to medium again and keep frying stirring often. At one point you will see that the bubbles begin to cease or at least reduce, then put the flame to low and allow them to fry for 2 to 3 mins without burning. During this 2 to 3 mins you have to keep stirring without stopping else they may get burnt.

10. The above 2 steps give the same effect of double frying the gobi which is usually done in restaurants. Remove them when they are golden.

11. Drain them on a kitchen tissue. This recipe requires frying gobi for longer time, the oil is no longer good to use. Just discard it.

Make Manchurian Sauce

12. Add 1 ½ tbsp fresh oil in a wide pan or wok and heat it. Add garlic, ginger and green chilies. Saute them well for 1 to 2 mins. Do not over fry as it makes the manchurian bitter.

13. Add onions or spring onions and capsicum. Even onion works well here. Finely chopped capsicum lends a very good flavor to the sauce. Saute this for 1 to 2 mins.

14. Add soya sauce. Prefer organic or at least naturally brewed soya sauce for health reasons.

15. Add red chilli sauce, red chilli paste and vinegar. To make red chilli paste, mix chilli powder with little water. Do not add dry powder to the pan, this may make the sauce bitter.

16. Add sugar.

17. Mix everything well.

18. Pour 3 tbsps of water. Mix it very well and allow to cook on a low heat until the sauce thickens. Red chilli sauce has already starch added to it so as we add water and cook it turns saucy.

19. Add coarsely crushed pepper. When the sauce turns thick turn off the stove and allow to cool down a bit. Just for 2 mins. Taste the sauce. It has to be slightly sour, sweet & hot. If needed you can adjust the salt, vinegar and red chilli sauce as well. I have not used any extra sauce than mentioned in the recipe card.

20. Add fried gobi, just before serving. Toss well.

21. Garnish with spring onions.

Serve gobi manchurian as a appetizer or a side with fried rice or noodles.

Clean 250 grams of gobi and cut the florets to medium size.

Add them to 3 cups of hot water and rest for 5 minutes.

Later drain the gobi completely to a colander or spread on a clean cloth until no moisture remains on the gobi.

You can do this ahead and set aside. Any moisture in the gobi will cook it to soft and not crisp.

Heat up the oil for deep frying on a medium heat.

Meanwhile make the batter by adding cornstarch, all-purpose flour, red chilli powder, black pepper and salt to a mixing bowl.

Mix and add water little by little as needed and make a free flowing lump free batter. The consistency has to be medium and not too thick or very runny. Adjust salt as needed by tasting the batter. (check video)

Then add the gobi florets to the batter in batches, coat them well.

Fry Cauliflower

When the oil turns hot enough, check by dropping a small amount of batter to the hot oil. The batter has to rise without browning. This is the correct temperature.

Pick up each cauliflower floret with a spoon or fingers & gently drop them one by one to the hot oil. The flame has to be medium initially and should be increased slightly as more gobi is added. Reduce the flame to medium and fry until the florets turn golden and crisp. Keep stirring in between for even frying.

Drain them to a kitchen tissue or a steel colander. Repeat the same steps of adding the rest of the cauliflower florets to the batter, coating them well and then frying them in hot oil until crisp.

For extra crisp gobi manchurian, you can also refry the once fried gobi again in oil. I usually do not do it as frying them once is good enough to get very good crisp manchurian with this recipe.

How to Make Gobi Manchurian

Mix together red chili powder with little water to a paste and keep aside. This step is optional and is used mainly for the red color.

Heat 1½ tablespoons oil in a wide pan.

When the oil turns hot, add garlic, ginger and green chilies. Saute for a minute or two.

Then add spring onions & capsicum. Saute them on a high flame for 2 mins.

Add soya sauce, red chili sauce, tomato ketchup, red chili paste, sugar and vinegar. (for gravy version refer the notes section below).

Mix and add water. Mix and cook stirring and add pepper.

Cook on a medium heat until the sauce thickens.

Turn off the stove and check the taste.

The sauce has to be slightly sour, sweet & hot. If needed you can adjust the salt & add more sauces as well.

Allow the sauce to cool for 1 to 2 mins.

Add the fried cauliflower and stir gently to coat the gobi well with the manchurian sauce.

Garnish gobi manchurian with spring onion greens.

Serve immediately as a appetizer or as a side with noodles or fried rice.

To make gobi manchurian gravy

Triple the amount of soya sauce, chilli sauce, sugar, vinegar & tomato sauce (ketchup). I triple the red chilli powder as well for this. But if you want it less spicy then you may just double it.

Mix ¾ tbsp corn flour with 1 cup of water and stir in to the bubbling sauces. Taste the sauce when it thickens and adjust the sweet, spice & tang.

Other Notes

Please adjust the amount of chilli powder as needed. I use a low heat chilli powder. Some readers mentioned it turned out too spicy for them. You can totally skip the chilli powder in the seasoning as it is used only for color.

Since cauliflower is fried for long time, for health reasons discard the used oil and do not reuse it.

Instead of frying you can also bake the cauliflower. Rinse and drain the florets. Toss the moist florets in spices first and then in 2 to 4 tbsps flour. Dust off the excess flour and place them in a greased tray. Ensure the cauliflower is moist otherwise the dry ingredients will not coat them well. You may check the details on this post – Baked gobi 65

Notes

Red chilli sauce is a sweet, hot and slightly tangy sauce. If you do not have it, use 1 to 2 tsps of any hot sauce along with tomato ketchup. Adjust the sugar as well.

To make gobi manchurian semi-dry

Double the amount of soya sauce, chilli sauce, sugar, vinegar and tomato sauce (ketchup). Use red chilli powder as required. I double it.

Mix 1 tsp corn flour with half cup water. Stir in to the bubbling sauces. Taste and adjust the sweet, spice & tang.