Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Cauliflower Manchurian | Gobi Manchurian

Gobi Manchurian, a delicious indo chinese starter made from cauliflower. Gobi manchurian is one of the most popular starter items that you can find in any Indian restaurant menu. It tastes so good as a starter and as sides for fried rice. If you have been following me on IG, you might already know how often i make fried rice at home. But when it comes to sides for fried rice, mostly i tried to avoid manchurain mainly because of deep frying. I don't want to deep fry something everytime that I make fried rice at home. 
So I have been experimenting a lot lately on making manchurian without deep frying. In order to avoid deep frying, i tried baking, shallow frying and pan frying the cauliflower and this pan fried method is my favorite among all my attempts and it tastes so close to deep fried ones and if you serve this without mentioning anything, no one gonna find that it's not deep fried.


Pan frying cauliflower really takes a lot of time compared to deep frying but if you're conscious about deep frying and avoiding the manchurian for the very same reason, definitely this method is worth giving a try!!.  But if you're in a hurry definitely i won't recommend this method. Here are few FAQs about manchurian
Is it necessary to soak the cauliflower in hot water?

Yes, the first reason is that it helps to kill any worms in the cauliflower. Second, since we are using the pan fry method here, soaking the cauliflower in hot water helps to cook them evenly. 

Can pan frying cauliflower stay as  crispy as deep fried ?
Almost Yes !! I have used the corn flour in the batter to keep it crispy. 

Why did my manchurian become soggy and lost its crispiness after some time?
It happens whether you deep fried or pan fried the cauliflower. This is one of the foods that taste good when it's served straight out of the stove. 

Any tips for delicious manchurian?
  1. Make sure that the batter is so thin and coats the cauliflower evenly.
  2. If the batter is thick, it forms a thick outer coating and it doesn't taste good.
  3. Also if the outer coating is so thick then there is no homogeneous in the manchurian!! When you take a bite, the outer layer falls apart and leaves the cauliflower inside without any taste.

Ok, now let's check out on how to make this famous indo chinese starter, Gobi Manchurian!!
 

Cauliflower Manchurian | Gobi Manchurian

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 25 minsServes : 2 to 3  
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Cauliflower manchurian, Gobi Manchurian, Indo chinese starter, Starter,Indian starter recipe Gobi Manchurian, a delicious indo chinese starter made from cauliflower. Gobi manchurian is one of the most popular starter items that you can find in any Indian restaurant menu. It tastes so good as a starter and as sides for fried rice.
Ingredients
Cauliflower - 1 lb
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp
Chili sauce - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Spring onion - 2 
Garlic - 2 tsp(minced)
Oil - 1 tbsp
For slurry 
Cornflour - 2 tsp
Water - 1/4 cup
For the batter
All purpose flour - 1/4 cup
Corn flour - 1 tbsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Water - as needed

Procedure
Cut the cauliflower into medium sized florets and put it in a large bowl. Add 1/4 tsp of salt , mix it well.Pour some hot water into the cauliflower and cover it with lid. Keep it aside for 20-30 mins.Drain the water from the cauliflower and spread it on the tissue paper to remove the excess water. In the mean time, add all the ingredients listed under "For the batter" in a bowl.Add water little by little and make a thin batter. Add few cauliflower florets in a batter and coat it with batter on all sides evenly.Heat a non stick pan with 1/2 tbsp of oil and then add the batter coated cauliflower and cook it on all sides until it has some brown spots and crispy on outside. Remove it on the plate.In the same pan, add the remaining oil, saute the minced garlic and the white part of the spring onions until they are fragrant, then add the soy sauce, chili sauce, tomato sauce and then mix cornflour along with water(listed under for the slurry) and make thin slurry and add into it. Mix it all well. Once the sauce became thick and coats the back of the spoon, add the pan fried cauliflower and mix it well.Finally add the pepper powder and finely chopped green part of spring onion.Tasty Gobi Manchurian is ready to serve. Serve it with your favorite fried rice or as a starter. We had it with paneer fried rice !!
Notes:
  • Add more or less of sauce as per your liking.
  • Since all the sauces already have enough salt, there is no need for extra salt in the sauce.
  • Recommend to use non stick pan for pan frying the cauliflower.
  • Serve immediately for best taste. 

No comments:

Post a Comment