Vegetable Manchurian

If only Chinese people really knew about this dish…

Indian Chinese food has always been a favorite and the word Manchurian is almost synonymous to the cuisine.

And for out potluck party this last weekend, the menu was a mix of Indian Chinese and Roti-daal-sabji! My friends got Chowmein and fried rice and I made Veg manchurian.

Here’s the recipe for the Manchu balls!

I used my food processor and grated these veggies below. I used carrots, green beans, cabbage, cauliflower and green bell peppers.

Add all of the veggies to a pot of boiling water for about 3-5 mins. Since the veggies are already finely grated, just cook it enough in water to make them soft. This step helps to make really smooth balls.

Drain the veggies on a towel or colander, squeeze out all the water from the veggies and save the water. This is good veggie stock and we can use this water to make the gravy.

To the veggies, add corn flour, soya sauce, chilli garlic sauce, salt, green chilies, chopped ginger and chopped garlic. Mix up everything with the veggies. Now, add a cup of boiled rice to the veggies – this helps in binding the veggies together so it doesn’t breakup while frying. Instead of rice, you can also use an egg if you prefer that.

Make small balls of the mix. Deep fry it in oil until they are golden brown. Keep Aside.

Now, for the gravy, here are the things needed. Also, chop ginger, garlic, green chilies and onions.

In a pan, fry the ginger, garlic and green chilies. Add the onions and sauté for a min. To this, add soya sauce, chilli garlic paste, salt and pepper. Dissolve a little bit of the corn flour in water and add it to this. Then, add the veggies stock and let it all boil for a few mins until the sauce thickens. Keep aside when done.

Just before serving, add the gravy on top of the Manchurian balls and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Here is a picture of chowmein, fried rice and manchurian!

Thanks Richa - your salwar acts as a beatiful background for my manchurian!! LOL!