Gobi Manchurian with Gravy Recipe | Indo-Chinese Gobi Manchurian Recipe

Learn how to make Gobi Manchurian with Gravy ~ Indo-Chinese recipe of deep fried cauliflower fritters in sweet and spicy vegetable gravy

Did you know that there are food trends, quite similar to fashion trends? Yes, it’s true! While the year 2013 saw everyone go crazy about kale with kale chips, salads, stir fries, smoothies and what nots, the humble cauliflower is set to rule this year as it being crowned as the super food of 2014! If anything to go by the buzz and the hype that kale created last year, then we might braze ourselves for some unusual and unique cauliflower recipes to flood in the food blog and food magazine world!

Cauliflower for Gobi Manchurian with Gravy

Assorted vegetables used for sweet and spicy gravy

Trendy or not, I love my cauliflower and it makes an appearance on our dinner table every fortnight. There are many ways to cook this beautiful vegetables and when it is not cooked right then it turns out to be what my lil one says a ‘stinky’ flower! I use it for stir frying, roasting, dunked in spicy gravies, in rice preparation and also using it as a stuffing in Indian flatbreads. Whatever way you cook it, cauliflower is a pretty easy vegetable to play with.

One best way to use the cauliflower is in making one of the most popular and loved Indo-Chinese or Indian-Chinese cuisine. It is called Gobi Manchurian. Gobi Manchurian is a deep fried battered cauliflower fritters served in a sweet and hot sauce or gravy. While the Dry Gobi Manchurian is served as a starter, the gravy one is served as a main accompaniment with Indo-Chinese Fried Rice or Noodles. The deep fried Gobi Manchurian is once, or at the most twice, a year indulgences in our home when our cravings for street side Indo-Chinese food hits the roof! So when I finally gave myself to cravings, I make sure to cook enough to last for 2 days as my husband loves them a lot!

I use quite a lot of colourful vegetables in the gravy to reduce the guilty feeling that hits me whenever I indulge in deep fried goodies! Also these vegetables makes the dish taste so much better than the ones with few pieces of vegetables floating on the surface often served in the restaurants. So it is up to you to adjust the amount of vegetables used in the gravy. So without further delay, shall we proceed and make ourselves some delicious Gobi Manchurian with Gravy?!

Deep fried cauliflower fritters

---

Gobi Manchurian with Gravy (Indo-Chinese recipe of deep fried cauliflower fritters in sweet and spicy vegetable gravy)
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 40 mins
Recipe Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serves: 5-6 people
Shelf Life: Best served fresh but can be refrigerated for upto 3 days
Serving Suggestion: With fried rice or noodles

---

Ingredients:
For the Cauliflower Fritters:
1 medium Cauliflower (about 4-5 cups)
1 cup Maida/Plain Flour
1½ tbsp Corn Flour
½-1 tsp Red Chilli Powder (Adjust as per taste)
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

For the Gravy:
1 large Onion or 6-8 Spring Onions, finely chopped
1-1¼ cups assorted coloured Capsicum/Bell Peppers, cut into 1 cm squares
¼ cup Cabbage, finely chopped
¼ cup Sweet Corn Kernals
¼ cup French Beans, chopped
7-8 large cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1 inch Ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped (Adjust as per taste)
2 tbsp Soya Sauce (Adjust as per taste)
½-1 tbsp Red Chilli Sauce (Adjust as per taste)
1 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce (Optional, adjust as per taste)
1 tbsp Tomato Sauce/Ketchup (Adjust as per taste)
1-1½ tbsp Corn Flour, dissolved in ¼ cup of water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:
For the cauliflower fritters:

1. Cut the cauliflower into medium sized florets. Dunk them in a bowl of hot water with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt for 10 mins. Some recipes ask you to cook the cauliflower florets in hot boiling water for few minutes. But I don’t cook them as I find them well cooked when deep frying. So it is up to you to decide if you want to cook them prior to deep frying or not. After 10 mins, drain all the water and let the florets rest in a colander.
2. Mix plain flour, corn flour, red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste and salt in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add water to make a batter. The consistency of the batter shouldn’t be too thick like a paste nor should be too runny. It should be thick enough to coat the cauliflower florets and stick to them, but also drips when you lift the floret. Keep it aside until needed.

For the sweet and spicy gravy:

1. Heat oil in a kadai/wok on high flame and add finely chopped garlic, ginger and green chillies to it. Fry them until the edges begin to brown, about 30 seconds.
2. Add onions (white part in case of spring onions) and stir fry on high flame for a minute. Next add bell peppers, cabbage, sweet corn, French beans and stir fry them for a minute or two.
3. Mix in soya sauce, red chilli sauce, sweet chilli sauce and tomato sauce and give them a quick stir.
4. Add about 2½-3 cups of water and bring them to boil. Once the gravy comes to the boil, reduce the heat to low and slowly add the mixture of corn flour dissolved in water little at time. Make sure that you continue to stir all the while to avoid lumps.
5. Slowly the gravy will start to thicken. Add salt and pepper powder to taste and switch off the gas. Set it aside until needed. The gravy will continue to thicken bit more as it cools down.

Proceed to deep fry:

1. Heat oil in a pan on medium flame. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop few drops of batter into the hot oil. The batter should slowly float to the surface of the oil. If it sinks to the bottom and stays there, then the oil is not hot enough. If the batter quickly floats to the top as well as browns quickly, then the oil is too hot.
2. Once the oil is hot enough, dip the cauliflower florets into the batter and coat them well from all the sides. Drop them slowly into the hot oil and deep fry them in batches until they turn crisp and change their colour to light gold. Place them in a bowl lied with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Continue to deep fry all the florets and set them aside.

For assembling and serving:

1. Heat the sweet and spicy gravy and add all the deep fried cauliflower fritters to the gravy. Let it cook for 3 minutes. Mix in green parts of spring onions.
2. Serve this delicious Gobi Manchurian with Gravy with any Indo-Chinese Fried Rice or Noodles. Enjoy!

Gobi Manchurianwith Gravy Recipe | Indo-Chinese Gobi Manchurian Recipe

---

Sia’s Notes:

• The consistency of the batter for fritters shouldn’t be too thick like a paste nor should be too runny. It should be thick enough to coat the cauliflower florets and stick to them, but also drips when you lift the floret. Keep it aside until needed.
• Take care while adding salt when making gravy as soya sauce and other sauces already has fair bit of salt.
• Make sure you don’t cook the vegetables for long as we need them to retain their crunch.
• To test if the oil is hot enough, drop few drops of batter into the hot oil. The batter should slowly float to the surface of the oil. If it sinks to the bottom and stays there, then the oil is not hot enough. If the batter quickly floats to the top as well as browns quickly, then the oil is too hot.