Gobi Manchurian

So one day, I was sitting around and thinking about food (as usual) and suddenly, I had this bad craving for gobi manchurian. Gobi (cauliflower) Manchurian is an Indian-Chinese dish made with an Indian, spicy sauce with Chinese-inspired flavors.The first time I ate gobi manchurian was when I was in Manchester and my friend, Kanika forced me to go eat at a vegetarian restaurant. Gobi Manchurian was one of the dishes she ordered and it was sooo good. Well I decided to make it at home and it turned out pretty good! Here's the recipe...

Ingredients:

For Gobi

1 medium cauliflower, broken into medium-sized florets

1 cup all-purpose flour

oil for deep frying

1/2 cup corn starch

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 inch piece of ginger, finely grated

1 green chili, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic finely grated

1 teaspoon pepper

salt to taste

water to make batter

For Sauce

1/2 cup minced garlic

1/3 cup finely grated ginger

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 Serrano Peppers (or green chili), slit

1/3 hot sauce (I used Sriracha)

1 bunch spring onions (separate the green and white parts)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3/4 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 tomato paste 

3 tablespoons sesame oil (or whatever oil you have. Sesame will be best)

1 teaspoon corn starch

salt to taste

Method:

1. In a pan of salted water, cook the cauliflower florets for only a few minutes. Don't let it cook all the way, otherwise, it'll lose its crunch. Pat dry with a towel and set aside.

2. In a bowl, combine flour, corn starch, salt, ginger, garlic, pepper, Serrano peppers and soy sauce.

3. Add enough water to make a thick paste.

4. Now take a pan or wok and heat enough oil for deep frying the florets. To check if the oil is ready for frying, put in a drop of the batter. If the batter swims right up to the surface, then it's ready. 

5. Now dip the florets into the batter and make sure it is well coated. Then place the florets into the oil for frying. 

6. Fry them in batches. Don't try to cook them all together. Fry them until golden brown. I would suggest cooking them between high and medium heat. If you think the oil is getting too hot, decrease the heat a little because we need to make sure that it is being cooked from the inside too. Switch between high and medium accordingly. 

7. Remove and drain them on an absorbent paper.

8. Now make the sauce. In a bowl, combine tomato paste, hot sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, salt and one cup of water.

9.Heat three tablespoons of oil in a pan (with a wide base to hold all florets in a single layer). Add minced garlic and grated ginger. Stir fry on high heat for a minute. Add the white parts of the spring onion, the chopped onions and Serrano peppers. Stir fry everything together until the onions become transparent.

10. Now add the sauce to this and simmer for about three minutes. Then mix corn starch with two tablespoons of water and add it to the pan. Simmer for another minute. Then add the florets to the pan and cook them at high heat while tossing them frequently until they are nicely coated with the sauce.

11. Turn off the heat when you start hearing a sizzle. Garnish with the green part of the spring onions. Serve immediately as an appetizer or as a side with noodles. 

I ate it with hakka noodles :D

Have a lovely day :)

xx