A Healthy Gobi Manchurian That is Tasty and Easy to Cook

Gobi Manchurian of Cauliflower Manchurian is an Indianised version of Chinese cooking that is extremely popular in India. Manchurian was taken from the word Manchuria denotes the northeast region of China and where the Manchus conquered China in the 17th century and ruled China for 250 years. The Manchu Banquet was a famous traditional feast made popular by the region in China. 

Manchurian cooking in India has nothing to do with Chinese Manchu cooking

But coming back to Manchurian cooking in India, the style has nothing to do with Manchu cuisine or even Chinese cuisine although it uses Chinese ingredients and is heavily influenced by a Chinese style of cooking where the term Chicken Manchurian or vegetable Manchurian and Gobi Manchurian was actually a creation by Indian restaurants in India. It is said to have been invented in 1975 by Nelson Wang; Wang described his invention process as starting from the basic ingredients of an Indian dish, namely chopped garlic, ginger, and green chilis, but next, instead of adding garam masala, he put in soy sauce instead, followed by cornstarch and the chicken itself. A popular vegetarian variant replaces chicken with cauliflower and is commonly known as gobi Manchurian.

MY STYLE OF GOBI (CAULIFLOWER) MANCHURIAN

My style of Gobi Manchurian is best-made semi-dry. Don’t ask me for exact measurements as I cook with instinct using pinches, dashes and handfuls, not a cook so always experimenting and this came out great.

Ingredients: 1 large cauliflower cut into medium florets: sprinkle with salt, black pepper, a pinch of turmeric and a dash of Worcester sauce. (if you want this recipe to remain vegan, then avoid Worcester sauce)

Make batter with flour and cornflour in proportion of 3:1, 1 egg mix well with water to a good smooth consistency (shouldn’t be too thick neither liquidly.) Add 1 teaspoon dark soya sauce, salt, pepper. Coat cauliflower well in batter and deep fry till light brown. Don’t over fry or else the cauliflower turns black.

Ingredients for the sauce

Chopped Onion: chopped garlic: chopped coriander: 4 chillies chopped. 1 and ½ medium-sized tomato chopped. 1 small piece of ginger chopped

Method

Heat oil: add 1 .5 tablespoon ginger garlic paste: add chopped ingredients, add a teaspoon of dark soya sauce (no1 A), a dash of light soya sauce (C), (if you don’t have separate soya sauce, use the regular store-bought one.) Add salt, pepper, a teaspoon of green chilli sauce, a pinch of sugar and sauté.

Add cauliflower, mix well and stir fry for a few minutes, add some water, stir fry, once almost done,  add some cornflour dissolved in water, saute for 3 minutes, remove. Your Gobi Manchurian is ready. Garnish with coriander and serve with steamed rice.