VEGETABLE MANCHURIAN
This is an Indo Chinese starter dish of fried veg balls in a spicy, sweet and tangy sauce. This dish will be liked by all age group, especially teens ! The recipe does take time to prepare with frying the vegetable balls and then preparing the sauce. For less work you can make the veg balls a day before and use them the next day. There is no gravy in the recipe. The only time taking part in making vegetable manchurian is the grating/chopping the veggies. So serve veg manchurian dry as a starter snack or as a side dish with hakka noodles or veg chow mein.
Recipe type: starter cuisine: Indo Chinese
Prep time: 50 mins cook time: 10 mins total time: 1 hour
Serves: 2
Ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml):
For the fried veg balls:
½ cup grated or finely chopped cabbage (green or red)
½ cup grated carrot
¼ cup finely chopped capsicum/green bell pepper
¼ cup finely chopped french beans
¼ cup finely chopped spring onions/scallions or onions
2 tbsp corn starch (also called as corn flour in india)
2 tbsp all purpose flour/maida
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt or add as required
oil for shallow frying or deep frying
for the manchurian sauce:
½ tbsp finely chopped garlic
½ tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 or 2 green chilies, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped spring onions/scallions or onions
½ tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp red chili sauce
¼ tsp corn starch (optional)
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp rice vinegar or regular vinegar or apple cider vinegar
½ to 1 tbsp chopped spring onions greens for garnish
½ tbsp sesame oil
salt as required
how to make the recipe:
preparing the veg manchurian balls:
take the finely chopped or grated veggies in a bowl.
add all the dry ingredients.
Gather the whole mixture and kind of knead so that the veggies leave water and you get a dough like mixture.
Take a small portion of the mixture in your hands. press and roll it in your palm and make a round veggie ball. Make all veggie balls this way and keep aside.
Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. add a small piece of ball to the hot oil. if the balls does not stick or settle down at the bottom of the pan, but comes up steadily the oil is ready.
Gently place the balls in the hot oil. the oil has to be medium hot. too much heat and the manchurian balls will be browned from top and uncooked from inside. less hot oil will make the balls absorb too much of oil.
With a slotted spoon turn over the balls when cooked from one side. fry the balls till crisp and golden.
Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain as much as oil as possible.
Place the fried veg manchurian balls on kitchen paper towels. fry the veg balls this way in batches and keep aside.
PREPARING THE MANCHURIAN SAUCE:
Once the balls are fried, then it’s time to make the sauce. In another pan, heat about ½ tbsp of the same oil in which we fried the balls or ½ tbsp of sesame oil.
add ½ tbsp finely chopped garlic, ½ tbsp finely chopped ginger & 1 or 2 green chilies, finely chopped.
stir and saute for a minute on a low flame.
add ¼ cup chopped spring onions or onions.
stir and saute till the onions soften.
now add the sauces - ½ tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp tomato sauce and 1 tsp red chili sauce or green chili sauce. stir very well.
keep the flame on the lower side and sprinkle ¼ tsp corn starch. adding corn starch is optional. stir very well.
quickly add salt and black pepper as required. stir again. after adding corn starch the sauce will begin to thicken, so one has to be quick.
then add the fried veg balls. stir so that the sauce coats the veg balls evenly.
Switch off the flame and add ½ tsp rice vinegar or regular white vinegar.
Toss and stir again. Serve the Manchurian hot as a starter snack garnished with some spring onion greens.
PREPARING THE VEG MANCHURIAN BALLS:
1. take the finely chopped or grated veggies in a bowl. here i added ½ cup finely chopped red cabbage, ½ cup grated carrot, ¼ cup finely chopped capsicum/green bell pepper, ¼ cup finely chopped french beans, ¼ cup finely chopped spring onions.
2. add the dry ingredients – 2 tbsp corn starch, 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, ½ tsp black pepper and ½ tsp salt or add as required.
3. Gather the whole mixture and kind of mix and knead so that the veggies leave water and you get a dough like mixture.
4. Take a small portion of the mixture in your hands.
5. Press and roll it in your palm.
6. And make a round veggie ball.
7. Make all veggie balls this way and keep aside.
8. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. Add a small piece of ball to the hot oil. If the balls does not stick or settle down at the bottom of the pan, but comes up steadily the oil is ready for frying these veg Manchurian balls.
9. Gently place the balls in the hot oil. the oil has to be medium hot. too much heat and the manchurian balls will be browned from top and uncooked from inside. less hot oil will make the balls absorb too much of oil.
10. When cooked from one side, turn the balls with a slotted spoon.
11. Fry the balls till crisp and golden.
12. Remove them with a slotted or perforated spoon and drain as much as oil as possible.
13. Place the fried veg manchurian balls on kitchen paper towels. for a low fat version, you can cook the veggie balls in an appe-appam pan.
14. Fry the veg balls this way in batches and keep aside.
15. Once the balls are fried, then it’s time to make the sauce. In another pan, heat about ½ tbsp of the same oil in which we fried the balls or sesame oil. add ½ tbsp finely chopped garlic, ½ tbsp finely chopped ginger & 1 or 2 green chilies, finely chopped.
16. Stir and sauté for a minute on a low flame.
17. Add ¼ cup chopped spring onions or onions.
18. Stir and sauté till the onions soften.
19. Now add the sauces – ½ tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp tomato ketchup and 1 tsp red chili sauce or green chili sauce.
20. Stir very well.
21. Keep the flame on the lower side and sprinkle ¼ tsp corn starch. Adding corn starch is optional.
22. Stir very well.
23. Quickly ¼ tsp black pepper and salt as required. stir again. after adding corn starch the sauce will begin to thicken, so one has to be quick. keep a check on the salt as the soy sauce, tomato ketchup and chili sauce already has salt. so add less salt.
24. Then add the fried veg balls.
25. Stir so that the sauce coats the veg balls evenly.
26. Switch off the flame and add ½ tsp rice vinegar or regular white vinegar.
27. Toss and stir again. Serve the veg manchurian hot as a starter snack garnished with some spring onion greens.
