Indo- Chinese cuisine finds a lovable place for itself amongst the youth of India. One may ask what exactly is Indo- Chinese cuisine now? It is basically a fusion cuisine which propped up in India almost a century back. Today, i am re-creating those flavors in my kitchen and sharing with you my favorite, Mixed Vegetable Manchurian Gravy.
It is said that this unique fusion cuisine was developed by the small Chinese community settled in Calcutta, India for over a century. It is interesting to see how the Spices and chilies from Indian cuisine came to marry the sauces and bases of Chinese cuisine and created a new platform for dishes.
I love Indo- Chinese dishes !! I find them comforting, fun, easy and fun… did i say fun again .. u bet, i did !! My favorites are Hakka Noodles, Momos and Manchurian. I have tried Momos at home many times and i simply adore the Moong bean twist momos and the Cabbage Carrot Momos. I do plan to make Hakka noodles soon too and share a recipe with you all but for today, i am making Manchurian.
To describe in short, manchurian is basically kofta sort of balls which are usually fried and then dunked in a light soya sauce gravy. They are delicious !
Mixed Vegetable Manchurian Gravy
Mixed Vegetable Manchurian Gravy
Utensils Required
Aebleskiver pan, mixing bowls, spoons and pan.
Ingredients
Manchurian rounds
- grated cauliflower- 1 cup
- grated carrot- 1/2 cup
- french beans- 10-12 , finely chopped
- finely chopped bell peppers- 1/2 cup
- 2 spring onion, finely chopped
- Pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
- flour- 2 tablespoon
- corn starch/ corn flour- 2 tablespoon
- oil for roasting- 2 tsp
Gravy
- water- 2 cups
- oil- 1 tsp
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- bell peppers- 1/2 cup , finely chopped
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
- ginger- 1 inch, grated
- soy sauce- 1 tablespoon
- sugar- 2 tsp
- vinegar- 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 1 tsp corn starch, mixed in 2 tablespoons water (at room temperature)
Method
- Mix all the ingredients for the Manchurian rounds and form into balls. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Heat the Aebleskiver pan. Brush with oil in the cavities and roast the Manchurian rounds till golden brown. Keep aside. You can also freeze the left over manchurian rounds to use later.
- For the gravy, begin with heating a pan with oil in it. Add in the chopped onion, bell peppers, garlic and ginger. Keep the heat on high and saute till lightly golden brown. Now, add in the soya sauce, vinegar, water and spices. Cook till it boils.
- Now, add in the corn starch slurry into the boiled mix and shut the flame. Cover with lid and let it sit for 5 minutes. The gravy will thicken.
- Add in the manchurian rounds and toss around the pan to coat with gravy. Let it sit in the gravy for atleast 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle spring onion greens on the top as garnishing. Serve over a bed of noodles or rice.
My take: Making it a no-fry deal, hence guilt free.
I used my faithful kitchen companion – Aebleskiver pan for roasting the manchurian. It worked so well ! I have had many Manchurian dishes and i can tell you that this dish tastes just like how a Manchurian should be, minus the frying calories ! Try make it and indulgence yourself too 🙂
I am a first time visitor to your Blog and I am very much impressed with your recipes…Keep up the good work
I am so glad to have u hear Alka ! Welcome to my blog. I am so happy to hear such nice words from u 🙂 Thank u for ur motivation. Please check out the recipe and feel free to give me ur feedback or suggestions. Hope u have a great time !
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The manchurian rounds sound amazing to me! The whole dish is mouth watering! Yum! 😀 I hope you are having a lovely time! xx
Aww thank u so much Jhuls ! Always feels great to hear nice things from u 🙂
What is Aebleskiver pan?
Aebleshiver pan is also known as the Appe pan in India which are used mostly in the Southern Indian cooking but is gaining popularity elsewhere too for its benefits of cooking with far less oil. If You have never tried or seen this utensil, i would highly recommend that you look in up and buy it. Makes everyday cooking far less oily and healthier . You can use Appe pan to make pakoras, koftas etc without using much oil 🙂
The whole recipe looks really good, especially the gravy. I will have to make this 🙂
This looks so good and hearty. Can’t wait to try it.
Thank u so much Hilda 🙂
I loved learning more about manchurian. This recipe sounds so delicious, and your pictures are simply mouthwatering. Thank you so much for sharing this dish at our fiesta this week, and I hope you had a fabulous weekend. 🙂
Aww thank u so much Kalia for ur compliments about my pictures. I am just starting to work around my DSLR and ur words are really motivating ! I am also glad to see that you liked the dish. I really you try it out sometime too 🙂
This meal looks so delicious! I also enjoyed reading about the Indo-Chinese fusion foods. What an interesting combination! I love learning about new recipe ideas, especially tasty and healthy ones like this. The gravy for this meal sounds so good, I will have to try it. Thank you for sharing this with Fiesta Friday!
Thank u so much Jenny for stopping by. I am glad u liked it !Do give it a go 🙂
wow!Mouth watering recipe..It looks delicious.
Thnx for posting this recipe.I’ii try it.
Reblogged this on Divine Spice Box and commented:
I am in mood for some quick Indo-chinese food and when that happens, my first thought is – Manchurian. For those who are new to the concept of manchurian, it is basically a vegan, meat free meatball dish which is packed with delicious flavours and has a burst of various flavour notes : sweet- spicy, tangy and sour 🙂 This is easy to make and if you are anyone like me, it is impossible to eat just one !
Accompany it plain rice or jazz up your next meal by pairing it up with some quick stir fried noodles or fried rice 🙂
Check out the recipe here – https://divinespicebox.com/2015/08/10/meatless-monday-mixed-vegetable-manchurian-gravy/
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How would you make these not using an Aebleskiver? Would you cook them in a fry pan or roast in the oven? If in oven, what temperature and for how long?
Hi Sandra.. Thanks for stopping by. Usually manchurian is deep fried (which tastes yum by the way.. But is full of calories :p). I assume one can bake these too.. I would suggest to bake at 180c/375 f for about 30 minutes. You would have to brush the balls with some oil to get the crispness and the color. You could also coat them with dried Bread crumbs for a little crunch and to retain the shape well
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