Veg Manchurian Gravy
Veg Manchurian is a lip-smacking Indo-Chinese dish made with deep fried veg bells in a soya sauce based thick Manchurian gravy. Veg Manchurian is a popular starter too where it is served dry, however in this post, I am sharing the recipe of Manchurian gravy which is a perfect side dish for a fried rice.
We Indians love the Chinese food that is available in the restaurants and fast-food joints as it is spicy, sour, tangy and kindles your taste buds. Veg manchurian is one such restaurant favourite dish both in the starters as well as an accompaniment in the mains.
Technically speaking, the items which are served as ‘Chinese’ in most restaurants are not authentic Chinese dishes and fall under a fusion category called ‘Indo-Chinese’. I would say this cuisine is custom built by modifying some of the Chinese cooking techniques to suit our Indian palette. I am sure if you go to China or an authentic Chinese food joint, you would not find Veg Manchurian in their menu. But hey, who cares about it, as ultimately what matters is the taste and how well you enjoy your food.
Indo-Chinese cooking makes use of plenty of fresh and crunchy veggies in the dishes and some of the most common ones being cabbage, carrots, beans, spring onions and green capsicum. These veggies are the dominant ingredients in most of the veg Indo-Chinese dishes and Veg Manchurian being no exception is also made with grated carrots, cabbage and capsicum which are mixed with some plain flour and corn flour and some seasoning and turned into small balls and deep fried. It is then tossed in a manchurian gravy made with plenty of garlic, onions, capsicum, soya sauce, red chilli sauce, ketchup and fresh black pepper.
Tips for a perfect Manchurian
For those of you who have tried making veg manchurian before, one of the difficulties that you could have faced earlier is a sticky or a runny dough. The dough generally becomes sticky due to the water that is released from the grated veggies. When the dough becomes sticky, we tend to add more flour which then alters the consistency of the balls and you would not taste the veggies much. So to avoid this, add some salt to the grated veggies and let it rest for 5 minutes and then squeeze the water out of the veggies. Don’t worry about the nutrients being lost, as I make use of this water for making the gravy!
A good veg manchurian ball must hold a perfect round shape and it must not be too hard or dense from inside. Manchurian ball tends to become tough and dense especially from inside, if the amount of plain flour/ corn flour that is mixed in the dough is more. So it is important to just add enough flour to bring the veggies together.
It is important to fry the machurian balls on low to medium flame so that is gets cooked through from inside as well while it would still be golden brown and crisp from outside.
The manchurian balls are to be added in the gravy just before serving and is to be cooked just for 1-2 minutes. If you cook for too long, the balls could become soggy.
Serving Suggestion
Veg Manchurian gravy pairs best with a Veg Fried rice or Schezwan Fried rice. It also goes well with Veg Hakka Noodles. This same recipe when made with a thick sauce which is just enough to coat the veg balls, can be served as a starter.
Veg Manchurian Gravy
Ingredients
For Veg Balls
- 300 grams Cabbage
- 2 Carrots
- ½ Green Capsicum
- 1 inch Ginger
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 Green Chilli
- 4 tbsp Plain Flour or Maida
- 3 tbsp Corn Flour
- ¼ tsp Pepper Powder
- Oil for deep frying
- Salt to taste
For Gravy
- ½ Green Capsicum
- 1 Onion
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 1 inch Ginger
- 1 Green Chilli
- 2½ tbsp Soya Sauce
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Sauce
- 1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
- ½ tsp Vinegar
- 1 tsp Onion Powder optional
- ½ tsp Pepper Powder
- 1 tbsp Corn Flour
- Salt to taste
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 3 tbsp Spring Onion Greens finely chopped
Instructions
- For making the veg balls, in a bowl grate the cabbage, carrots and green capsicum in medium setting of the grater. Add some salt and let it rest for 5 mins. Squeeze the excess water from the veggies and reserve the water in a separate bowl.
- To the squeezed veggies, add 1 inch grated ginger, 1 finely chopped chilli, 3 grated cloves of garlic, plain flour, corn flour, salt and crushed pepper and mix.
- Without adding any water, gently mix and knead the ingredients to make a chapati like dough. If the dough is sticky, you could add some more flour, but be careful not to add too much.
- Take small portion of the dough and roll them into smooth small balls by greasing your hand slightly with oil.
- Heat oil in a kadai and fry the veg balls in batches on low to medium flame. Wait for a minute or two before turning the balls after dropping them in the oil, as it could break. Later, keep tossing the balls gently to get a uniform colour.
- Drain the balls onto a kitchen towel or paper, once they are golden brown in colour.
- For making the gravy, heat oil on high flame and add finely chopped ginger, garlic and green chilli. Later add half of onion which is finely chopped and cook on high flame for a minute.
- Now add the other half of onion which is cubed, and also add the cubed capsicum. Cook on high flame for couple of minutes.
- Now add the soya sauce, tomato ketchup, red chilli sauce, vinegar and onion powder and mix well.
- Next add the water squeezed out of the grated veggies and add little more water if required. Add some salt if required, but do note that the water from veggies also contains salt and soya sauce is salty too. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil.
- Once the gravy starts boiling, add corn flour slurry which was made by mixing 1 tablespoon of corn flour in half a cup of water. Mix well and cook on high flame till the gravy becomes thick and glossy.
- Now add the fried veg balls and let it cook just for couple of minutes. Finish with finely chopped spring onions.
Notes
- It is important to add some salt to the grated veggies and squeeze out the water and then make the dough for the veg balls. Do not throw away the squeezed water and use for making the gravy
- The balls are to be fried on low to medium flame, else they would be undercooked from inside.
- Be generous with the amount of garlic in the gravy as it gives a wonderful flavour and taste.
- Be cautious of the amount of salt that you add to the gravy, as the water from squeezed veggies and soya sauce contain salt as well.
- Do not add corn flour directly to the gravy and make a slurry by mixing with water and then add to the gravy, else the corn flour would turn into lumps.
- You could use sesame or groundnut oil for the gravy to get the best flavour.
- Do not overcook the veg balls after adding in the gravy.
