Today I’m sharing another popular Indo-Chinese cuisine dish, Veg Manchurian.
SO WHAT EXACTLY IS MANCHURIAN?
These are deep-fried dumplings, dunked in brown, spicy gravy, flavored with ginger-garlic and mainly soy sauce. There are two versions to this, a gravy and dry version. The dry version makes for a tasty appetizer, and the gravy is mostly served with noodles or fried rice. Manchurian is not only limited to veggies, but there are also quite a few variants like chicken, paneer, soya chunks, mushroom, babycorn, cauliflower and even an idli manchurian 😀 Manchurians have nothing to do with Chinese cuisine. It is totally an Indian-Chinese version and one that makes a really tasty snack or a main course meal with noodles or rice.
I’m sharing one interesting way of having this delicious dish, in the form of rolls! Why do you always have to eat them with noodles or rice? It is good to have a little variation sometimes, don’t you think? I actually got this idea when I saw these Manchurian rolls in Mumbai at one of my favorite bakeries- Merwans! Although I didn’t purchase it and bought some cake instead, I knew I had to make this at home. These Manchurian balls are baked and not deep fried. Well yes, it takes a lot longer than deep frying, but I don’t have to watch extra calories. Baking works fine here with the manchurians having a crisp exterior and being soft on the inside. I’ve prepared a semi gravy since I wanted that glaze on the manchurian balls. You can skip steps 4 & 5 in the gravy preparation part for a veg manchurian dry recipe. Simply toss the manchurian balls in the sauces and stuff the rolls.
IF YOU ENJOYED THESE VEG MANCHURIAN ROLLS, YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY THESE INDIAN CHINESE DISHES
Chilli garlic hakka noodles Schezwan noodles Schezwan potatoes Chilli Paneer
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE MIX VEG MANCHURIAN ROLLS | VEGETABLE MANCHURIAN | CHINESE MANCHURIAN RECIPE
FOR THE VEG MANCHURIAN BALLS
1.In a mixing bowl, add all the veggies (squeeze out as much water from the cabbage and dry the other veggies with a clean kitchen napkin to get rid of any moisture) and mix well. Set aside 1/2 cup of the veggies for the gravy (optional, or simply use all of it to make the Manchurian balls). To the remaining veggies add salt, pepper & ginger garlic paste, cornflour and maida. Mix well and make a dough (You will notice veggies releasing moisture, so do not add water initially, add only if required). If the mixture is too wet add more maida and cornflour if needed. I did not add any extra water.
2.Make lime size balls ( about 10), place them on a baking tray lined with silicone liner or greased with oil spray and bake at 400 F for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown from all sides turning once in between or deep fry them.
FOR THE VEG MANCHURIAN GRAVY
1.Heat oil in a wok, add in minced ginger garlic and chopped chillies, saute until aromatic.
2.Add 1/2 cup of mix veggies, saute them till tender but still firm.
3.Add soy sauce & chilli sauce, mix well. Also, add the ketchup now (if using).
4.Add vegetable stock/water. Bring to a boil. Season with pepper, and salt only if required.
5.Add cornflour slurry, keep stirring until it thickens.
6.Add in the vinegar and pinch of sugar, give it a quick mix.
7 Drop in Manchurian balls , cook for another minute. Garnish with spring onions.
8.Stuff the rolls with some salad greens and prepared Manchurian balls. Serve immediately. Or else add the Manchurian balls in the gravy only at the time of serving the rolls or else they will get soggy.
NOTES
For a healthy manchurian recipe, use boiled potatoes, cooked rice, rice flour, oats flour, breadcrumbs, besan (chickpea flour) for binding in lieu of maida and cornflour. You could use any one or a combination of binding agents. You can also use the paniyaram/ebelskiver to fry them in minimal oil. For more gravy, add 1 to 1.5 cups of veg stock or water and increase the cornflour to 1 tbsp for the cornflour slurry.
HOW TO MAKE VEG MANCHURIAN ROLLS?
I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at [email protected] You can also follow me on : Facebook Pinterest Instagram Twitter Regards, Freda
