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Gobi Manchurian is an Indian Chinese fried cauliflower food item popular in India.

Gobi (Cauliflower) Manchurian is the result of the adaptation of Chinese cooking and seasoning techniques to suit the  Indian tastes. It is believed to have been originally developed by a small Chinese community which lived in Kolkata for a century.

In its two-stage preparation, the first stage requires preparing a spiced corn flour batter, dipping Cauliflower florets in it and deep frying them. In the second stage, the deep fried cauliflower florets are sautéed with chopped onion, garlic, etc, in soy sauce, tomato ketchup and chilli sauce.

There are many types of manchurians for example - Gobi Manchurian, Vegetable Manchurian, the Baby-Corn Manchurian, Chicken Manchurian etc.

There are two different variants of Gobi Manchurian - dry and with gravy. Both variants are prepared by using common ingredients like cauliflower florets, corn flour, maida flour (all-purpose flour), spring onions, soy sauce, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup, garlic etc. and has typical garnish of spring onion.

Gobi manchurian dry

It has cauliflower fritters in comparatively dry sauce like texture and is typically served and enjoyed as a snack or starter with tomato ketchup as dipping sauce.

Gobi manchurian gravy

It has cauliflower fritters in a thick soup like spicy gravy curry made of corn flour. It is generally served with varieties of rice dishes like steamed rice, Chinese fried rice, Szechuan fried rice, etc. in main course.

Gobi Manchurian gravy is generally served with varieties of rice dishes like steamed rice, Chinese fried rice, Szechuan fried rice, etc. in main course.

Ingredients

Preparation

• Take Gobi/Cauliflower and cut it into bite size florets.

• Take all purpose flour/maida in a bowl. Add corn flour, 1 tsp cumin seeds, red chilli powder, salt to taste and ginger garlic paste into it. Mix it well.

• Add water into it as required and make a smooth batter. Make sure the batter should neither be too thick nor too thin.

• Add Cauliflower florets into the batter and mix well until the florets are properly coated with the batter.

• Heat oil in a pan or a kadai on a medium high flame to deep frying the cauliflower florets.

• Once the oil gets hot drop the cauliflower florets slowly into hot oil in the frying pan and turn the flame to medium. Do not overlap the cauliflower florets.

• Let it fry for 2-3 minutes and then turn it around, if you turn it immediately then the batter will not stick to the cauliflower florets and will get removed.

• Deep fry the batter coated cauliflower florets until they become golden brown from all the sides.

• Once they become crispy and golden brown, take  them out and drain out the extra oil. Now spread them on a paper towel.

• Fry the florets in this way in batches and repeat the same process with the other ones.

• Once you are done with frying all gobi/cauliflower florets, take 1 tbsp corn flour in a bowl. Add 2-3 tbsp water into it. Mix it well and keep it aside for later use.

• To make gravy, take a pan and add 1 tbsp of oil into it.

• Add  1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera and finely chopped green chillies into it. Sauté it for a minute.

• Now add finely chopped onions and chopped garlic. Cook them till the onions become translucent.

• Now add Soy sauce, tomato sauce and red chilli sauce and mix well.

• Then add already prepared corn flour paste, 1/2 cup of water, salt to taste and again mix well. Soy sauce also contains salt so keep this in mind while adding salt into the gravy.

• Bring it to a boil and stir occasionally, also check for the consistency.

• The gravy thickens slightly and turns translucent.

• Add fried cauliflower florets and finely chopped green onions into the gravy. Mix them well.

• Bring it to a boil and then cook it on medium flame for 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

• Gobi Manchurian is ready to serve.

• Transfer it in a serving bowl. You may also garnish it with finely chopped fresh spring onions.

• Serve it hot with steamed rice, Chinese fried rice or Szechuan fried rice.