Gobi (Cauliflower) Manchurian

This is one of my favorite Indo-Chinese adaptations. The dish is usually prepared fairly dry, with just a coating of sauce tossed together right before serving to prevent sogginess.

The recipe here is sort of made-up, so, adjust to taste as you like. And, usually, I vary the proportions a bit each time to see if it can get any better, and also because I may not have all the ingredients handy, so I improvise. I happen to like all the variations I have made so far. But, this recipe is fairly standard when I make Gobi Manchurian and thought I'll share it here.

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cup rice flour
salt to taste
1 cup oil for shallow frying

for the sauce:
2-3 green chilies, sliced thin
1 medium onion sliced thin
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2-3 Tbsp plain white vinegar
2 Tbsp sambal oelek
¼ cup water
corn starch as needed for thickening

Preparation

par-cook the cauliflower florets in the microwave, pat dry, sprinkle some salt and keep handy

heat oil in a medium shallow pan for shallow frying the cauliflower florets

add some salt to the rice flour, dredge the cauliflower florets with the flour and shallow fry in batches till golden brown on the outside; remove with slotted spoon and place in a paper-towel lined plate

sauce: heat a few tablespoon of oil in a large sauce pan, sauté the onions and garlic, add the bell peppers, then all the sauce ingredients and let them simmer till flavors combine and sauce thickens

combine the shallow-fried cauliflower with the sauce, stir well, garnish with some slit chilies

Serve hot with hot rice.

Fried Cauliflower (Gobi) in Manchurian-Orange sauce

This is just my version of manchurian sauce as the original manchurian sauce is supposed to be a secret recipe and I didn't try to find it. I've tried to get the flavors from staples I have in my kitchen. This recipe is open for a lot of variation and experimentation with the sauce flavors.


Ingredients
For the sauce
4-5 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
4 Tbsp no-HFCS tomato ketchup
1 tsp white pepper powder (less if you like, adjust to taste; can substitute black pepper powder)
3-4 Tbsp plain white vinegar
5-6 Tbsp of pounded ginger-garlic-dry-red-chilies mixture (dry red chilies here are optional)
2-4 tsp orange zest (more if you like the orange flavor)
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)
2 cups (about 12-16 oz) water

For the batter
either use packaged tempura mix
or make a thin batter of your choice
or combine
1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan)
1/2 cup rice flour
2 Tbsp corn starch
salt to taste
water as needed to make a thin batter


1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets- yields about 4 cups of florets
3-5 fresh mild green chilies, cut into 1 inch pieces (optional)
1 green or yellow bell pepper, chopped (optional)
3-4 cups canola oil for frying (depends on the pot used for frying)
3-4 Tbsp canola oil for sauteeting
chopped cilantro and sliced green chilies for garnish

Preparation

1. add enough oil in a pot for frying, and let it heat up to 350°F
2. meanwhile, make the batter in a good sized bowl
3. add the cauliflower florets and green chilies to the batter in the bowl and coat all the florets uniformly and set aside
4. set aside a plate/dish with a few paper towels for draining the fried cauliflower
5. Sauce: in a separate saucepan, mix all the ingredients except corn starch for the sauce and bring it to a boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer on low till flavors meld
6. By now oil should be ready for frying; without crowding the pot, fry in batches the florets coated with batter (and chilies, if using them) till they are crisp and golden brown; drain and collect on the paper towel lined dish in step 4
7. taste the simmering sauce and adjust the flavors - add more pepper powder or soy sauce as needed; if too salty, balance with more sour or sweet flavors using tamarind pulp or vinegar or brown sugar
8. add the chopped pepper to the sauce, if using, and simmer till peppers are softened
9. in a small bowl, dissolve the corn starch in enough water to form a thin paste, no lumps; add the corn starch paste to the simmering sauce and stir to thicken the sauce; (add a little at a time and stir constantly to make sure sauce consistency is not too thick)
10. add the fried cauliflower (and fried chilies, if using them) to the simmering sauce and stir gently till well incorporated
11. Off heat, garnish with chopped cilantro and sliced green chilies; serve warm with cooked jasmine rice