Skip to main content

Notes from a Wedding : Manchurian

The Indo-Chinese favorite was a best seller at the wedding menu. Our chef made it once without the gravy for appetizers and twice for the main course. One time, I stood by him while he was cooking. You see, I had to. I've followed every recipe known to man, but never managed to cook good Chinese food. Maybe I'd have better luck with this recipe.

First you make the manchurian balls. You need around 2 cups of mixed vegetables chopped really fine. At our home, this included cabbage, cauliflower, french beans and carrots. To this you add a tsp of minced ginger and another of minced garlic. Now add 2 tbsp cornflour, a pinch of white pepper, salt and a tbsp of flour. Mix everything, adding a little more flour if it looks too runny. Shape into balls and deep fry on a medium heat until browned.

Now chop one small onion, half a carrot, a small tomato and 4-5 french beans finely. Grind 4-5 cloves of garlic into a paste (or just get yourself 2 tsp of garlic paste off a can). Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the garlic paste and saute until it is well browned. Add all the vegetables and mix well. Saute for a couple of minutes, then add 2 cups of water. Also add a tbsp of tomato ketchup, a tbsp of green chilli sauce, 1/2 tbsp soy sauce and a tsp of vinegar. At this stage, the cook also added a dash of orange food color and a tsp of ajinomoto but both are optional (and you should add salt now if you are skipping ajinomoto). Bring the sauce to a boil.

In the meantime, mix a tbsp of cornflour with 1/4 cup cold water to make a paste. Once your sauce starts to boil, add the cornflour mixture and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the manchurian balls and there you have the most popular Indo Chinese dish there is!
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
I love manchurian very much. Thanks for sharing. I am going to try this.

Jaya
May 30, 2010 at 2:19 AM
Indian Khana said…
I guess manchurian is best seller for any occasion :)...
May 30, 2010 at 9:55 AM
Desisoccermom said…
Simran, you make it sound so easy! I love manchurian but haven't had it in years. This looks like a good recipe. Congratulations to your brother and parents on the wedding.
May 30, 2010 at 7:43 PM
Aps Kitchen said…
Heya!!! The workshop was in lokandwala..... there is one eggless cake workshop tomoro..... where do u stay?????
Yeh nd a Indo chinese is a real bestseller for a wedding :)
May 31, 2010 at 4:51 PM
Siri said…
Love the recipe and like Jaya, u make it sound so easy. I never made these at home and I think it is time. :)

Siri
June 12, 2010 at 5:25 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kadhi Chawal

I just can't think of what to write today. That's what my absolute favorite meal does to me, I just want to stop talking and dig right in. So I won't ramble and go straight on the recipe for kadhi. First, make the pakoras that would go in the kadhi. Slice an onion lengthwise. Make a batter with 1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan), salt, red chilli powder and water. Dip onions in this batter and deep fry until crisp. Keep aside. Now blend 1 cup yogurt and 1/3 cup besan into a paste. Add 3-4 cups water to make a very thin blend. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add a tsp each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain (carom seeds) and methre (fenugreek seeds). Let splutter for a few seconds. Now add a large onion, cut lengthwise into thin slices and cook until browned lightly. Pour in the yogurt/besan mix and add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp red chilli powder. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for at least half an hour. You have to stir this occasio...
17 comments
Read more

Dukkah

Talk about myths busted. I went to Dubai planning to buy zat'ar, the fragrant herb and spice mix. And Dukkah, the interesting blend of nuts and spices. Not sumac, because I still have a pack left in my fridge. So zat'ar was easy - every Carrefour supermarket had that one. But no one had dukkah and I was like, how can they not have dukkah? It's a middle eastern thing, right! But well, they don't sell dukkah in Dubai, so I came back and armed with recipes from 10-odd blogs (all roughly the same), I set to make my own. The key to making dukkah is : line up all your ingredients, toast each of them separately in a heavy non-stick pan till they are fragrant and lightly roasted, then put everything in a blender and grind coarsely. This is your dukkah. Now dip your bread in olive oil, then dip it in dukkah and indulge. A final word of warning: this can be highly addictive. And finally, my list of ingredients: 1/4 cup almonds 2 tbsp coriander seeds 1 1/2 tbsp sesame...
14 comments
Read more

Bibimbap

This is the reason I love taking part in Taste & Create . There is so much new to learn and try when you meet new partners. This month, I am visiting Kitschow in Vancouver for a course in Asian cooking. She also tries a lot of other cuisines, but wok is her favorite way to cook. I first thought I'd find very little vegetarian choice at her place. But as luck would have it, she has recently done a lot of vegetarian cooking and eating for lent and I had a virtual rainbow to pick from. Everything looked so delicious it was tough to pick one. I picked the one with the cutest name : Bibimbap . Bibimbap is a Korean rice, usually topped with beef and vegetables but Kitschow made a vegan version for Lent. The recipe has three parts. First you cook the rice. Then, when it's almost done but is still moist, you arrange vegetables on top so it looks colorful and pretty. For the vegan version, Kitschow just put raw veggies there and let them cook in the steam. But I liked the i...
13 comments
Read more