veg manchurian recipe

an indo chinese recipe of veg manchurian after a long long gap…. not because i don’t like indo chinese food…. but because the only food processor i have doesn’t work at all. and it is cumbersome to grate or finely chop so many veggies. i even purchased online a brand new food chopper, but unfortunately that too does not work

the indo chinese recipes always call for grated or minced veggies and if you have ample time and no food processor than you have to do everything on your own.

and oh yes…. i do love chinese food. so much was my love for making chinese food at home that in my teens i would make three of my favorite indo chinese recipes often viz, sweet corn soup, chili paneer and veg manchurian.

i am the sauce person and i love chinese sauces homemade or store brought ones…. my most favorite being black bean chili sauce….

in this veg manchurian sauce i have added all natural ingredients. no msg or no chemically produced soy sauce (more about the soy sauce below). the result was a yummy veg manchurian sauce that was excellent with plain rice.

the trickiest part in making veg manchurian are the veg balls. i have had some disasters with the veg balls. sometimes they would be perfect and sometimes they would all break up while frying. a mess which i hate when it happens and just imagine to clean up the oil and the pan.

so after much trial and error i have come to a perfect recipe for making the veg balls. so the veg manchurian recipe presented here is a tried and tested recipe, like all my recipes. yet still when i make these i get jitters and for my own sake i always test fry one veg ball first. while making any indo chinese recipe, i would suggest to use naturally fermented soy sauce.

lets begin step by step indo chinese veg manchurian recipe:

1: first the tricky step of making the veg balls take all the ingredients for the veg balls in a plate or a bowl.

2: mix them well and keep aside for 15-20 minutes. during this time the veggies will release their juices which will be of help in making the balls. you don’t need to any water. i have not added a single drop of water to this mixture.

3: shape the mixture in to small balls and keep aside.

4: now comes the test… heat oil and just add one veg ball to the oil. if it breaks than not a good day today… okies the veg ball did not break for me… thank god

5: this boosts my confidence and i add three more balls now to the oil….

6: fry them neatly in a moderately hot oil till they are golden brown in color and crisp.

7: drain or kitchen paper tissues and keep aside.

8: now we prepare the sauce…. heat oil in a wok and add the spring onions, ginger, garlic, celery and chilies.

9: fry these on medium or full flame taking care not to burn them.

10: add vegetable stock or water now.

11: add the crushed black pepper and soy sauce. i have poor lighting in my kitchen. hence the pics always come out dark and dull.

12: mix well and the let the sauce cook for 1-2 minutes.

13: now add the corn flour paste slowly.

14: really stir well and make sure no lumps are formed. the sauce will begin to thicken now.

15: add vinegar, salt, sugar and the veg balls to the sauce and gently stir. simmer for a minute.

16: serve veg manchurian hot garnished with some scallion greens. veg manchurian goes well with veg fried rice, plain rice and even bread or the indian chapati.

you might like to check more manchurian recipes:

1. gobi manchurian
2. baby corn manchurian
3. mushroom manchurian
4. paneer manchurian recipe

veg manchurian recipe details below:

veg manchurian recipe

 

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Prep time

40 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

indo chinese recipe of veg manchurian.

Author: dassana

Recipe type: main

Cuisine: indo chinese

Ingredients

for the veg manchurian balls:

• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup finely chopped cabbage
• ½ cup finely chopped bell pepper
• ¼ cup finely chopped spring onion/scallion greens
• ½ tsp freshly crushed black pepper or black pepper powder or white pepper powder
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour/maida
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• salt to taste

for the sauce:

• 2 tbsp onion or spring onion/scallion whites chopped
• 1 tbsp finely chopped celery (optional)
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 1 or 2 green chilies
• 1 tbsp corn flour dissolved in 2 tbsp water
• ½ tbsp soya sauce
• ½ tbsp vinegar – i used balsamic vinegar
• 1 or 1.5 cup water or vegetable stock
• ½ tsp freshly crushed black pepper or black pepper powder or white pepper powder
• salt to taste
• sugar to taste
• some chopped spring onion/scallion greens for garnishing

Instructions

preparing the veg manchurian balls:

1. mix all the ingredients listed under veg balls.
2. keep aside for 15-20 minutes.
3. shape into small round balls and shallow fry or deep fry till golden browned on a moderately hot oil.
4. drain on kitchen tissues and keep aside.

preparing the sauce:

1. heat oil.
2. fry the onions, ginger, garlic, chilies, celery on a high flame.
3. there is no need to brown them.
4. add water or veg stock.
5. add soy sauce, crushed black pepper,
6. mix well and add let the sauce simmer for 1-2 minutes.
7. add the cornflour paste to thicken the sauce.
8. thicken the sauce to your desired consistency.
9. add vinegar, salt, sugar and the fried veg balls.
10. stir and simmer for a minute.
11. serve veg manchurian garnished with spring onion greens.

Notes

the best part of any chinese dish is you can change the consistency as per your liking. if you want a thin consistency, add some veg broth or water. if you want a thick consistency, add a few teaspoons of corn flour paste. this dish thickens after it cools down. so when reheating you may have to add some water. i have not added any msg to the recipe. if you want a more restaurant style effect, you can do so. but a word of caution. msg or mono sodium glutamate is not good for the health. remember to fry the veg balls on medium heat. if they are fried on a high heat, then the outside will get cooked and the inside will be not cooked leaving a doughy taste in the mouth. if they are fried on a low heat, they will absorb oil and this will make them oily and soggy. i like the sweet sour taste of indo chinese food and hence i have added sugar to the recipe. also as the soy sauce i use does not have any sugar added to it. you may avoid this or check the ingredients list in your soy sauce if sugar is there in it or not. you can also add tomato sauce for some tang and sweetness.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 4

3.2.1652