Gobi Manchurian is a popular Indian-Chinese recipe of fried cauliflower florets tossed in a spicy, sweet & umami sauce. There are two ways to make this dish and you get the awesomeness of both in this post.
- Crispy Gobi Manchurian Dry
- Gobi Manchurian Gravy (With Sauce)
Both the recipes taste good. You can choose any recipe depending on whether you prefer a spicy crispy appetizer snack or the gravy recipe that can be served with a Chinese main course.
The Classic Gobi Manchurian
In Hindi ‘Gobi’ means Cauliflower. ‘Manchurian’ stands for the Manchurian sauce which is made with sautéed spring onions (scallions), capsicum (bell pepper), green chillies, ginger and garlic in a mix of soy sauce, tomato ketchup and chilli sauce.
In simple words, the Classic Gobi Manchurian is made with batter coated, fried, crispy cauliflower florets tossed in this spicy, sweet, hot and umami manchurian sauce.
The addition of tomato ketchup gives the manchurian sauce sweet notes and makes it different from the chilli sauce which we make for Chilli Gobi or Chilli Paneer. More amount of green chillies are added in Chilli Gobi as compared to Gobi Manchurian.
As I have mentioned above there are two ways to make this recipe. The dry version can be had as a starter or appetizer snack. The gravy version can be served with steamed rice, vegetable fried rice or noodles.
Fairly easy to prepare, my recipes are not very spicy like the Indian restaurants or the street versions. If you want, you can add more of the ginger, garlic and green chilies and increase the spice and heat in the dish.
About this Dry Gobi Manchurian Recipe
- Pan Fried: To cut down the fat, I have not deep fried the gobi florets. It does reduce the crispness, though. But as a healthier option, I have pan fried the gobi florets. If you prefer, you can deep fry the batter coated cauliflower florets for more crispiness. Pro Tip: To make the florets more crispy, chop them in small sizes and deep fry.
- Color: The gobi manchurian dry that we get outside has a good amount of red color added to the batter. Here, no artificial colors are added. To get an orangish color, you can increase the amount of Kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch. This will also add some heat and a smoky flavor.
- No MSG or Ajinomoto: I never add Ajinomoto in any Indian-Chinese recipes that I make at home. If you prefer to get a street style taste, then you can add a pinch of it.
- Soy sauce – Use naturally fermented soy sauce if possible. You can even use Bragg Liquid Aminos or Tamari. Do use a good quality soy sauce.
- Serving Suggestions: I serve this gobi manchurian with roti (Indian flat bread) as we prefer it this way. You can can even have this dish as a starter snack with a dipping sauce like schezwan sauce or even red chili garlic chutney or tomato ketchup. You can also wrap it in a thin roti or tortilla or naan or pita bread and top with some shredded carrots, cabbage and onions along with some sauce.
How to make Gobi Manchurian Dry
Preparation
1. Firstly chop or break the gobi (cauliflower) in medium size or small florets. Heat water with salt and boil it. Rinse the cauliflower florets and add them to the hot water. Cover and let the cauliflower florets get blanched in the water for 15 to 20 minutes. Later drain and keep aside.
2. In a bowl mix together the ingredients for making the batter – 1 cup all purpose flour, 4 tablespoon corn starch, ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder, ¼ to ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder,1 teaspoon soy sauce and salt as per taste.
3. Add 1 cup + 1 tablespoon water and whisk to make a smooth batter without any lumps.
4. Dip each cauliflower floret in the batter.
Pan Frying Cauliflower Florets
5. Fry the batter coated cauliflower florets in hot oil. I have pan fried and added about 6 tablespoons oil. Later I have not added any oil while stir-frying the spring onions etc. You can also deep fry or shallow fry. I have fried in batches of three. So depending on the size of your pan, you can fry at once or in batches. The frying does take some time, so patience is the key.
6. When one side gets cooked and crisp, turn over each florets and pan fry the uncooked sides. Flip for a couple of times more, so that the florets are evenly fried and light golden.
7. Drain the fried cauliflower florets on a kitchen paper towel.
Making Gobi Manchurian Dry
8. No need to add any oil again. In the same pan, add 3 teaspoons finely chopped ginger, 3 teaspoons finely chopped garlic and 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chillies. Sauté for some seconds.
9. Then add the ¾ cup chopped spring onion whites (scallion whites) and ½ cup finely chopped capsicum (green bell pepper). Increase the flame and stir fry till the capsicum is half cooked or almost cooked. If using celery, then add at this step. You can add about ½ tablespoon of finely chopped celery.
10. Add 1.5 tablespoon light soy sauce or ½ to 1 tablespoon soy sauce you can also add as per your taste. Also add 1 tablespoon tomato sauce or add as required and ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper powder. Mix and stir.
11. Add the pan-fried cauliflower florets.
12. Mix very well ensuring that the spiced sauce coats the cauliflower florets well. Lastly, add 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or ½ teaspoon white vinegar or apple cider vinegar and stir well. Switch off the flame. Mix in the chopped spring onions greens or garnish with them while serving.
Serve Dry Gobi Manchurian as a snack or as a side dish with steamed rice or veg fried rice or schezwan fried rice or cabbage fried rice or mushroom noodles or plain noodles.
Few more tasty recipes for you!
This recipe post is from the archives and has been republished and updated on 23 May, 2020.
Crispy Gobi Manchurian Dry
RECIPE VIDEO
Ingredients
for pan frying gobi florets
- 1 medium cauliflower
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 4 tablespoon corn starch or corn flour
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder or deghi mirch (add about 1 teaspoon to get a good color. but this will also increase the heat a bit)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon water or as required
- 5 to 6 tablespoon oil for pan frying
other ingredients
- ¾ cup chopped spring onion (scallion whites) - reserve the greens for garnish
- ½ cup finely chopped capsicum (green bell pepper)
- 1.5 inch ginger, finely chopped or 3 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 8 to 10 medium garlic, finely chopped or 3 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 2 green chilies, finely chopped or 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilies
- ½ tablespoon finely chopped celery (optional)
- 1.5 tablespoon light soy sauce or ½ to 1 tablespoon soy sauce you can also add as per your taste
- 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup or add as required
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or ½ teaspoon white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- salt as required
Instructions
Preparing Cauliflower Florets
- Firstly chop or break the gobi (cauliflower) in medium size florets.
- Heat water with salt and boil it. Rinse the cauliflower florets and add them to the hot water.
- Let them get blanched in the water for 15 to 20 minutes. Later drain and keep aside.
Pan Frying Cauliflower Florets
- In a bowl mix together the ingredients for making the batter - all purpose flour, corn starch, soy sauce, black pepper, kashmiri red chili powder and salt.
- Add water and whisk to make a smooth batter without any lumps.
- Dip each cauliflower floret in the batter.
- Fry the batter coated cauliflower florets in hot oil. I have pan fried and added about 6 tbsp oil. Later I have not added any oil while stir frying the spring onions etc.
- You can also deep fry or shallow fry. I have fried in batches of three. So depending on the size of your pan, you can fry at once or in batches. The frying takes some time.
- When one side gets cooked and crisp, turn over each cauliflower florets and pan fry the uncooked sides.
- Flip for a couple of times more, so that the cauliflower florets are evenly fried and light golden.
- Drain the fried cauliflower florets on a kitchen paper towel. Fry all the cauliflower florets this way in batches.
Making Gobi Manchurian Dry
- No need to add any oil again. In the same pan, add chopped ginger, garlic and green chilies. Sauté for some seconds till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic go away.
- Then add the chopped spring onions & capsicum. Add chopped celery if using. Increase the flame and stir fry till the capsicum is half cooked or almost cooked.
- Add soy sauce, tomato ketchup, black pepper and salt. Stir.
- Add the pan fried cauliflower florets.
- Mix very well ensuring that the spiced sauce coats the fried cauliflower florets well.
- Lastly add vinegar and stir well. Switch off the flame. Check the taste and add more of soy sauce or tomato ketchup as per your taste.
- Mix in the chopped spring onions greens or garnish with them while serving cauliflower manchurian.
- Serve Dry Gobi Manchurian as a snack or as a side dish with veg fried rice or mushroom fried rice or veg hakka noodles or veg noodles.
Notes
- Capsicum (Bell Pepper): You can skip the capsicum in the recipe. You can even use red or yellow bell peppers.
- Spring Onions: Instead of spring onions, you can use white onions or red onions or shallots.
- Green Chillies: A serrano pepper or anaheim pepper can be substituted for green chillies. You can even substitute dry red chillies instead of green chillies. Just crush them and use. Dried red chilli flakes can also be added instead of green chillies.
- Corn Starch: Instead of corn starch, you can even use tapioca starch or potato starch.
- All-purpose flour: Whole wheat flour can be used instead of all purpose flour (maida).
- Frying: Fry the cauliflower florets in oil which is neither too hot nor at a low temperature.
- Ajinomoto: You can choose to avoid Ajinomoto completely in the recipe or use it sparingly.
Nutrition Info (approximate values)
Gobi Manchurian with Sauce
This recipe of Cauliflower Manchurian Gravy (with sauce) is slightly healthy and super delicious to taste. You simply can’t stop eating it.
When I make veg fried rice or simple fried rice without any veggies, I prepare this gravy version.
A slightly healthy cauliflower manchurian gravy
- Without Maida (All Purpose Flour) – For the batter, I have used whole wheat flour (atta). Instead of whole wheat flour, you can also use all-purpose flour (maida).
- No Deep Frying – I have shallow-fried the cauliflower florets in just enough oil. However you can deep fry them if you want. Another healthier option would be to air fry them.
- No MSG– In all the Chinese meals that I cook at home, I do not add msg (monosodium glutamate or ajinimoto). So is the case in this recipe. However, if you want you can add a pinch of it to get a restaurant-style taste.
- Soy sauce – I always use naturally fermented soy sauce and recommend the same to my readers. Do use a good quality soy sauce.
Making this gobi manchurian gravy does take some time as the cauliflower florets need to be fried first. Then a spicy, umami and sour gravy is made to which the fried cauliflower florets are added.
Frying cauliflower takes time but making the sauce or gravy is easy and does not take much time.
Gobi manchurian gravy pairs very well with some steamed rice or noodles or fried rice. Also excellent with some roti or naan or khasta roti or tandoori roti.
How to make Gobi Manchurian Gravy
Blanching Cauliflower
1. Firstly chop or break 500 grams or 1 medium sized gobi or cauliflower in medium sized florets. You will need 3 cups chopped cauliflower florets. Rinse them very well.
2. Then in a bowl add enough hot boiling water.
3. Add the cauliflower to the hot water so that all the cauliflower florets are immersed in the water. Let them get blanched in the water for about 10 minutes. Later drain all the water and keep the blanched cauliflower aside.
4. When the cauliflower is blanching, you can prep the remaining ingredients like chopping ginger-garlic, chopping spring onions and getting the sauces ready.
Making Batter for Frying Cauliflower
5. In a bowl take ¾ cup whole wheat flour, 3 tablespoons cornflour or corn starch, 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste, ½ teaspoon red chili powder, ½ tsp black pepper powder and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Also add salt as required. Instead of whole wheat flour, you can also use all-purpose flour.
6. Add ¾ cup water. if you have used all purpose flour (maida) then add about ½ to ⅔ cup water.
7. Whisk to a smooth batter.
8. Add the gobi florets in the batter. There should be no water in the gobi florets. So drain the gobi florets very well of all the water before adding them in the batter.
9. Mix well.
Shallow Frying Cauliflower
10. Heat 6 tablespoons oil in a pan or wok or kadai. When the oil becomes medium hot, coat the cauliflower florets well with the batter and add them in hot oil. Fry in batches. You can even deep fry gobi.
11. When one side becomes light golden and lightly crisp, then turn over each cauliflower floret. Make sure the oil is hot or else while frying the cauliflower florets may start to stick to each other due to the cornflour.
12. Turn them over a couple of times and fry till they are crisp and golden.
13. Fry the batter coated cauliflower florets in hot oil. You can either deep fry or shallow fry. Remove the fried cauliflower florets with a slotted spoon and keep them on kitchen paper towel. Continue to fry the cauliflower florets in batches this way.
Making Gobi Manchurian Gravy
14. When the gobi florets are frying, you can mix 1 tablespoon cornflour (corn starch) with 2 tablespoons water and place aside.
15. In the same pan, there will be some oil. So no need to add more oil. Add only if all oil has been used up while frying gobi. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger, 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic and ½ to 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilies.
16. Then add ½ cup chopped spring onions and 1 teaspoon finely chopped celery (optional). Celery can be skipped if you do not have it.
17. Stir fry on a medium flame till the onions turn translucent. When the onions turn translucent, then add 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup.
18. Add ½ tablespoon chili sauce (green or red). You can use either red chili sauce or green chili sauce.
19. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
20. Mix well.
21. Now add 1.5 cups water. You can add more or less water depending on the gravy consistency you want. For a thick gravy or sauce you can add 1 cup water.
22. Mix again.
23. Add ½ teaspoon black pepper powder.
24. Stir and let this mixture come to a boil.
25. Now stir the cornflour paste (as the cornflour settles down at the bottom) and add the cornflour paste in the pan.
26. As soon as you add corn starch paste, mix very well so that no lumps are formed.
27. Simmer for few minutes till the sauce thickens and the cornflour gets cooked. Its raw taste should go away.
28. Now add the fried cauliflower.
29. Mix the gravy well.
30. Season with salt as per taste. Do keep in mind that the tomato ketchup, soy sauce and chilli sauce already has salt in them. So add less salt.
31. Add ½ teaspoon sugar or add as required.
32. Add 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or regular vinegar to the gravy. Mix well.
33. Switch off the flame and add 2 tablespoon chopped spring onion greens.
34. Mix again.
35. Serve Gobi Manchurian Gravy. While serving you can garnish with a bit of spring onion greens. It goes well with steamed rice or veg noodles or fried rice or schezwan fried rice or hakka noodles. You can also serve it with flatbreads like chapati, parathas or bread or naan.
More delicious curry recipes !
- Paneer manchurian – sweet, sour, umami Chinese recipe of paneer manchurian gravy
- Cauliflower curry – a healthy and delicious gobi curry that goes very well with chapatis or rice.
- Cauliflower kurma – an absolutely delicious recipe of cauliflower kurma with the flavors of coconut and spices.
- Cauliflower masala – creamy, delicious and lightly spiced restaurant style cauliflower curry.
- Veg manchurian recipe – this veg manchurian gravy is a super tasty and popular Chinese recipe
Gobi Manchurian Gravy
Ingredients
for blanching gobi
- 1 medium gobi (cauliflower) or 500 grams or 3 cups chopped cauliflower
- hot water as required, for blanching
batter for frying gobi
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- 3 tablespoons corn flour (corn starch)
- 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste or 1 teaspoon minced ginger-garlic
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- salt as required
- ¾ cup water or add as required
for frying gobi
- 6 tablespoons oil
for corn flour paste
- 1 tablespoon corn flour (corn starch)
- 2 tablespoons water
for making gobi manchurian gravy
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- ½ to 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilies
- ½ cup chopped spring onions, or 2 small to medium spring onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon chopped celery, optional
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or add as per your taste
- ½ tablespoon green chili sauce or red chili sauce
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1.5 cups water or add as required
- ½ teaspoon sugar or add as required
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or regular white vinegar or mirin or rice wine
- salt as required
- 2 tablespoons chopped spring onions
Instructions
preparation
- Firstly chop or break 500 grams or 1 medium sized gobi or cauliflower in medium sized florets. You will need 3 cups chopped cauliflower florets. Rinse them very well.
- Then in a bowl add enough hot boiling water.
- Add the gobi to the hot water. Let them get blanched in the water for about 10 minutes. Later drain all the water and keep the blanched gobi aside.
- When the gobi is blanching, you can prep the remaining ingredients like chopping ginger & garlic, chopping spring onions and getting the sauces ready.
making batter
- In a bowl take ¾ cup whole wheat flour (atta), 3 tablespoons corn flour (or corn starch), 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste, ½ teaspoon red chili powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper powder and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Also add salt as required.
- Add ¾ cup water. whisk to a smooth batter.
- Add the gobi florets in the batter. There should be no water in the gobi florets. So drain them well of all the water before adding them in the batter. mix well.
Shallow frying cauliflower
- Heat 6 tablespoons oil in a pan or wok or kadai.
- When the oil becomes medium hot, coat the cauliflower florets well with the batter and add them in hot oil. Fry in batches. You can even deep fry cauliflower.
- Fry the batter coated cauliflower florets in hot oil on medium flame.
- When one side becomes light golden and lightly crisp, then turn over each cauliflower floret. Make sure the oil is hot or else while frying the florets may start to stick to each other due to the cornflour. They will also absorb more oil if the oil is not hot.
- Turn them over a couple of times and fry till they are crisp and golden.
- Remove the fried cauliflower florets with a slotted spoon and keep them on kitchen paper towels. Continue to fry the cauliflower florets in batches this way.
making chinese gobi manchurian gravy
- When the cauliflower florets are frying, you can mix 1 tablespoon corn flour (corn starch) with 2 tablespoons water and place aside.
- In the same pan, there will be some oil. So no need to add more oil. Add only if all oil has been used up while frying gobi. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger, 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic and ½ to 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilies.
- Then add ½ cup chopped spring onions and 1 tsp finely chopped celery (optional). Celery can be skipped if you do not have it.
- Stir fry on a medium flame till the onions turn translucent.
- When the onions turn translucent, then add 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup.
- Add ½ tablespoon chili sauce (green or red). You can use either red chili sauce or green chili sauce.
- Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce. mix well. Now add 1.5 cups water. mix again.
- Add ½ tsp black pepper powder. stir and let this mixture come to a boil.
- Now stir the corn flour paste (as the corn flour settles down at the bottom) and add the paste in the pan.
- As soon as you add corn starch paste, mix very well so that no lumps are formed.
- Simmer for few minutes till the sauce thickens and the corn flour gets cooked. Its raw taste should go away.
- Now add the fried gobi. Mix the cauliflower manchurian gravy well.
- Season with salt as per taste. Do keep in mind that the tomato ketchup, soy sauce and chilli sauce already has salt in them. So add less salt.
- Add ½ teaspoon sugar or add as required.
- Add 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or regular vinegar to the gravy. Mix well.
- Switch off the flame and add 2 tablespoons chopped spring onion greens. Mix again.
- Serve the chinese gobi manchurian gravy hot garnished with a bit of spring onion greens hot with steamed rice, veg fried rice or hakka noodles. You can also serve it with chapati, parathas or bread.
Notes
- Fry the cauliflower florets in oil which is neither too hot nor at a low temperature.
- You can substitute dry red chillies instead of green chillies. Just crush them and use.
- You could also use fine strips of capsicum.
- Ajinomoto can be completely avoided in the recipe or used sparingly to make a healthy gobi manchurian gravy.
- Celery can be skipped if you do not have it. But it gives a very good taste.
Great recipe! Loved it and everyone who ate it loved it. Thank you for your website and amazing recipes!!
thank you smita for sharing this feedback. thanks for the rating as well. welcome and happy cooking.
Can I bake the florets instead of frying ?
you can bake them. but they won’t be crispy.
Dassana Thanks for this amazing recipe. Last time I shallow fried the florets. As you suggested it wasn’t crispy enough. I’ll be deep frying them this time. Could you advise if corn starch and corn flour are the same ?
welcome arvind. corn starch and corn flour are same.
This turned out perfectly! I had to give myself a pat on the back! It tastes like something offered in a restaurant. Just one question though. I had some batter that was left over and was wondering what I could do with it. I ended up discarding it but can it be stored and used later or is there any other way to use it?
Thanks Anitha for your positive feedback. You can use any other veggie like potatoes, mushroom, french beans, broccoli or paneer with this batter.
Hi dassana.. I want to make this for tonight but d issue is I don’t have any sauces coz my hub DNT like any sauces so I never buy.. itz strange but true.. so can u suggest me what to replace instead of sauce.. no matter even if it’s spicy
. Thanks and let me know ..
Welcome Fazila. Without sauce the taste will change. but you can add red chilli powder and lemon juice to the dry gobi manchurian. for an indian taste you can even add chaat masala powder.
Simply the best. You are indeed my everyday saver. Thanks for always sharing point to point recipe
welcome hiral. thanks for your positive words.
Hi dear, tried this today it came out so well. Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I tell my friends also that if I do any recipe from ur website, sure it will be yummy no doubt :).. everyone liked at home. Thank you..
Welcome Divya. Thanks for your positive feedback and for spreading word about website.
Very educative