GOBI MANCHURIAN

A combination of sweet and tangy  and that, which has capsicum in it , always gives a Chinese cuisine taste. My co-sister would make this in a jiffy She would fry the cauliflower . Saute it in a little tomato sauce. Ta-da gobi Manchurian ready!!!

Come to think about it , this dish needs to be sweet and tangy(sour).For this, the options are (a) tomato sauce : this has both the sweet and tangy taste , all included in one sauce. Or (b) molasses, honey, maple syrup, jaggery syrup (anything which has a honey like consistency), for the sweet taste and  lemon ,vinegar or tamarind pulp  for the tangy taste.

Recipe

For the batter and frying cauliflower

1. Medium size cauliflower -1
2. All purpose flour - 1 cup
3. water - 3/4 cup
4. Chili powder - 2 tsp
5. salt to taste
6. oil for frying

For sautéing:

1. Onion - 1 small cut into square pieces
2. 1 big handful of garlic cloves chopped finely.
3. capsicum-1/2  cut into square pieces
4. chili flakes - optional
5. Green chili - 2
6. Tomato sauce - 3 tbsp.(sweet and sour included)  
7.                       OR
8. Molasses or maple syrup  or honey  -2 Tbsp  along with 2 Tbsp tamarind pulp
9. 1/4 cup water
10. 1 Tbsp cornflour

Method

•  Wash and cut the cauliflower into florets and drain the water nicely and keep aside

• Make the batter with the flour and water and mix it thoroughly.The consistency of the batter should be such that ,when you dip the floret in the batter ,the floret should be completely coated with the batter ,thickly.



• Pour this mix into the florets bowl.

• Add chili powder and salt to taste and mix it with hand .

• Put a pan for frying.Add oil , when the oil is hot , drop the florets by hand . See that the florets fall into the oil one by one .Otherwise it is difficult to separate them.

• After 3 minutes turn the florets over.Control the heat by switching between high and medium.

• Fry for another 2 minutes.Take out the fried batch and drain in a napkin paper.Keep aside.
• The cauliflower can be fried a day ahead and kept outside at room temperature.

 MAKING THE MANCHURIAN

• Now sauté onion and chili flakes(optional) , after a while add capsicum ,sauté just until done so that it stays crispy. Salt the mixture slightly .  Just to bring out the flavor. Remember , the gobi is salted . 
• Remove the sauteed onion-capsicum mixture to a plate.
• Into the saute pan , add the tamarind pulp and molasses. Stir . Mix cornflour with water and add into the pan. Stir and let it thicken.
•  Add the sauteed onion-capsicum mixture and fried gobi into this. Turn off the heat. Stir until the gobi is coated with the sauce.

• Check for salt. I usually keep it covered for half an hour and then check for salt.

                                                                       OR

• Alternately ,the garlic and onion can be chopped finely or chopped in the food processor and sautéed till the raw smell goes ,  then add in the sauces. My son does not like capsicum so I do this often.

NOTES

• Can add green chillies if needed,.
• Can sauté chopped garlic along with the onion. Make sure the garlic is well sautéed , but should not brown. 
• If the gobi is fried a few days ahead and stored in the fridge,then heat it in the oven,350F,for about 6-8 minutes until crispy. Adding this to the sautéed veggies keeps the gobi crunchy even the next day.
• I like gobi  machurian dry.But if gravy consistency is needed then increase the amount of cornflour  and water  along with the molasses and lemon mixture , let it boil and reduce to gravy consistency and keep aside.Mix the gobi just before serving.If its mixed earlier  then the gobi, which is batter fried absorbs all the liquid.
• Don't throw the leftover maida batter.Fry that too.The final dish will have a few crispy parts here and there.And it will remain crispy the next day too.
• I have used unsulfured molasses here.Any syrup which has the consistency of honey can be used. Jaggery syrup or Karipetti Sharkara syrup can also be other options.
• I like using  tamarind pulp of all the other options. It imparts a slight sweetness and has a sauce like consistency.
• For the batter , you can add 1/4 tsp soda powder for more crispy fried cauliflower.
• This is the one using just tomato sauce. It gives more color.

• Good to take for potlucks. Tastes good even when cold.
• Baking the cauliflower with the batter:Instead of frying the cauliflower can be baked. Mix the flour with water and 1/4 cup oil. The whole batter should not be dripping and should coat the cauliflower thickly. Oil and dust a baking tray. Layer the batter coated cauliflower on the tray and bake in a 550 degree F, pre-heated oven for 12 minutes.