Thursday, June 10, 2010

Gobi Manchurian - Indo-Chinese Fritters



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...When I came across this dish, I knew it had to be tried and shared. This saucy cauliflower is both a curiosity and a contradiction. Kitchen lore insists the dish is an Indian adaption of an old Chinese recipe. While that makes for a wonderful story, cauliflower is rarely seen in China and until recently you'd be hard pressed to find it served in Manchuria or any other region of the country. It is, however, extremely popular in India where it is called Gobi Manchurian. Gobi is the Indian word for cauliflower and Manchurian is the name of a spicy Indian sauce that has Chinese overtones. The dish was developed in India by Chinese immigrants who adapted Indian foods to their way of cooking. In doing so, they created a new cuisine called Indo-Chinese. Interestingly, the dish is starting to work its way into China and you'll occasionally find it on Chinese menus in other countries. Gobi Manchurian is served as an appetizer or a side dish and it is prepared in a manner that is similar to making Japanese tempura. Florets of cauliflower are dipped into a savory batter and then quickly deep fried. Once drained, they are coated with a nicely spicy tomato sauce and warmed through for serving. This dish was an enormous hit with my family and friends, and when served hot it is absolutely delicious. It does not hold well, so be prepared to move and get it to the table as soon as it is sauced. The sauce I use is quite mild, so, if you need more heat, add it to taste. You'll love this one. Here's the recipe.

Gobi Manchurian...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower, trimmed and broken into about 20 large florets
Batter
1/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup all-purpose flower
1/2 to 3/4 cups water
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Sauce
½ cup chopped spring onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped green chillies
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup water, divided use
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Directions:
1) To make batter and fry: Heat enough oil to deep fry in a wok or deep fryer. While oil heats, combine cornstarch, flowe, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add enough water to form a pancake-like batter. Dip cauliflower florets into mixture to coat with batter. Add a few florets at a time to hot oil and fry until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Continue until all florets are fried.
2) To make sauce: Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. Stir in soy sauce, ketchup and salt. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add garlic, ginger, green chillies and spring onions. Stir fry for about 1 minute to soften. Add cornstarch mixture and remaining , remaing 3/4 cup water and cook until thickened. Remove pan from heat.
3) To serve: Place fried cauliflower into sauce and stir-fry over high heat to warm and coat florets. Garnish, if desired, with cilantro sprigs or scallions. Serve hot. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Spring Vegetable Ragout - One Perfect Bite
Creamed Shanghai Bok Choy - One Perfect Bite
Asian Bean Spout Salad - One Perfect Bite
Sugar Snap Peas with Sesame - One Perfect Bite
Gobi Manchurian - Appetite for China
The Great Chinese Recipes Gobi Manchurian - ArticlesBase

61 comments :

KennyT said...

Cauliflower is very popular in Hong Kong. These fritters look yum!

A SPICY PERSPECTIVE said...

Wow! This is a MUST TRY recipe. I'm bookmarking this...

Sushma Mallya said...

i love gobi manchurian and this one looks so tempting as well...have a lovely day mary,take care

RamblingTart said...

Mary, I'm smitten already! I love cauliflower and this sauce is divine. :-) So excited to try this!

Cat said...

This dish looks delicious Mary, and the sauce sounds very tasty. I'm definitely going to try it. Have a great day.

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

You know me Mary, I'm all about anything deep fried LOL! And I'm a fan of cauli anyways.. love the sauce!

Unknown said...

So glad you shared. Looks amazing!

Allie and Pattie said...

This will definitely be a hit here as fried cauliflower is a favorite! Thank you Mary
xoxo Pattie

Unknown said...

delicious as usual Mary. Battered and fried is one of my favorite way to eat cauliflower. I'm very interested to try the sauce. Have a nice day. Michael

Priya Suresh said...

My all time favourite, droolworthy clicks..

Diane said...

I just love cauliflower so this is a definite on the must try list. Diane

penny aka jeroxie said...

how interesting. a fusion of indian and chinese.

Chef Dennis Littley said...

those look so very very good.....great picture too!! I'm not big on cauliflower but I think I could eat quite few of those fritters!
thanks for sharing a great recipe!!

Rachana said...

Gobi manchurian looks so yumm!!!!
Have a lovely day, Mary!

Martha said...

Very interesting recipe and I think a good one for cauliflower haters will turn them into cauliflower lovers!

pam said...

I'm really drawn to that sauce! I can think of a bunch of uses for it!

Anonymous said...

A buddy swears that fried cauliflower in ketchup is a huge Indian street food. I'm thinking this is what he meant.

Street food ... something this country really needs to work on. I'm thinking, if we had better street food, more people would get out of their cars and walk places.

Deana Sidney said...

I do love cauliflower... Manchurian style is so exotic and lovely sounding... thanks Mary!

Salsa Verde said...

Well...
Chinese, or Indian, the flavours must be delicious and it looks great!
Love,
Lia.

Adventures in Domestic Cooking said...

Oh my, these look super yummy!!
Thank you for all your lovely comments on my blog, I really appreciate it!!

CaSaundraLeigh said...

Wow--sounds really interesting! These would be fun as a party app too I bet.

Alison Kilpatrick said...

Wow this look delicious! The only problem is I don't like deep frying at home. I tried it one many years ago and didn’t have a good experience, perhaps I should give it another shot.

Big Dude said...

You come up with some of the most unique dishes and they always look delicious.

Joe Ambrosino said...

Great recipe Mary. I'll try it on my Guyanese Indian.We Italians love breaded and fried cauliflower as an antipasti.

Monet said...

Mary,
This looks great! I love cauliflower, and I eat it almost everyday.

Cooking with Kait said...

Mary these fritters look amazing and the sauce sounds great. Another wonderful recipe!

My Little Space said...

Oo...what a coincidence! I just made some fried mushroom the other. It was so good and I'm so tempting to try it with cauliflower too! Yours look really inviting especially with that tasty sauce. yumm... Hope you're having a great day!
Blessings, Kristy
p/s going to celebrate Father's Day this weekend? Is everyone coming home? Your lovely grandson!

M @ Betty Crapper said...

Thank you on the origin lesson. I love that.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

It looks so tasty Mary, a perfect blend of spices.

Joanne said...

That sauce sounds like something I could drink with a straw. I've actually never heard of this before, but I have a tendency to love anything with the word fritter in the title :P

FoodontheTable said...

So interesting how this dish was created. It looks delicious!

Jeannie said...

That looks good! Love the sauce and cauliflower. I eat lots of those stir fried. Should start doing some variations. Thanks for sharing, cheers!

Federica Simoni said...

che fame!!!! aspettami per cena!!:)))
bravissima!!baci!

Nancy's Notes said...

OMG, what a fabulous recipe!! They look mouthwatering ans scrumptious! Thanks for sharing this great recipe, it's printing right now!

Nancy

giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...

Hi Mary,
questo è veramente un piatto molto delizioso... in Italia usiamo farlo solo fritto senza salsa in aggiunta.
Insieme ai pezzettini di cavolfiore, ci mettiamo i fiori di zucca fritte e dei pezzettini di zucchine fritte.
Insaporite poi con qualche goccia di limone.
Buona giornata.

The Blonde Duck said...

Those are neat!

I don't have a cat b/c I'm allergic. Plus, all cats hate me. I have no idea why.

Khadija El Mary said...

This sounds so delicious and I love the look of that sauce! Have a great day Mary!
Khadija

Ana Powell said...

I am already hungry, awesome fritters ♥.

pigpigscorner said...

This sounds really interesting! I'm usually not a huge fan of cauliflower but this looks yum!

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

I have just become a follower of "One Perfect Bite." Your first recipe alone, has me hooked.

Thanks for your sweet comment today on my mom's story.

Jennifer said...

I am a sucker for anything fried and those sound delish. I am also loving the curried turkey and the asparagus dish. I am going to make that this weekend I have a bunch of yummy asparagus.

KathyB. said...

These look and sound so good, I will have to make them.

BTW, I did make the asparagus soup and will make it again. I put a picture of it on my blog and linked it back to you. The only thing I will do different next time is strain the soup before adding the cream and asparagus tips and serving. I did have some very woody stalks though.Still , it was delicious, there is none left over!

Rue said...

This looks great - but I don't like cauliflower. I wonder if it would work with another veggie...mushrooms maybe?

Kerstin said...

Oh wow, these look delicious and like they'd be the hit of a party! I always enjoy cauliflower!

♥ Kathy said...

Yum I love fritters!

tasteofbeirut said...

These gobi-manchurian fritters have my vote! I love cauliflower fritters and usually resort to the same classic recipe that is produced in all lebanese kitchens with tahini sauce; wonderful but limited; this one sound s so flavorful and addicting!

chow and chatter said...

love this had it in India

Jen_from_NJ said...

I can't wait to try this recipe - so different from my usual dishes. It looks and sounds spectacular!

Jaime said...

what an interesting recipe!

thank you for visiting my blog :) i do hope you'll continue to stop by when you can

Unknown said...

this sounds fantastically wonderful!

Kim said...

This recipe sounds amazing! I imagine that it disappears rather quickly;-)

Kat said...

Great recipe. I love cauliflower.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Mmm...this looks amazing--I love cauliflower and the sauce sounds delicious. ;-)

The Diva on a Diet said...

Oh, Mary, you have no idea how much I'm craving these fritters right now! I always order such dishes when out, but never think to make them at home. I am printing this out immediately. Thank you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Unknown said...

I don't do much deep frying, but those look very tasty. I think I may have to try them.

Jamie said...

Yum! Delicious! At first glance I thought these were made of pork or beef but cauliflower? Even better! They look and sound so fabulous!

Amisha said...

Holy-moly! I love these.

Krista said...

I really want to try these! I know that I'd just love em'. Bookmarking now. Thank you for posting this : )

Kayte said...

This recipe sounds and look delicious! The next few recipes I have marked to try in the book I have involve cauliflower...I just love it. I will try this one, too. You make them look and sound irresistible!

TeaLady said...

I love cauliflower so I know I will love this. Thanks for the food history lesson. I always like to know the story behind a food.

looks delicious.

Anonymous said...

I've never tried anything like this, but it sounds delicious. Thanks for the tip to serve and eat it right away!

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