Cauliflower Manchurian / Gobi Manchurian / Gobi 65

Cauliflower Manchurian / Gobi Manchurian / Gobi 65

Ever since i stepped into Bangalore after my college days, I fell in love deeply with this yummy appetizer or snack..Due to my great love towards this manchurian, I tasted this yummy dish in street side, mediocre hotel, good restaurants and in five star hotels. Out of all, my love looks beautiful and tastes terrible in one small fast food joint in Jayanagar, Bangalore. Its my tendency to try out things which I love so much at home since my childhood. Likewise, I tried and made some manchurian in my kitchen too. With trial and error, initial versions were ok...but not satisfactory. After trying out different versions, I arrived at one final recipe which is simpler and tastier. My friends and dear bloggers, try this version in your kitchen and enjoy this mouthwatering appetizer along with some Chinese veg fried rice / noodles and a suitable side dish.

There are two methods to make this Manchurian. You can either fry the Gobi / Cauliflower florets or bake them in the oven. In both the cases, coat every cauliflower florets with the batter and fry or bake them as you like. I made Manchurians using both the methods earlier and they tasted equally good in both the cases. If you are deciding to fry, please follow the method as described below.

I will append the Baking Method version at the end of this post very soon with corresponding pictures.

Ingredients

Gobi / Cauliflower - 1 Big

Oil - To Fry the Manchurian

For the Batter :
All Purpose Flour - 3/4 cup

Corn Flour - 2 tbsp

Salt - Little

Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp

Food colour ( Orange or Red Orange) - 1 pinch ( Optional )

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

 

Gobi Manchurian - Final Process

Red Onion shredded - 1/2 cup

Spring Onion - 3

Garlic Pods finely shredded - 5 or 6
Spicy Tomato Ketchup / Tomato Sauce - 1 tbsp

Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp

Salt - To Taste

Black Pepper Powder - 3 tsp

Green Chilli shredded finely - 1 tbsp

 

 Method

 

• Take out the cauliflower florets and wash them thoroughly. Drain the water completely and cook the cauliflower florets in a microwave and keep them ready.
• Meantime, make a batter using the ingredients as mentioned above ( just like bajji batter) and keep the batter ready.
• In a frying pan, add oil and heat the pan. When you see light fumes emerging out of the oil surface, take a cooked cauliflower floret and coat the floret with the manchurian batter on all sides and gently drop the floret into the heated oil.
• Fry them to golden brown and fry all the other florets using the same method and finish the entire process. Keep all the fried cauliflower florets on a flat plate openly.
• In a cooking pan / vessel, add oil first. When its heated, add finely shredded garlic, red onion pieces into the vessel and fry them for a minute.
• Then, add the tomato ketchup, soy sauce, black pepper powder, shredded green chilli, required amount of salt into the cooking vessel / pan and stir them nicely for nearly 3-4 minutes on a medium flame.
• Add all the fried manchurian into the manchurian sauce and fry them gently. Add the spring onion into the vessel and stir them again for a minute and switch off the flame.
• Transfer the Gobi Manchurian into a serving plate and place small toothpicks on the side or on top of the Manchurian pieces individually.

Vendaikkai Thayir Pachidi / Bendakaya Perugu Pachidi / Okra in Yogurt Gravy / Bindi in curd gravy

Vendaikkai Thayir Pachidi / Bendakaya Perugu Pachidi / Okra in Yogurt Gravy / Bindi in curd gravy

Okra / Bindi / Ladies Finger is always liked by all ages. Instead of making the regular Okra fry, I wanted to make this vendakkai Thayir Pachidi as its mostly preferable during summer. It goes well with any spicy, tangy Kuzhambu like Kara Kuzhambu, Vethakuzhambu, spicy tomato rice, or any mixed rice variety..

Decided to make use of my home grown Bindi / Okra, I had been collecting them since a week. Once it came upto a decent count, I finally made my favourite Vendakaya Thayir Pachidi.

Ingredients 

Okra Plant in our Home Garden

For Making Okra Fry 
Fresh Tender Okra - 25 to 30
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash
Sambar Powder - 3 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Oil - 4 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 Stem
Dry Red Chillies - 2 Medium

For the Curd Gravy
Fresh Curd / Plain Yogurt - 2 Cups
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Hing / Asafoetida - Little
Grounded Paste - Fully ( Make a paste of 1 medium size green chilli, 1 inch of Ginger, 1 tsp of cumin seeds / jeera in a mixer grinder and add it to the fresh curd ).

Method

• Wash the Okra / Ladies finger thoroughly and cut them into small size. In a kadai / frying pan, add the oil first and finish the tempering first by adding mustard seeds, urad dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves. When its done, add the cut Okra into the pan along with all powders and required amount of salt. Mix them well and cover the lid for the Okra to get cooked with the steam inside. No need to add water while making Okra fry.
• During this time, make the curd gravy ready. Add all the required things to the fresh curd and whisk them properly and keep the curd gravy ready. Curd Gravy itself would taste good with a flavour of fresh ginger and jeera.
• When its cooked, open the lid and allow them to get fried on a medium flame slowly. Stir the Okra fry in the middle and let them get fried nicely. I prefer to use Non-Stick pan to fry the Okra with less oil. Its somehow easier for me, as it does not stick to the bottom and also it gets fried nicely with very less oil.
• Just before serving, add the Okra fry into the curd gravy. Garnish with coriander leaves on its top.

Tips / Variations

You can add some thick Buttermilk to dilute the curd gravy if the curd is too thick.

You can add a stem of fresh coriander leaves while grinding the paste for the Yogurt / curd gravy.

Instead of adding the powders to the curd gravy, I prefer to add to the Okra while frying as it gives a nice aroma.

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