Vegetable Manchurian Recipe

veg manchurian.

Hi again, buddies. Today’s recipe is Vegetable Manchurian. It is an Indo- Chinese recipe and consists of fried veggie dumplings and cooked with gravy. It’s an all time favorite in my home. But I don’t like that dark and blackish color of gravy due to the soy sauce. So when I make this dish I add some finely chopped veggies to make it look colorful and tempting. Also the tiny bits of veggies render a nice texture to the otherwise plain gravy. This recipe needs a lot of garlic; you may reduce the amount if you feel it’s too much for you. Try it out, and I am sure you will love it!

This recipe will serve 3 to 4 people. For the purpose of measurement, 1 cup = 250 ml. Let’s begin.

Ingredients

For the Vegetable Dumplings

  • Cabbage- 1 cup
  • Carrot- 1 cup
  • Cauliflower- 1 cup
  • Capsicum- 1 cup
  • Cooked rice- 1/3 cup, mashed (helps in binding)
  • Ginger- 1 tsp, finely crushed
  • Garlic- 1 tsp, finely crushed
  • Black pepper- 1/2 tsp, freshly ground
  • Ajinomoto (Mono Sodium Glutamate) – 1/2 tsp
  • Salt- 1/2 tsp or to taste
  • Cornstarch- 1 tbsp
  • Water- 1.5 cup
  • Oil- For frying

For the gravy

  • Onion – 1 small, finely chopped
  • Tomato – 2 tbsp, finely chopped
  • Capsicum- 1/2, finely chopped
  • Carrot- 2 tbsp finely chopped
  • Garlic – 10 to 12 flakes, minced or finely chopped
  • Ginger- 1/2 inch piece, minced
  • Green chilies – 2 nos., split lengthwise.
  • Soy sauce- 1 tbsp
  • Red chili sauce- 1/2 tbsp
  • Vinegar- 1/2 tbsp
  • Ajinomoto- 1/2 tsp
  • Cornstarch- 1 tsp
  • Water – 4 tbsp
  • Vegetable stock – 1 cups (Obtained from boiling veggies, read Method)
  • Salt- To taste
  • Oil- 3 tbsp
  • Spring onion greens- For garnish (Optional)

How to Make Vegetable Manchurian

For Making the Vegetable Dumplings

vegetable dumplings

  • Chop/ grate the veggies (carrot, cabbage, cauliflower and capsicum) very finely using the food processor. In a pan put all the chopped/ grated veggies and water. Cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes, till the veggies become a little soft.
  • In a clean cloth, place the veggies and squeeze the water out of it. Reserve this veggie stock to make the gravy. It would yield about 2 cups of stock since veggies release water.
  • Transfer the veggies in a bowl, mix in the remaining ingredients (except oil) and make a soft mixture. Divide the mixture into 15-18 parts and make lime sized balls out of it.
  • Deep fry the veggie balls on a medium to low flame till golden brown taking care not to burn them. Taste a dumpling to make sure it’s not raw from within. Keep aside when done.

For Making the Gravy

veg manchurian.

  • Mix corn starch in little water and keep aside.
  • In the wok or skillet heat oil on a high flame, add onion and fry for a few seconds. Add in ginger and garlic, fry for a few more seconds. Reduce the flame if needed, so as not to burn anything.
  • Toss in the capsicum, carrot, green chilies, and tomato. Give a quick stir. Add soy sauce, red chili sauce, vinegar, ajinomoto and mix. Add a little salt.
  • Add in the vegetable stock and bring it to boil. Add the corn starch paste. After a minute when the gravy thickens a little, drop in the vegetable dumplings and let it simmer for a minute or two.
  • Turn off the flame and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with green part of spring onion. (I ran out of spring onion greens so I couldn’t add any)
  • Serve hot with Hakka Noodles or fried rice as per your choice! Enjoy!