Veg Manchurian

About Manchurian

Manchurian is a popular Indo-Chinese dish that dates back to 1970s. Though the term ‘Manchurian’ refers to the manchus (people living) in the Manchuria region of North-East China, this dish may have nothing or little to do with the Manchu cuisine.

Back during 1975, the first Indo-Chinese Manchurian dish made with chicken was invented by Nelson Wang, an Indian restaurateur of Chinese origin living in Mumbai.

It is said that some of the best culinary inventions like Butter Chicken, Jalfrezi, Tikka Masala and this Manchurian were accidental. Chicken Manchurian was just an accident that happened when Nelson Wang was ordered to make something different and unusual by a client.

Since a large population of Indians are vegetarians, Vegetable manchurian, Gobi Manchurian, Paneer Manchurian and Mushroom Manchurian were born.

What is Veg Manchurian?

Veg Manchurian is a vegetarian Indo-Chinese dish in which shredded vegetables are formed to balls and fried until crisp. These are tossed in a dark red, spicy, sweet, tangy & umami Manchurian Sauce.

In most restaurants, you will find 1 to 2 of the three versions of Vegetarian Manchurian – dry, semi-dry and gravy. As the names say a dry version has thick sauce coated over the vegetable balls and these are best to be served as an appetizer.

The semi-dry version is served with a little more manchurian sauce and can be eaten with fried rice, rice or noodles.

The gravy version is served with plenty of sauce and you will love this if you are a sauce lover. It is worth noting that plenty of sauce means high calories, high-sodium and high amount of refined flour.

So dry and semi-dry versions are better choices for health conscious people. Vegetable Manchurian makes for a great dish for parties, family dinners and weekend meals.

My Recipe

My recipe will help you make the real deal Indo-Chinese Manchurian. The balls in this perfectly delicious Veg Manchurian will turn out crisp and light, & the Manchurian sauce is super flavorful and finger-licking good.

I also share tips and tricks to make a perfectly smoky sauce & you will smell the real Chinese flavors.

The restaurant version of Vegetable Manchurian has plenty of soya sauce and MSG added to it which dehydrates you. With this homemade version you can easily make the best by adding the quantities to your taste.

You can make dry, semi-dry or gravy versions. If making the gravy version, I suggest using bread crumbs to keep the balls crisp for longer. You won’t taste the bread in the balls but the bread crumbs will soak up the excess moisture from the veggies and keep them crisp longer.

More details in the step by step instructions below. If you are making this for a party, then add the balls to the manchurian gravy just before serving. This way they remain crisp for longer.

How to Make Veg Manchurian

Preparation

1. It is good not to use vegetables from refrigerator as they let out lot of moisture and the veg balls will not turn crispy. I usually keep the veggies out of refrigerator the previous day.

2. Cut cabbage to large cubes and add them to luke warm water. Allow to rest for 3 to 4 mins. Drain completely and allow to air dry until used. Chop finely. I prefer to air dry on a cotton cloth after chopping.

Prepare veggies for balls
1¼ cups cabbage fine chopped
¼ cup spring onions fine chopped
¼ cup beans (optional) fine chopped
½ cup grated carrot (1 medium)
2 tablespoons grated or minced bell peppers
Grate 2 garlic cloves and half inch ginger (1 teaspoon paste).

3.Prepare veggies for the sauce
fine chop ½ tablespoon ginger & ¾ tablespoon garlic
¼ cup spring onions fine chopped
¼ cup bell peppers chopped

Making veg balls

4. Before you begin to make the balls, begin to heat the oil in a kadai / deep pan. If you do not intend to use bread crumbs in the recipe, this step is very crucial.

The balls that are made without using bread crumbs have to straight away go for frying else they will let out moisture and the balls will not turn crispy or may even break.

5. Add chopped cabbage, carrot, beans,capsicum and spring onions to a mixing bowl. Next add very little salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and ginger garlic paste. Do not add more salt as it will let out more moisture from the veggies.

6. Then add 3 tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour) and 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (maida).

7. Mix gently to bind the ingredients.

8. Make the balls without squeezing the mixture a lot. These balls will be soft and you may also need to grease your palms if the mixture is sticky.

But if the balls do not hold shape, then it is not good to go ahead and fry as they may break in the oil.

Some variety of veggies especially tender ones, frozen or from cold storage let out lot of moisture and will break the balls while frying.

Manchurian Balls with Bread Crumbs

9. You can also add ¼ to ½ cup bread crumbs for extra crisp texture. If you intend to make this for a party, then do use them. This will help the balls to remain crisp for at least 2 hours. You can make these ahead and dunk in the sauce just before serving.

Veg manchurian balls made without bread crumbs are good to serve immediately after making as they do not remain crisp for longer. Any amount of cornstarch or maida / plain flour will not do the job of bread crumbs.

10. These balls will be firmer and less sticky. For this recipe you will get about 12 to 14 balls depending on the size.

Frying Balls

11. Heat oil in a kadai. Gently slide a small portion of dough to the oil to check if it is hot enough. The dough has to rise steadily without browning. This is the right temperature. Fry veg balls immediately on a medium flame. Leave them untouched until they firm up in the oil, if you have not used bread crumbs. Later stir often to fry them evenly.

12. Drain them to a kitchen tissue when they turn golden and crisp. These balls take long time to fry, so it is good to discard the oil used for frying.

13. I prefer my Indo chinese dishes to be brighter in color rather than brownish so I use red chili powder or paste. This is optional. You can make a fine paste of ½ to ¾ teaspoon red chilli powder with very little water. Set this aside.

14. Dissolve corn starch
For veg Manchurian gravy: Dissolve ¾ tablespoon of cornstarch with ¼ cup of water.
Manchurian dry: Dissolve 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoon of water. Set this aside.

Make Manchurian Sauce

15. Heat up a wok with 1½ tablespoons of fresh oil. Saute chopped ¾ tablespoon garlic and ½ tablespoon ginger for a min. For the great smoky Chinese flavors use a carbon steel wok & cook from here on a highest flame until you add the sauces at a later step.

16. Add ¼ cup spring onions and ¼ cup finely chopped capsicum. Saute for 1 to 2 mins on the highest flame possible without burning. This imparts a unique aroma to the sauce.

17. Add 1 tablespoon soya sauce or tamari. You can add more or less to suit your taste.

18. Add 2 tablespoons red chili sauce (or any hot sauce) and 1 tablespoon tomato sauce/ ketchup (optional). Adjust to suit your taste.

19. This step is optional. Stir the red chili paste and pour it. Use a milder variety chili powder like kashmiri.

20. Make sure the flame is low. Stir the cornstarch mixture and pour it to the pan.

21. Next stir immediately.

22. Pour 1 cup water for gravy version and half cup water for dry version and stir well. I am making a gravy here.

23. Taste this and then add vinegar, sugar, pepper & salt, everything to suit your taste. The manchurian sauce has to be slightly sour, sweet and very very mildly hot.

24. Keep stirring and cook on a medium flame until the sauce thickens. Sauce will thicken upon cooling. So the right consistency is when it is slightly thick. Taste test and add more soya sauce or chilli sauce or tomato ketchup to suit your taste.

25. Do not add the balls to very hot sauce. Allow it to cool down a bit for about 5 to 7 mins. Add the balls to the manchurian sauce just before you serve. If the sauce turns very thick, you can add little hot water and stir.