My kids are huge fans of this restaurant in our neighborhood called Inchin Bamboo. We usually get a few items from there to share between all of us, and my husband will get his own chicken dish. My kids are obsessed with the Crispy Chili Baby Corn – which will have to get a place on my blog.
In addition we usually end up getting the vegetable manchurian or the gobi manchurian with the gravy, along with a side of fried rice. The quantities are pretty large, so we end up having leftovers which become the kids lunch the next day.
What is Gobi Manchurian Gravy and where did it originate?
It’s a vegetarian version of Chicken Manchurian, which is believed to have come from Nelson Wang, a third generation Chinese chef born in Kolkata, India. He fried chicken and doused it in a sauce made with ginger, garlic, green chillies — key parts of Bengali cuisine — along with Chinese staples like soy sauce and chili sauce. The chef went on to open the famous China Garden restaurant in Mumbai in 1983, where I had the pleasure of dining many times during my childhood.
With Gobi Manchurian, cauliflower florets are fried, and then coated in the so-called manchurian sauce. (Gobi means cauliflower.) Sometimes you’ll see it as an appetizer, where the vegetable or meat is simply coated with a thicker sauce. It can also be served as a main dish, where the sauce is a thinner gravy consistency with a side of white rice, which is what we are making here.
My non-Indian friends love Gobi Manchurian. If we see it on the menu, we always order it. I prefer the appetizer version, and my family loves to eat it with rice and a side of steamed broccoli.
What are the ingredients of the Gobi Manchurian Gravy?
Gobi Manchurian Gravy consists of frying the gobi or cauliflower florets in a batter, and then you make the gravy separately and coat the fried florets in this gravy to make the final dish.
The ingredients for the Gobi Manchurian are:
- All purpose flour
- Corn starch: This gives the florets it’s crispy texture
- Red chili powder: Adds color and flavor to the batter
- Salt and black pepper
- Alliums like ginger, garlic, green chillies : I make a paste out of these 3 ingredients as highlighted in the recipe, and use it throughout the recipe.
- Soy sauce : adds flavor and texture
- Water: to bind it all together
How to make the Gobi Manchurian for the Gobi Manchurian Gravy?
The florets are coated in a batter made with all-purpose flour and cornstarch, seasoned with red chilli powder, salt, pepper, ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and soy sauce. The cornstarch helps make the florets crispy, and the red chilli powder gives a lovely color to the cauliflower.
Fry the florets in oil that has been heated to about 350 degrees, to golden perfection and placed on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain off excess oil.
Tip:
Fry a few florets at time so as not to bring down the temperature of the oil.
What are the ingredients of the Gobi Manchurian Gravy?
The ingredients consist of:
- Soy sauce: We use a lot of soy sauce, so I usually get a bigger bottle from the Korean market which is more economical
- Dark soy sauce: this gives depth of flavor and umami as well, along with a deeper color.
- Rice wine vinegar: add a bit of tang to the sauce
- Sriracha: This is a spicy sauce that adds great flavor to the overall sauce
- Sugar: A bit of sugar is always required to balance out the savory flavors
- Ketchup: Ketchup has been added to the manchurian sauce since the origins of Indo-Chinese cuisine in India.
- Alliums like ginger, garlic and green chillies: These were also part of the origins and Indianization of the original Manchurian sauce from the region of Manchuria in China
- Cornstarch: To thicken the sauce such that it sticks to the florets.
- Vegetables like bell pepper, onions and scallions: These vegetables add a lot of flavor and texture to the dish.
How to make the gravy for the Gobi Manchurian Gravy?
While the cauliflower bakes, you make the manchurian gravy, a mixture of alliums and aromatics sauteed in oil and then blended with wet ingredients such as soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sriracha, rice wine vinegar and ketchup. Cornstarch makes for a thicker consistency. Once the florets are fried, they are tossed in the gravy and mixed until just coated.
Best way to serve the Gobi Manchurian Gravy
The best way to serve the Gobi Manchurian Gravy is with Fried Rice or plain white rice works as well.
What kind of dark soy sauce do you use?
I love the Lee Kum Lee dark soy sauce and use it along with soy sauce to provide depth of flavor to the final dish.
Can I store the leftovers? And how to re-heat it?
Yes! You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for upto a day.
Re-heat it in the microwave for about a minute or 1 ½ minutes. You may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water to loosen it a bit.
Can I eat the Gobi Manchurian Gravy without the gravy and the rice?
Yes! If you do not want gravy in this dish, eat it as is without rice, and want a sauce JUST enough to coat the cauliflower florets, do not add the 1 cup of water later in the gravy. Thicken the sauce and then add the florets. The sauce will be enough to coat the florets and eat it as is without any rice.
Other Asian dinner ideas:
Here are some of the other Asian dinner ideas that are under 30 minutes:
If you do make this recipe, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post.
XO
Amisha
Gobi Manchurian Gravy
Ingredients
Ginger-Garlic-Green Chilli Paste
- 10 garlic cloves
- 2 inch ginger
- 3 green chillies
Fried Gobi or Fried Cauliflower
- 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite size (small) florets
- ½ cup (65 grams) all purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch, plus ¼ cup, divided
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic-green chilli paste
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite size (small) florets
- Neutral Oil to fry
Gravy
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup water, plus 1 cup, divided
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 ½ tablespoons ginger-garlic-green chilli paste
- 1 cup bell pepper, cut into ¾ inch pieces
- 1 medium red onion, cut into ¾ inch pieces
- ⅓ cup scallions, finely chopped
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped
Get Recipe Ingredients
Method
Ginger-Garlic-Green Chilli Paste
- In a mini food processor, add all the ingredients and mix until it becomes minced or a paste.
- Remove into a small container and use as needed.
Fried Gobi or Fried Cauliflower
- In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, ½ cup cornstarch, salt, black pepper and red chilli powder. Whisk to combine. Add the ginger-garlic-green chilli paste, water and soy sauce and whisk until viscous yet flowy in consistency.
- Add cauliflower florets to the batter and mix until all florets are well coated.
- Add the ¼ cup cornstarch and toss to combine.
- Keep a plate lined with a paper towel on the side ready.
- In a medium saucepan, add oil about 2 inches in height, on medium-high heat. Heat the oil for about 5 to 7 minutes to get it to about 350 degrees. You can test by adding a tiny floret into the oil. If it floats up immediately and there are tiny bubbles around it, you know that the oil is ready to fry.
- Add a few florets at a time using a slotted spoon. Fry for about 30 seconds, flip them over and fry for another 30 to 45 minutes until golden brown in color. Using a spider skimmer, remove the florets, drain off excess oil and place them on the prepared plate.
- Repeat until all the florets are cooked evenly.
Gravy
- In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Sriracha, ketchup, black pepper, salt, sugar, ½ cup water and cornstarch. Whisk until well combined.
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, add the vegetable oil.
- Once the oil is hot, after 1 minute, add the ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and saute for a minute. Next add the bell pepper and onions and saute for 2 minutes
- Add the scallions, and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the sauce mixture to the pan, along with 1 cup of water and combine for 3-4 minutes, until slightly thick.
- Switch off the stove.
- Add the florets to the sauce and toss well to combine, until all florets are nicely coated.
- Transfer the Gobi Manchurian Gravy to a serving plate.
- Garnish with the cilantro and scallions.
- Serve immediately with fried rice.
Notes
Best way to serve the Gobi Manchurian Gravy
- The best way to serve the Gobi Manchurian Gravy is with Fried Rice or plain white rice works as well.
What kind of dark soy sauce do you use?
- I love the Lee Kum Lee dark soy sauce and use it along with soy sauce to provide depth of flavor to the final dish.
Can I store the leftovers? And how to re-heat it?
- Yes! You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for upto a day.
- You can re-heat it in the microwave for about a minute or 1 ½ minutes. You may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water to loosen it a bit.
Can I eat the Gobi Manchurian Gravy without the gravy and the rice?
- Yes! If you do not want gravy in this dish so you can eat it as is without rice, and want a sauce JUST enough to coat the cauliflower florets, do not add the 1 cup of water later in the gravy. Thicken the sauce and then add the florets. The sauce will be enough to coat the florets and eat it as is without any rice.
