What is Veg Manchurian? What is Indo Chinese Cuisine?
The Veg Manchurian recipe that we’ve grown up eating in restaurants is considered to be a part of Chinese cuisine. However, the original Chinese recipe is different and not so spicy. What we call Manchurian is actually an adapted version to suit the Indian palate. Indo-Chinese or Chindian cuisine is a mixture of Chinese seasonings and Indian techniques. A few other popular recipes from this cuisine are Chilly Paneer, Gobi Manchurian etc. Indo chinese dishes like Veg manchurian originated in India’s Chinatown East Kolkata where Chinese immigrants settled in early 1900s. This was during the first world war and people oppressed by the Mao rule. Besides Manchurian, another Chindian recipe that is super popular in India is Honey Chilli Potato, you can try that out too.
The Indo Chinese cuisine is so popular that Ching’s Secret (a Mumbai based company) has launched a complete range of products from noodles to soups to Spice mixes customized to Indian taste in the name of Desi Chinese.
Ching’s Manchurian masala is pretty decent if you don’t know how to make the gravy yourself. I will try to simplify the Veg Manchurian Recipe for you so that you can easily make Restaurant style manchurian at home.
My inspiration for Veg Manchurian recipe?
So far I’ve shared traditional Indian recipes on my blog like Kadai Paneer, Shahi Daal Turai etc and got some very good feedback. I think Chinese food is also coming under a lot of fire because of the current wave of anti-China sentiment and this could also be the reason that my students asked me to share some Chinese recipes. Since Veg Manchurian was the last restaurant meal that I had before the lockdown started, I started getting cravings for it. Also, it can be used as a starter appetizer as well as a main course recipe, so I decided to write about it.
Veg Manchurian Recipe – Ingredients and procedure
Restaurant Style Veg Manchurian Recipe
Veg manchurian is a popular Indo Chinese recipe which is made using fried cabbage and veggie balls dipped in soy gravy.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Manchurian Balls
- Onion – ½ (use spring onions if available)
- Capsicum – ½
- Carrot – ½
- French Beans – 5 -6 strings
- Cabbage – 1 Flower (Approx – 250 gm)
- Garlic – 2 – 3 cloves
- Salt – 1 tbsp (as per taste)
- Black Pepper – ½ tbsp
- All purpose flour/ maida – 5 -6 tbsp (for binding vegetables)
- Oil – For frying
Ingredients for Gravy/Sauce
- Onion – 1
- Garlic – 7 -8 cloves
- Ginger – ½ inch
- Green Chillies – 2
- Chilli Sauce (Green) – 1 ½ tbsp
- Soya Sauce – 3 tbsp
- Vinegar – 1 tbsp
- Sugar – 1 tsp
- Salt – 1 tbsp (as per taste also depends on the quantity of curry)
- All purpose flour/ maida – 2 tbsp
- Oil – 2 tbsp
Instructions
Directions for making Manchurian Balls
- Chop vegetable with a hand chopper. Separate the stock and vegetables after blanching.
- Add black pepper, salt and 5-6 tbsp of all purpose flour/maida to these vegetables to bind
them.
- Make small balls of this mixture by hand. You can make upto 16 to 18 balls from this mixture.
- Fry these balls on a medium flame till they turn golden brown. Make sure that the flame is not high as it will result in the balls getting burnt or overcooked from outside and uncooked inside.
- Store the balls in a dry container. If you want, put it under a paper tissue to soak the extra oil
Directions for making Manchurian Gravy
- Heat two tbsp of oil in a separate pan. Add chopped garlic (6-7 cloves), ginger and green chillies to the heated oil. After sauteing it for 1 minute, add one finely chopped onion and fry it for almost 2-3 minutes. (Don’t over cook the onions, they should only sweat little bit)
- Now, add vegetable stock to the mixture (which we prepared in the beginning at the time of preparation of manchurian balls). Add a little more water if you want more gravy. (Maximum 1 litre water should be there with 16-18 manchurian balls)
- Take 2 tbsp of all purpose flour in a bowl and add little water to it to make slurry. (this will give thickness to your manchurian gravy). Add this slurry in the pan and allow it to boil.
- Now, add 2 tbsp soya sauce, 1 ½ tbsp green chilli sauce, salt (as per taste), little black pepper, 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tbsp of vinegar to the curry.
- Let it cook for 2-3 more minutes. Now add prepared manchurian balls to the curry. Let gravy be soaked in by the manchurian ball. Add fresh coriander for garnishing.
- Serve with noodles or fried rice.
Notes
- Generally cornflour is used in the preparation of manchurian. But I tried it with all purpose flour which was equally effective in giving texture to the curry and binding the manchurian balls
- If you have children at home who don’t like eating a particular vegetable, you can add it in the veggies here 😉
Recommended Products
I recommend products that will help you make the recipe in the best way possible.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 190
| Calories per serving | Ingredient |
| 70 calories | Sunflower Oil (0.58 tbsp) |
| 46 calories | Onion Rings (0.17 portion (8 -9 onion rings) |
| 50 calories | White Flour (0.11 cup) |
| 8 calories | Carrots raw (0.17 cup, grated) |
| 3 calories | Cabbage fresh (0.17 cup, shredded) |
| 3 calories | Soy Sauce (0.33 tbsp) |
| 190 calories | Total calories per serving |
The best part of this Veg Manchurian recipe is that it can be enjoyed as main course or as an appetizer with drinks if you have guests at home.
I love the spicy tangy manchurian gravy and love eating it with noodles. How do you like your manchurian? Let me know in the comments 🙂
See you soon with another mouth watering recipe.
Awesome
Thank you so much for sharing such an amazing and yummy recipe..loved it!😍🤤😋😋
Thanks Vani. Do let me know when you try it out as well
Just looking at it made me hungry! I’ve not eaten manchurian since a very long time, so I’ll be sure to try this one out!😄
Would love to know how it turns out for you
This post is exactly what I was looking for. You’ve addressed all the questions I had and provided clear, actionable advice. Thank you for sharing your expertise.