Mixed Vegetable Manchurian, as I mentioned in my last post, is yet another dish from Indo Chinese cuisine. It is made with fried dumplings in a soy sauce based gravy and is popularly paired with Vegetable fried rice.
There are some dry variations made with Manchurian that are served as an appetizer. I have never tried my hand at them, simply because the version gravy appeals to us a little more.
I used to avoid making manchurian because of the frying step involved, but once the idea of baking the dumplings came to me, this dish has begun to appear a little more often in my kitchen. Not often enough by R's standards, since he is a huge fan of this type of cuisine but fairly often as per mine :-) These dumplings taste pretty crisp and tasty, right out of the oven, but restrain yourself if you can and wait to dunk them in the gravy, they taste far better that way :-)
Click here for a printable view of this recipe
Ingredients and Method to make Baked Vegetable Manchurian
For the manchurian
1/4 head cabbage shredded very fine (see notes)
2 carrots shredded very fine ( I used the food processor to cut both these vegetables)
1 cup cooked rice ( Brown or white, both kinds of rice work here)
2 Thai or Indian variety chilies minced
3 to 6 Tbsp corn starch (known as corn flour in India, as needed )
5 Tbsp unbleached all purpose flour (maida)
1/2 tsp salt
a few drops of oil to brush on before baking
For the gravy
2 tbsp oil
1 green bell pepper ( capsicum/ simla mirch) cut fine
8 to 10 spring onions cut fine (reserve 3 Tbsp green part for garnish) (optional)
2 Thai or Indian varieties of green chilies
1/2 inch ginger (see notes)
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp red chili sauce (Chinese style) (or to taste)
3/4 tsp minced garlic (see notes)
3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or to taste)
2 tbsp corn starch (known as corn flour in India) mixed in 1/4 cup of water
water as required (I use about 2 and 1/2 to 3 cups of water)
salt to taste
Optional garnish
3 Tbsp green part of spring onions cut very fine
Pre heat oven to 350 deg F (180 deg C) . Line a tray or cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and keep aside.
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In a large bowl, add the shredded cabbage, carrots, cooked rice, minced ginger , green chilies, salt and mix well. Add corn starch and all purpose flour, one tbsp at a time and keep kneading the mixture until it comes together and you are able to shape it into small lime sized balls.
Arrange these about 1/2 an inch apart on the tray/ cookie sheet. Brush it on with oil and place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until evenly golden, turning once in between for it to bake evenly.
Increase the oven temperature to 400 deg F (200 deg C) and bake for an additional 20 minutes.(if required check notes)
Edited to add : Subsequently when I made these manchurians, I baked @ 400 deg F for 30 to 40 mins and broiled for a couple of mins to get a more golden brown color. I liked the way it turned out then too. The updated picture I have added now is from the time I baked @ 400 deg F and broiled.
Remove and keep this aside.
For the gravy
Grind ginger and green chilies in a spice grinder with a little water into a smooth paste.
Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and add bell peppers. If using spring onions, add spring onions and bell pepper together and stir until it cooks, then add garlic, stir for a few seconds. Then add ginger green chili paste and stir a couple of minutes.
Add soy sauce, red chili sauce, ketchup and mix well. Add water as required, add salt to taste, then allow the mixture to come to a boil.
Add corn starch mixed in water and allow the gravy to simmer and thicken slightly. Add the baked dumplings, allow to simmer for a minute or so, remove from heat, garnish if using and serve hot with Vegetable Fried Rice
Serves approximately 3
Variation :
To save time, you can use 1-2 tsp of ginger garlic paste as per taste. If you do, just finely cut the green chilies and add to the oil along with the spring onions and bell pepper, after it is tender crisp add ginger garlic paste, then continue with the rest of the recipe.
Notes
For the manchurian you can also add some cauliflower florets along with cabbage and carrots, make sure the cauliflower is cut very fine, I would recommend using the food processor for the cauliflower as well.
Baking times will vary depending on the size of the dumplings.I kept the dumpling an additional ten minutes or so just to make it crisper, in case you want it just golden brown, you can remove it earlier.
If you do not want much gravy, you can use less water. If you want much more gravy and use much more water, then you may need to increase the quantity of corn starch, otherwise the gravy will become runny
I usually use Chings brand red chili sauce.
There are some dry variations made with Manchurian that are served as an appetizer. I have never tried my hand at them, simply because the version gravy appeals to us a little more.
I used to avoid making manchurian because of the frying step involved, but once the idea of baking the dumplings came to me, this dish has begun to appear a little more often in my kitchen. Not often enough by R's standards, since he is a huge fan of this type of cuisine but fairly often as per mine :-) These dumplings taste pretty crisp and tasty, right out of the oven, but restrain yourself if you can and wait to dunk them in the gravy, they taste far better that way :-)
Click here for a printable view of this recipe
Ingredients and Method to make Baked Vegetable Manchurian
For the manchurian
1/4 head cabbage shredded very fine (see notes)
2 carrots shredded very fine ( I used the food processor to cut both these vegetables)
1 cup cooked rice ( Brown or white, both kinds of rice work here)
2 Thai or Indian variety chilies minced
3 to 6 Tbsp corn starch (known as corn flour in India, as needed )
5 Tbsp unbleached all purpose flour (maida)
1/2 tsp salt
a few drops of oil to brush on before baking
For the gravy
2 tbsp oil
1 green bell pepper ( capsicum/ simla mirch) cut fine
8 to 10 spring onions cut fine (reserve 3 Tbsp green part for garnish) (optional)
2 Thai or Indian varieties of green chilies
1/2 inch ginger (see notes)
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp red chili sauce (Chinese style) (or to taste)
3/4 tsp minced garlic (see notes)
3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or to taste)
2 tbsp corn starch (known as corn flour in India) mixed in 1/4 cup of water
water as required (I use about 2 and 1/2 to 3 cups of water)
salt to taste
Optional garnish
3 Tbsp green part of spring onions cut very fine
Pre heat oven to 350 deg F (180 deg C) . Line a tray or cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and keep aside.
The copyright of this content belongs to Veginspirations.com
In a large bowl, add the shredded cabbage, carrots, cooked rice, minced ginger , green chilies, salt and mix well. Add corn starch and all purpose flour, one tbsp at a time and keep kneading the mixture until it comes together and you are able to shape it into small lime sized balls.
Arrange these about 1/2 an inch apart on the tray/ cookie sheet. Brush it on with oil and place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until evenly golden, turning once in between for it to bake evenly.
Increase the oven temperature to 400 deg F (200 deg C) and bake for an additional 20 minutes.(if required check notes)
Edited to add : Subsequently when I made these manchurians, I baked @ 400 deg F for 30 to 40 mins and broiled for a couple of mins to get a more golden brown color. I liked the way it turned out then too. The updated picture I have added now is from the time I baked @ 400 deg F and broiled.
Remove and keep this aside.
For the gravy
Grind ginger and green chilies in a spice grinder with a little water into a smooth paste.
Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and add bell peppers. If using spring onions, add spring onions and bell pepper together and stir until it cooks, then add garlic, stir for a few seconds. Then add ginger green chili paste and stir a couple of minutes.
Add soy sauce, red chili sauce, ketchup and mix well. Add water as required, add salt to taste, then allow the mixture to come to a boil.
Add corn starch mixed in water and allow the gravy to simmer and thicken slightly. Add the baked dumplings, allow to simmer for a minute or so, remove from heat, garnish if using and serve hot with Vegetable Fried Rice
Serves approximately 3
Variation :
To save time, you can use 1-2 tsp of ginger garlic paste as per taste. If you do, just finely cut the green chilies and add to the oil along with the spring onions and bell pepper, after it is tender crisp add ginger garlic paste, then continue with the rest of the recipe.
Notes
For the manchurian you can also add some cauliflower florets along with cabbage and carrots, make sure the cauliflower is cut very fine, I would recommend using the food processor for the cauliflower as well.
Baking times will vary depending on the size of the dumplings.I kept the dumpling an additional ten minutes or so just to make it crisper, in case you want it just golden brown, you can remove it earlier.
If you do not want much gravy, you can use less water. If you want much more gravy and use much more water, then you may need to increase the quantity of corn starch, otherwise the gravy will become runny
I usually use Chings brand red chili sauce.
