Cauliflour (Gobi) Manchurian

Cauliflour is my all time favorite vegetable. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Gobi, as it's called in Hindi,  is a winter vegetable and back in India, I used to have my vacation in the winters. That's when I got to come home to all the yummy food. I never really ate bad tasting cauliflour (thank heavens!). 

Gobi Manchurian is an Indian-Chinese dish - let it be known here, that you won't really find 'Manchurian' in any Chinese menu, unless it's Indian-Chinese. I was terribly shocked when I moved to the US, and to my disappointment, no Chinese restaurant here knew what I was talking about when I said 'Manchurian'. I thought I was talking Chinese :) - they looked at me like I was talking Greek.

Gobi Manchurian can be served dry as a snack/side, or with gravy as a main course. The crunchiness of the gobi manchurian, along with the spicyness of the gravy is lip smacking! I have yet to meet anyone who does not 'dish' this dish...

For the Manchurian:

1 medium Gobi (Cauliflower) - broken into florets

3/4 cup All Purpose Flour - Bleached (Maida) 

1 tbsp Corn Flour 

Salt to taste 

For the gravy:

1 chopped green chili 

1 1/2  tbsp Garlic Paste

1 1/2 tbsp Ginger Paste

1 cup finely Chopped Onions 

Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves 

1/4th tsp Ajinomoto (MSG) - optional

2 tbsp Soya Sauce 

2-3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup 

2 tbsp Oil

Directions:

1. Make a pancake like batter with the flour (maida), corn flour and salt using water.
   
2. Add half of the ginger and garlic paste to this batter.
   
3. Dip the gobi florets in the batter and deep fry till golden brown and crispy. Keep aside.
   
4. Heat oil in another pan and add the other half ginger & garlic paste, chopped onions and green chili to he hot oil.
   
5. Now, add aginomoto (MSG - optional), soy sauce and tomato sauce to it.
   
6. If you are serving this at home, wait till its serving time and then toss the fried Gobi and gravy together - this will ensure its crunchiness. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve the gobi manchurian hot.
   

Most Importantly - Please serve with a cool drink :)

Couple of tips:

1. To make this more gravi-ish - add a tsp of corn starch with 2 tbsp of water and add to the onions mixture. Let it thicken and then add the fried gobi.
   
2. I like to chop up green and red peppers along with the onion - it adds such a burst of flavor to the Manchurian. 
   
3. Feel free to add hot sauce to heat things up! I sometimes add hot sauce to the batter so the fried gobi is yummy to eat by itself.
   
4. I mostly skip the MSG - it does add some flavor, but I cook for my kids, and like to skip it all together.
   
5. Mostly served with Lo Mein or Rice! I like to eat it as is!