Gobi Manchurian is my absolute favourite dish in the world! The deep-fried cauliflower florets are tossed in sweet, spicy tangy sauce. It’s a flavour explosion in your mouth with texture and crunch to round it out. This is the dish I always request from my mother for my birthday and look forward to year-round.
When I was younger, I would fill my stomach with Gobi Manchurian and not eat anything else during dinner. Then in the morning I’d wake up early before both my siblings, and rush to the kitchen to enjoy the leftovers, often in a sandwich. It always caused an all-out sibling fight but was well worth it, having the recent memory of savouring the delicious treasure!
Gobi Manchurian has two main components, cauliflower (Gobi) and a tangy sauce (Manchurian). The cauliflower is cut into bit sized florets and deep fried with a flour coating. Meanwhile the sauce is made combining the usual aromatics with soy sauce, vinegar, sweet chilli sauce and my secret ingredient: Capsicum (bell peppers).
Sweet Chilli Sauce
In this recipe I have included a recipe for Sweet Chilli Sauce however, if you want to save time you can always a pre-made sweet chilli sauce. It’s just as tasty!
Baking vs Frying
With the Cauliflower florets I find frying gives the best texture and then doesn’t get as soggy when mixed with the Manchurian sauce. Using the ingredients in this recipe and then baking the cauliflower doesn’t yield as good of a result. Unfortunately, the florets are a bit dense and not as crunchy. I’m working on a way to make this recipe healthier and will hopefully be able to share this shortly!
Ingredients
Sweet Chilli Sauce:
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 tbl soy sauce
2 tbl dried chilli flakes
1/4 tsp asfoetida
1 tsp corn flour
2 tsp cold water
Sauce:
1 brown onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped finely
1 tsp ginger powder or 20 g finely g rated ginger
1 medium red capsicum, chopped finely
1 medium green capsicum, chopped finely
1 tbl tomato paste
1 tbl soy sauce
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste
Cauliflower
1 Cups Plain Flour
1/3 Cups Corn Flour
1 Cups Water
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp salt
Method
Sweet Chilli Sauce:
1. Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan excluding the cornflour and 2 tsp water.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil on medium/high heat, stirring regularly to ensure the sugar melts
and is evenly dispersed. Then simmer on low for 5 minutes stirring regularly.
3. Mix the corn flour and water until completely dissolved.
4. Add the corn flour / water mix to the saucepan and cook on low for 5 more minutes until the mixture has thickened slightly, stirring regularly.
Sauce:
1. In a medium saucepan add 1 tbl olive oil and the chopped onion. Sautee on medium heat until the onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and ginger to the pan and sauté for 1 minute, until aromatic.
3. Add the chopped capsicums to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes, until softened.
4. Add 1 tsp of salt, the blended tomato, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar to the pan and cook for one minute.
5. Add 2 cups of water to the pan. Bring to the boil and then bring heat to medium / low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring regularly.
5. With a masher gently mash up the ingredients in the pan so that they’re softened.
6. Add the sweet chilli sauce to the pan. Cook on low medium heat for 10 minutes until mixture thickens.
7. Add salt to taste .
Cauliflower:
1. In a medium size bowl combine the flours, spices and salt. Add the water and whisk the mixture until combined and smooth.
2. In a large pan, heat the oil for frying on medium heat. The oil is ready for frying once it reaches 180C (350F). You can also check that the oil is ready by dropping a small amount of the batter into it. If the batter browns without burning and rises to the surface, the oil is ready.
3. Dip the florets into the batter one by one, shaking off the excess. Gently drop the coated florets into the oil and fry for about 4 -5 minutes until golden brown with some darker spots around and well cooked.
4. Drain the florets on either a wire or a plate lined with paper towels.
5. Once all the florets have been fried combine the cauliflower with the sauce.
6. Garnish with finely chopped coriander and spring onion to your liking.
Gobi Manchurian
Ingredients
Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 1/3 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1/3 Cup Caster Sugar
- 1/2 tbl Soy Sauce
- 2 tbl Dried Chilli Flakes
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1 tsp Corn Flour
- 2 tsp Cold Water
Manchurian Sauce
- 1 Brown Onion Chopped Finely
- 3 cloves Garlic Chopped Finely
- 1 tbl Finely grated Ginger
- 1 red capsicum (medium sized) chopped finely
- 1 green capsicum (medium sized) chopped finely
- 1 tbl Tomato Paste
- 1 tbl Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 tsp Salt to taste
Cauliflower Florets
- 1 Medium head cauliflower cut into medium size florets
- 1 Cup Plain Flour
- 1/3 Cup Corn Flour
- 1 Cup Water
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Ginger Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Salt add salt to taste.
Instructions
Sweet Chilli Sauce
- Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan excluding the cornflour and 2 tsp water.
- Bring the mixture to a boil on medium/high heat, stirring regularly to ensure the sugar melts and is evenly dispersed. Then simmer on low for 5 minutes stirring regularly.
- Mix the corn flour and water until completely dissolved.
- Add the corn flour / water mix to the saucepan and cook on low for 5 more minutes until the mixture has thickened slightly, stirring regularly.
Manchurian Sauce
- In a medium saucepan add 1 tbl olive oil and bring it to medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté on medium heat until the onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and ginger to the pan and sauté for 1 minute, until aromatic.
- Add the chopped capsicums to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes, until softened.
- Add 1 tsp of salt, the blended tomato, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar to the pan and cook for one minute.
- Add 2 cups of water to the pan. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat to medium / low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring regularly.
- With a masher gently mash up the ingredients in the pan so that they're softened.
- Add the sweet chilli sauce to the pan. Cook on low medium heat for 10 minutes until mixture thickens.
- Add salt to taste.
Cauliflower Florets
- In a medium size bowl combine the flours, spices and salt. Add the water and whisk the mixture until combined and smooth.
- In a large pan, heat the oil for frying on medium heat. The oil is ready for frying once it reaches 180C (350F). You can also check that the oil is ready by dropping a small amount of the batter into it. If the batter browns without burning and rises to the surface, the oil is ready.
- Dip the florets into the batter one by one, shaking off the excess. Gently drop the coated florets into the oil and fry for about 4 -5 minutes until golden brown with some darker spots around and well cooked.
- Drain the florets on either a wire or a plate lined with paper towels.
Gobi Manchurian
- Once all the florets have been fried combine the cauliflower with the sauce. Garnish with finely chopped coriander and spring onion to your liking.