Vegetarian Manchurian – Indian Chinese dish!

Do you know that there is nothing comforting like a spicy and warm bowl of Indo-Chinese food during winter. I get cravings for indo-chinese food like Manchurian, chili paneer or Hakka noodles.

Do you know that there is nothing like a spicy and warm bowl of Indian Chinese food during winter like  soup or a dish called Manchurian or Hakka noodles which fall under Indian Chinese food category?

Indian Chinese food is adaptation of Chinese flavors and cooking techniques but suitable to Indian tastes. Originally, Indian Chinese cooking became famous or developed when Chinese immigrants moved to Calcutta now known as Kolkata  in 18th century. Chinese cuisine is very popular within Indian communities. It is really different from the authentic Chinese dishes and often influenced by Indian flavors.

If you are interested in learning more about the history of Indian Chinese Food then I would recommend this article.  It is interesting to know how one culture can influence others through food and has a wonderful result. With out further ado, try it for yourself with this recipe. Please don’t freak out with the list of ingredients.  I usually have most of them in my kitchen and I am sure you do too.

Print Recipe

Vegetarian Manchurian

Fried vegetarian balls cooked in sweet and spicy sauce with bell peppers, onions and scallions with tons of flavor and texture.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Chinese, Indian

Keyword: indianfood, indochinese, vegetarian, Vegetarian manchurian,

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Devangi Raval

Ingredients

Vegetarian balls

• 1 cup carrots, shredded
• 1 1/2 cups cabbage, shredded
• 1/2 green bell pepper, shredded
• 1/4 cup green beans
• 1-2 green chilies
• 1 small piece of Ginger ( about 1 tsp)
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1/2 cup boiled rice
• ¼ cup bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Oil for frying

Sauce

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper (combination of red & green) chopped into cubes
• 1/2 cup onion chopped into cubes
• 1 teaspoon green chilies finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic finely chopped
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp chili sauce/paste, like sriracha
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tsp sugar or honey
• 1/2 cup water more if you plan to keep more sauce
• 1/4 cup scallions for garnish
• Garnish - Chili oil

Instructions

Vegetarian Balls

• Shred the vegetables using a food processor or using a grater. Make sure you do not blend it and make a paste. Because it can easily go that route. Squeeze out water from the shredded vegetables, please do it before you add the other ingredients. reserve that water.In a separate bowl add corn starch, bread crumbs, boiled rice, vegetables, salt pepper, ginger chili paste, soy sauce and mix well. There will be a lot of water that would get released from the vegetables that helps bind everything together. .
• Heat oil in pot for frying. The oil should be at 350 F for frying. Divide the mixture in equal portions and make round shaped balls out of the mix and deep fry them until golden and crisp. remove them on absorbent paper. Keep them aside till we are ready to serve them.

Sauce

• Take oil in pan, add ginger, garlic and chilies. Saute it for few seconds and add the onions and bell peppers. Mix well. Let it cook for couple of minutes. In another bowl add soy sauce, chili paste, vinegar, cornstarch, sugar, salt, black pepper
• Add in the extra water if needed. Mix everything well. Let it cook for sometime.
• Once the sauce thickens, add the fried manchurian balls to the sauce. Let it cook for two minutes and soak in the sauce. Garnish it with the scallions.

Notes

You can make a big batch and once they cool down, line them on tray and freeze them, once frozen, transfer them in ziploc bags to freeze them for future use. It saves so much time and the sauce hardly takes 10 mins to prepare. Specially if you are having a party and want to prep ahead. 

If I am making this dish for a party or so, I would only add the vegetarian balls just few hours before serving to avoid them becoming soggy.

Did you try this recipe?

Tag @pistachiodoughnut on Instagram and hashtag #pistachiodoughnutrecipes

I served them with hakka noodles. I will share the recipe some other day for the noodles. But you can serve it with steamed rice. You can also make fried rice out of the gravy and balls and serve it as fried rice. Either ways you will love this dish.

Bon Appetite!

XOXO, Devangi