Gobi Manchurian, a dry and crispy dish made with Cauliflower is so delicious that you will happily eat it even if you have never liked this vegetable before. The combination of the deep-fried cauliflower and the tasty sauce is what makes this dish so appealing. This is a popular menu item in most Indian restaurants and is usually had as an appetizer. It is a great option for vegetarians who do not eat meat.
Cauliflower is a common dish with most vegetarians. It is a good source of nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants. Here is a recipe that I make with cauliflower and potatoes. This post was loved by many folks. I usually resort to making this simple and easy dish whenever I get cauliflower from the groceries. Some other ways to use cauliflower in dishes is to add to fried rice, vegetarian biryanis, vegetarian gravies, or baked as a whole. Here is a recipe from a fellow blogger Cauliflower Tikka, that can be baked and air fried that I loved. Do check it out as well.
How to make Gobi Manchurian dry and crispy
Marinate the cauliflower in a batter of cornflour and all-purpose flour with a little salt. It is important that all the corners of the cauliflower get the batter and is well coated. Deep-fry the marinated cauliflowers in oil in small batches, so it does not overcrowd the pan . This also helps the heat to be maintained.
Add the deep-fried cauliflower bites to the spicy and delicious sauce, made with finely chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies, and green onions. Flavor with sauces like soy, red chili, and tomato ketchup. You can add green chili, and vinegar if you like but I skipped that. Make a slurry of cornflour and water and add it to the sauce mixture. This helps make a thicker coating of the sauce. Feel free to reduce or increase the level of spices to your liking. Finally, garnish with finely chopped green onions or coriander leaves.
Some folks like the gravy in this dish. In that case, you can just skip reducing the sauce after mixing the deep-fried cauliflower into the sauce. I prefer the dry version. For that, once the fried cauliflowers are coated with sauce, saute on high heat until dry and crispy. The Gobi Manchurian can be had by itself or as an accompaniment with fried rice or plain white rice. It is best eaten when it's warm and crispy. Hope you enjoyed this recipe and will make it. Happy cooking!
Gobi Manchurian is a dry ,crispy and delicious appetizer with crispy cauliflower bites in a tasty sauce with garlic, ginger and green chillies.
- 1 cauliflower
- 5-6 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp maida or all-purpose flour
- 8 tbsp cornflour
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp garlic finely chopped
- 3 tbsp ginger finely chopped
- 4-5 green chillies finely chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup spring onions (scallions) finely chopped (Keep the upper halves for garnish)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp red chili sauce
- 1 tsp tomato sauce (ketchup)
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 1 cup water
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Boil enough water with salt and add the cauliflowers and drain out when they are half -cooked.
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Keep aside and add it to the batter in the next step.
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Make a batter of all the ingredients in the "for fried cauliflower" section with just about enough water so the cauliflower is well coated.
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Heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry the cauliflower on medium heat. Drain and transfer to a bowl.
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In a Wok or frying pan heat up oil.
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Add the chopped onions, garlic, ginger, lower halves of spring onionsnd green chillies.
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Add salt to taste be careful not to add a lot.
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Add all the sauces and black pepper and mix well.
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Make a slurry of cornflour and water and add it into the sauce mixture.
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Mix well and then add the fried cauliflower .
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Coat the sauce well .Add a little water and mix well
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Keep cooking till the sauces are well coated and dry.
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Garnish with rest of the spring onions and coriander leaves.
Wonderful!
Thank you so much!
Love these gorgeous golden gobi manchurian, they looks so appetizing. I'm going to make them this evening itself and relish them along with my ginger tea. 🙂
So glad to hear that Megala , they are very delicious and hope you enjoy them with your evening tea ! Thank you so much .
Lovely appetizer idea - these look delicious Nisha! 🙂
They are indeed very delicious, hope you will try them! Thank you so much for stopping by!
These look so crunchy and yummy! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
They turned out really awesome, crunchy, and delicious and disappeared in no time 🙂 I would love to hear if you try it out. Thank you so much!
I'm salivating!😋 It looks delicious!!
Thank you so much for the lovely comment!
Oh my word! Cauliflower Tikka sound so delicious. I'm really hungry for Indian now. Thank you for the inspiration.
Thank you so much, it's a really delicious appetizer with cauliflower indeed . My pleasure to share Su.
These cauliflower bites look and sound so so good! I love the flavours in the Manchurian sauce!
Thank you so much Jacque, the flavors of the sauce and the fried cauliflower really go well together!
Oh your cauliflower tikka bites looks soooo gooood! I will have to give it a try.
Thank you so much Jean-Yves, it tastes really good. I would love to hear if you try this!
I love cauliflower, and I am constantly looking for new ways to incorporate this power food into my diet. I will definitely be adding this recipe to the list. Thank you for sharing this!
Many Thanks Lauren, I am so glad you liked this recipe and am sure you will love this delicious dish!
This cauliflower dish looks so addictive! I don't have a deep fryer so am going to try it in my air fryer - I can't wait.
Thank you so much Beth ! It is very addictive indeed . I have not tried with air fryer but am sure it will be a healthier version 🙂
I love gobi manchurian so much! I actually have half a head of cauliflower in the fridge at the moment, you've got me inspired to have a go at making my own!
How nice , I try and save some cauliflower as well to make this whenever I can . I am sure you will not be disappointed with this recipe! Thank you for stopping by .
Ooooh this sounds delicious! I love Gobi (and now I'm keto I can't have my usual staple of Aloo Gobi), so this would be perfect alternative! Thanks!
Glad to hear you love this and you found a great alternative in this dish! Happy cooking.
This is my favorite Indo Chinese dish! Your recipe looks great!
Thank you so much Komal, it's a favorite of ours as well .
Never heard of tried Gobi Manchuria before but it looks and sounds delicious. It would be a great appetiser. Going to try and recreate this recipe just hope mine looks this good.
Wonderful to hear you will try and recreate this. I am pretty sure you will enjoy making and relishing this dish!
Hi Nisha, My favorite vegetarian appetizer , and you have made the manchurian so perfectly , the plate looks mouth watering. And for this cold weather , I can literally munch a bowl full, now you made crave for it, so I'm going to make these , thanks for the recipe !
Thank you so much Aarthi for your gracious comments! I did enjoy making this and it turned out really well. You are absolutely right about this dish being perfect for this cold weather 🙂 Hope you enjoy making and having as well. Have a wonderful weekend!
Wow, I honestly can't believe this is cauliflower! I'm fine with cauliflower whether it's baked or boiled, but this looks DELICIOUS 😯 I'm definitely going to have to note this down for the future and give it a try!
Thank you for such a wonderful comment! This dish is worth the effort and so yum. I would be so happy to hear how it turns out!
A great sounding vegetarian appetizer. I have never had it before. Can't wait to try it.
Many Thanks, Larena! it sure is a wonderful vegetarian appetizer. Hope you will try it as well. Enjoy!
This looks so good! I’ve been craving for cauliflower for some time now. Can I bake it instead of deep frying? At first glance, I thought it’s chicken poppers but surprised that it’s actually a vegetable which what I love most about this recipe plus cauliflower is one of my fave veggies!
Thank you so much, Denise! Although I haven't tried baking this dish, am pretty sure it will turn out as good with a little broil, in the end, to make it crispy. I know what you mean about it looking like chicken poppers, it almost even tastes like chicken at times . So glad to know you can use this recipe for your favorite vegetable. Enjoy!
This gobi manchuruan looks so tempting and pushing me to try, good share 😋
Thank you so much Suni, Happy cooking!
I have never cooked cauliflower like this before! Thank you for sharing this, will try this, too. Bet the kids would like this! 🙂
Hope you will try this recipe as well. My pleasure to share indeed. Yes the kids will absolutely love it for sure!
This looks incredible. I've made a much simpler recipe a few times for a BBQ cauliflower, but this looks like it would be taking that recipe and taking it to the next level. I'm going to have to show this to my husband so that we can work it into the meal rotation here are our house!
Thank you so much.Hope you enjoy this version of the recipe as well. It's really worth the effort.
Such fantastic pics, having major cravings for the gobi manchurian.. Nisha this looks so so yummy !!
Thank you so much Neetha , they turned out really good . Hope you make it very soon as well! Enjoy .
I just recently discovered air fryer cauliflower. The sauce you use sounds amazing!!!!
Air fryer cauliflower sounds great Diane . Yes the sauce makes it taste even better. Thank you !
this looks soooo delish!
Thank you so much for the comment , appreciate it!
Nisha! You've done it again! As soon as I saw this recipe, I was practically drooling on the keyboard. Yum! My husband and I try to eat vegetarian as often as possible and we love broccoli and cauliflower. I can't wait to try your recipe! It has been printed off and I will share it with as many people as possible.
You mentioned preferring the 'dry' version of this recipe and I think we'd agree. The browned crispiness just adds that little extra deliciousness to this dish. 🙂 Garlic and ginger add some potent health benefits too. In the colder months, this must be the perfect comfort food! I love that it's a good way to get kids to eat healthier options as well. They'll never know! 😉
Thanks for sharing yet another amazing recipe, my friend. We look forward to giving it a try in our home too! Sending my love to you. You've been missed! 😘
Thank you so much dear Holly for the wonderful comments! This cauliflower dish is really delicious and it almost tastes like chicken and just disappears in no time. It is true kids who normally are hesitant to eat it will just gulp it down with no complaints 🙂 Wonderful to hear that you will try this out. Although it may seem a little tedious to make, it sure is worth the effort! Please take care and hope to see your posts soon again.We miss you too.
One of my favorite
Thank you so much!
Most welcome
I made this recipe for the guest I invited to my son's birthday and they really loved it and also appreciated me a lot. I am so happy to come across this post of yours thank you so much for sharing.