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 under appetizers in most Indian restaurants. 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. and 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 are 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 you can bake or air-fry.
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Ingredients to make the Gobi Manchurian
- Cauliflower florets - washed, cleaned, and dried.
- All-purpose flour, corn flour, and salt - To make batter and fry the florets.
- Sauces - Soy, red chili, tomato ketchup, and cornflour to thicken the sauce.
- Garlic, Ginger, and Green chilies- Cut into fine small pieces.
- Onions - Chopped finely into small pieces.
- Scallions or green onions for sautee and garnish.
- Pepper powder - Use as tolerated.
- Vegetable or Avocado oil - For deep-frying and sautee.
Why you will love this dish?
- This dish is full of flavors and you can get yourself to eat cauliflower even if you don't like this vegetable, this goes for the kids as well.
- It can be an appetizer or a side with noodles or fried rice.
- You could air-fry the cauliflower or bake it instead of deep-frying. However, it tastes best deep-fried. You could drain the fried florets on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
- Do not reduce the sauce if you would like to serve it like gravy and completely reduce the sauce to make it dry and serve it dry and crispy.
- You can be guaranteed that this dish will be a winner at any get-togethers or potlucks.
How to make Gobi Manchurian dry and crispy
Marinate the cauliflower in a batter of cornflour and all-purpose flour with a little salt. All the corners of the cauliflower must get the batter and should be 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.
Step-by-step process to make the dish
- Step 1: Coat the cauliflower florets with a batter made with AP flour, cornflour, salt, and water.
- Step 2: Deep-fry the florets in oil.
- Step 3: Transfer the deep-fried cauliflower florets to a plate.
- Step 4: Sautee finely chopped onions, garlic, ginger, lower halves of spring onions, and green chilies.
- Step 5: Add black pepper and sauces soy sauce, red chili sauce, tomato ketchup, and a slurry of corn flour and water
- Step 6: Add the cauliflower bites and coat it with the sauce mixture. Garnish with spring onions and chopped coriander leaves. Transfer to a serving dish.
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 ghee 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!
Recipe FAQs
Of course yes calorie conscious folks can enjoy this dish without deep-frying. The tangy sauces and the bits of chopped garlic, ginger, and green onions will blend in well and the taste will be almost the same.
The reason we recommend to half cook the cauliflower before dipping in batter and deep-frying is, that there is a chance of the florets being uncooked.
Yes, it can be served as gravy just make sure not to reduce the sauce as you would do when serving it dry and crispy.
Ensure that all the corners of the cauliflower florets are coated well in the batter made with all-purpose flour and cornflour.
Make sure to deep-fry the marinated florets in small batches. If they are added to the frying pan all at once, the temperature of the oil will not be maintained and there is a possibility of the fried florets getting soggy.
If you tried this Crispy Gobi Manchurian Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below. I love hearing from you!
Gobi Manchurian dry
Ingredients
For fried Cauliflower
- 1 cauliflower
- 5-6 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp all-purpose flour or maida
- 8 tbsp corn flour
For sauce
- 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 chilli sauce
- 1 tsp tomato sauce ketchup
- 1 tsp corn flour
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Fried Cauliflower
- Boil enough water with salt and add the cauliflowers and drain out when they are half -cooked.
- Keep aside and add it to the batter in the next step.
- Make a batter of all the ingredients in the "for fried cauliflower" section with just about enough water so the cauliflower is well coated.
- Heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry the cauliflower on medium heat.
- Drain and transfer to a bowl.
For the Manchurian sauce
- Chop onions, garlic, ginger, lower halves of spring onionsnd green chillies.
- In a Wok or frying pan heat up oil.
- Add the chopped onions, garlic, ginger, lower halves of spring onionsnd green chillies.
- Add salt to taste be careful not to add a lot.
- Add all the sauces and black pepper and mix well.
- Make a slurry of cornflour and water and add it into the sauce mixture.
- Mix well and then add the fried cauliflower .
- Coat the sauce well .Add a little water and mix well
- Keep cooking till the sauces are well coated and dry.
- Garnish with rest of the spring onions and coriander leaves.
Notes
- If you prefer gravy in this dish, simply skip reducing the sauce after mixing in the deep-fried cauliflower.
- For a crispy version of the dish saute on high heat until dry and crispy.
- Make sure the batter coats every corner of the cauliflower evenly.
- Deep-fry the marinated cauliflower in small batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, ensuring the heat stays consistent.
- Mix cornflour with water to make a slurry, then add it to the sauce to thicken the sauce and coat it well.
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.
So glad that it turned out well!
Most welcome
One of my favorite
Thank you so much!
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. 🙂 . In the colder months, this must be the perfect comfort food! I love that it's a good way to get kids to eat . 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.
this looks soooo delish!
Thank you so much for the comment , appreciate it!
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 !
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 .
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.
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 gobi manchuruan looks so tempting and pushing me to try, good share 😋
Thank you so much Suni, Happy cooking!
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!
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!
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!