BAKED VEGETABLE MANCHURIAN

BAKED VEGETABLE MANCHURIAN
In the recent years, Manchurian dishes have been creating quite a wave in India. I simply love these Indo-Chinese versions. I also came across so many interesting Manchurian dishes in my friends’ blogs like mushroom Manchurian, shrimp Manchurian etc. My favorite is with cauliflower and mixed vegetables. Here instead of deep-frying the veggies, I baked them in the oven until they were crisp and then added them to the sauce. This baked version tasted the same as the original deep-fried version. We couldn’t find any difference at all.

INGREDIENTS:
Vegetables like carrot, green beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, grated, 2 cups.
Cooked brown rice, ½ cup.
Red onion, 1.
Green bell pepper, 1.
All purpose flour, around ½ cup.
Corn flour, 2 tablespoons.
Rice flour, 1 tablespoon.
Chili powder, 2 teaspoons.
Salt as per taste.
Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
Garlic, 2 cloves.
Aji-No-Moto or MSG, 2 teaspoon, (optional).
Soy sauce, 2 tablespoons.
Tomato-garlic sauce or ketchup, 1 tablespoon.
Spring onions, 1 bunch.

PREPARATION:
Wash the vegetables, dry them, and grate them. I used a food processor for this. Mash the rice well and add it the vegetables along with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, Aji-no-moto, salt, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste and mix everything well. Form small lemon-sized balls out of the mixture and keep them on a plate. Mix 1 tablespoon of corn flour, all purpose flour, rice flour, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, ginger-garlic paste, salt, and Aji-No-Moto along with some water into a smooth paste for dipping the Manchurian balls. The batter should be thick enough to coat them. If needed, a pinch of food color or paprika can also be added to the batter. Take a baking dish and spray the dish with any nonstick cooking spray. Dip the balls in the batter and arrange them on the dish with sufficient space between each finger. Bake them at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the Manchurian balls turn golden-brown and crispy on the outside. Remove them from the oven and let them rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile cut the green bell peppers and red onions into the long, thin strips and chop the garlic into very small pieces. Mix the remaining 1 tablespoon of the corn flour in 1 cup of water. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the cut green bell peppers, onions and crushed garlic and let them sauté for a minute. Then add 1 teaspoon of chili powder, salt, and tomato-garlic sauce, corn-flour paste, 1 teaspoon of Aji-no-moto, mix everything well and let it cook for 5 more minutes under low flame and switch off the stove. Then add the baked balls into the mixture and mix everything well. Garnish with spring onions on top and serve hot with rice or rotis.

VARIATION: Mashed potatoes can also be added along with the vegetables instead of rice. The Manchurian balls can also be rolled in bread crumbs before baking.