About:

My family loves Manchurian and indo-chinese fusion dishes, which makes to try out new variations. In Manchurian have tried baked variations like mushroom munchurian (link), baby corn manchurian (link), soya nuggets manchurian (link).  The missed was  gobi manchurian. In this recipe as a variation have tried to combine Broccoli and Cauliflower and opted to bake, then sauted in the Manchurian sauce. This is a dried version of Manchurian.  The coated florets can also be shallow fried or deep fried in pan.

Here I used gram flower and corn starch for the batter however plain flour can also be used.

Enjoy this as an appetizer.  I served this with brown chickpea-capsicum Spaghetti (link) or can also be enjoyed with fried rice (link)

Both broccoli and cauliflower contain glucosinolates – compounds containing sulfer that are found only in cruciferous vegetables. Eating glucosinolates might help lower your risk of cancer, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.

Broccoli and cauliflower both contain vitamin C and boosts your vitamin K.

Yields: 3-4 servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

• Broccoli- 1 medium sized
• Cauliflower-1 medium sized
• Oil- for baking

For batter:

• Gram flour-1/3cup
• Corn starch-3-4tbsp
• Red chilli powder-1/2tsp
• Black pepper powder-1/4tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Water-1/4cup (or as enough to form a batter)

For Manchurian sauce:

• Olive oil-1tbsp
• Chopped garlic-2cloves
• Chopped Red onion-1medium
• Chopped bell peppers-1medium
• Green chillies-2 (slit)
• Red chilli sauce-2tbsp
• Tomato ketchup-2-3tbsp
• Say sauce-2-3tsp
• White vinegar-2tsp
• Salt- if required and as per the tate
• Corn starch-1tbsp(dissolved in 3-4tbsp of water)
• Spring onion greens-to garnish

Procedure:

• Separate the broccoli and cauliflower florets and let it soak in the hot water for 10-15minutes.
• Then drain and pat dry them.

For the batter:

• Combine gram flour, corn starch, salt, chilli powder, black pepper powder and add water 1-2tbsp at a time until a you reach a batter consistency (batter should not be too thick or thin-thick butter milk consistency)

For baking:

• Pre-heat the oven at 180deg C, line the baking tray with parchment paper spray/grease some oil on the sheet and set aside.
• Dip the broccoli and cauliflower in the batter and start arranging on the greased sheet without overlapping.
• Once done place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 20-25minutes, flipping half way to ensure even baking.

For the Manchurian sauce:

• Heat oil in a wok/skillet, add in garlic, onion, bell peppers, slit chillies and saute for 3-4 minutes or until tender.
• Add ketchup, red chilli sauce and saute for 1-2 minutes.
• Now add soy sauce, vinegar, salt and mix well.
• Add in cornstarch-water mixture and continue to stir until it thickens slightly.
• Now add the baked cauliflower- broccoli florets and toss until coated well in the sauce.
• Then finally turn off the flame, garnish with green onions.

Serve hot.

Note:

• They are crunchy and best when served immediately as it tends to get soft from the sauce.
• Alternatively can deep fry/ shallow fried. For shallow frying just heat 2-3tbsp of oil in the pan add in coated florets without overlapping and saute until tender about 2-3minutes each side and then coat in the sauce.
• If for baking or sauting in pan if its overcrowding and more for one batch try doing it in two batches-cauliflower and broccoli in different time.