Broccoli Manchurian, A guest post by Manju

Usually it’s during holiday time that I neglect my blog and take breaks but this time it was surprisingly other way round. Since I have been cooking a lot during holidays I could blog about the recipes I served for my guests, but after all that over eating I took a big break from cooking and that’s why I have been silent here since new year. Moreover we are back to business,  my son is back to school and I am  back to studies and training too. It looks like till July it might be a bit quiet here as my  studies are going on a fast pace with assignments and deadlines but whenever there is half term break I am going to hit back J Till then if any of my blogger friends would like to help me out with guest posts that would be great.

Today I am inviting my dear friend Manju of Maju's eating delights a.k.a MED  for a guest post here. Do you all remember a sticky toffee pudding which I posted in my blog a while back ? it was a guest for Manju's blog. Manju and me share me the same passion for cake decorating and that’s what brought us together.  I love her cakes and bakes and her cake decoration skills are simply superb. If you would like to see more of her cakes head over to her blog and do check it out and let me warn you that you are going to get hungry  as she has got a  lot of mouth-watering recipes and some classic photographs in her blog. Over to Manju now..

Let’s start the year by sharing shall we, so here I share a lovely recipe for Broccoli Manchurian as a guest post for my good friend Vineetha. This guests post has been long overdue ever since last September I guess and Vinee has been so patient with me.

This Broccoli Manchurian is very special for me coz it was made using our very own garden grown Broccoli…remember my dad’s veggie garden last summer. I must remind myself to do a full-fledged post on it soon. 

Anyways, we had grown abundant amounts of Cauliflower and Broccoli this year and I had chopped them up into florets and freezed them so that I can use them as needed.  And I did :-)

Though Cauliflower(Gobi) manchurain is one of my absolute fav appetizers of all time, I decided to give it a twist and make Broccoli Manchurian. Trust me it tasted just the same, maybe even better.  I prefer the dry version , but you can make the sauce thinner and make a gravy version as well.  

And for those who aren’t familiar with Gobi(Cauliflower) Manchurian, it’s a very popular vegetarian appetizer or side dish served in almost all Indian restaurants and definitely a crowd pleaser dish. It’s made by deep frying the cauliflower florets that's dipped in a semi-thick batter and then tossed to coat in a wonderful flavorful tangy-spicy sauce. Here I made mine with Broccoli florets.  It’s to die for, now go make it and eat it, you’ll love it!

This is what the batter fried Broccoli looks like just before being coated in that yummy sauce. Trust me, this tastes really good eaten just as it is but wait, that sauce makes it even yummier :-)

I made some simple Cauliflower Pulav and Raita to go with this scrumptious Broccoli Manchurian and it was a yummy yummy lunch!! 

Broccoli Manchurain

Recipe adapted from ShowMeThe Curry.com

You’ll Need

Broccoli (1 medium sized) - cut into individual florets

oil – for deep frying

For batter:

All purpose flour – ¼ cup or 4-5 tblsp

Cornstarch – 3-4 tblsp

Black Pepper powder – ¼ tsp

Red chilli powder – a pinch (optional)

Salt – to taste

Water – ¼ cup + 2 tblsp

For sauce:

Canola Oil – 1 Tblsp

Red Onion – 1/2 medium, chopped finely

Green Chilies – to taste, cut diagonally

Garlic – 3 large cloves, chopped finely

Ketchup – 2 Tblsp

Red Chili Sauce – 2 Tblsp or to taste

Soy Sauce – 4 tsp or to taste

White Vinegar – 2 tsp

Corn Starch – 2 tsp

Water – 4 Tblsp

Green Onions – 2 stalks, cut diagonally for garnishing

Directions:

1. Heat Oil in a frying pan and add Onions, Green chillies and garlic and cook until onions are soft and mildly browned.

2. Add Ketchup and red chilli sauce and sauté until it cooks down and the oil starts to separate.

3.  Next add soy sauce and vinegar and mix well.

4.  Mix the cornstarch with water and add it to the pan. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken and keep aside.

5.  Make the batter by adding All purpose flour, cornstarch, pepper, red chilli powder, salt and water in a small bowl and mix it well so that there are no lumps.

6.  Start heating the oil for deep frying. Meanwhile dip the broccoli florets in the batter until well coated and once oil is hot enough deep fry them until brown in color.

7.  Once all the florets are fried, add it to the frying pan with the sauce and toss to coat well.

8.  Garnish with Green onions and serve!

They are best served immediately so that its still mildly crunchy yet starting to get soft from the sauce coated over the florets. This is how I like it. If you like it more soft then serve after few minutes. Oh! How I love this dry manchurain and I can eat the whole plate if left alone with it… ;-)