Gobi Manchurian
Gobi Manchurian, a multinational dish with roots in Chinese immigrant communities in Kolkata, India, features cauliflower florets battered and fried until crisp and then served with or tossed in a flavorful, spicy sauce. In recent years the dish has proven popular in Indian restaurants across the United States for its powerful flavors and mix of crisp and soft textures. Fans love it as a side dish or shared snack. For our version, we coated cauliflower florets in a light batter (made of water, cornstarch, flour, baking powder, and salt) that was wonderfully crisp when fried. The fried cauliflower was able to stay crispy even after being dressed in a spicy, tangy sauce made from ketchup, chili-garlic sauce, garlic, ginger, scallions, and enough freshly squeezed lime juice to brighten the whole dish.
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Ingredients
Sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Asian chili-garlic sauce
- 2 tsp lime juice plus lime wedges for serving
- ¾ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 scallions white and green parts separated and sliced thin
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 3 garlic cloves minced
Cauliflower
- 1 cup water
- ⅔ cup cornstarch
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 lbs cauliflower florets (4 cups)
- 2 quart peanut or vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- FOR THE SAUCE: Combine ketchup, water, soy sauce, chili-garlic sauce, lime juice, pepper, and cumin in bowl. Heat oil in small saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add scallion whites, ginger, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1½ minutes. Stir in ketchup mixture and bring to simmer, scraping up any bits of ginger mixture from bottom of saucepan. Transfer sauce to clean large bowl.
- FOR THE CAULIFLOWER: Whisk water, cornstarch, flour, salt, and baking powder in large bowl until smooth. Add cauliflower florets to batter and toss with rubber spatula to evenly coat; set aside.
- Line baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels. Add oil to large Dutch oven until it measures about 1½ inches deep and heat over medium-high heat to 375 degrees.
- Using tongs, add florets to hot oil 1 piece at a time. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent florets from sticking, until coating is firm and very lightly golden, about 5 minutes. (Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees.) Using spider skimmer, transfer florets to prepared sheet. Let sit 5 minutes.
- Add cauliflower and scallion greens to bowl with sauce and toss to combine. Transfer to platter and serve with lime wedges.
Nutrition
Calories: 277kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 6gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 782mgPotassium: 483mgFiber: 4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 175IUVitamin C: 59mgCalcium: 108mgIron: 2mg
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