Gobi Manchurian is a popular Indo-Chinese dish where crispy cauliflower florets are tossed in a manchurian sauce. Does well with rice or noodles or can also be served as an appetizer. Vegan!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Appetizer, Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indo-Chinese

Ingredients

For the sauce

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or any oil of choice)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon grated garlic
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 1-2 green chilies (chopped)
  • 2 stalks celery (chopped)
  • 1 small red onion (chopped)
  • 1 medium green pepper (chopped)
  • 2-3 stalks scallions (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used 1 tablespoon regular and 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha or any hot sauce (adjust to taste)
  • 3/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
  • salt (to taste, if needed)

For the cauliflower florets

  • 1 small head cauliflower (cut into medium size florets, around 2.5 cups cut cauliflower florets)
  • 6 tablespoons flour
  • 4 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
  • water (to form a flowing batter, around 1/2 cup + 2-3 tablespoons)
  • oil (for frying, I used avocado oil)

Method

  1. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a skillet on high heat. Once hot, add the grated garlic, ginger, green chili and chopped celery. Saute for 1 minute until ginger-garlic start changing color.
  2. Then add the chopped onion, green pepper and scallions. Cook for high heat for around 3 minutes.
  3. Then add the soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, hot sauce (like sriracha), sugar and white pepper powder. Taste test and add salt if needed. Set aside.
  4. Meanwhile cut and clean cauliflower florets and drop them in hot salted water. Simmer on medium heat for around 4 minutes. Drain water and place florets on a paper tissue. Pat dry each individually.
  5. To a large bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, ginger-garlic paste, salt and pepper. Whisk and start adding water, little by little. Form a smooth, free-flowing batter. It should not be too thick or thin.
  6. Heat oil for frying on medium heat in a kadai or pan. Once oil is hot, dip the florets into the batter. Make sure they are well coated with the batter.
  7. Drain off the excess batter and carefully drop florets into the hot oil. Fry on medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes, until crispy and browned.
  8. Transfer the fried cauliflower florets into the sauce (sauce should be warm when you do this). Toss to combine until all the florets are well coated with the sauce.
  9. Garnish with scallions and serve gobi manchurian with hakka noodles or enjoy as it is!

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.