Gobi Manchuri

One of the few changes in the street food senario during my growing-up years was the evolution of Gobi Manchuri. Now ubiquitous street food was early on a preserve of fancy hotels. I remember we used to go to this restaurant called "The Hut" on M.G.Road in Tumkur to get our dose of gobi manchuri!! what ever its actual name is we have called it thus and it remains so. This particular dish is supposed to have originated in the kitchens of Tangra- in calcutta where the Chinese settlers had their restaurants. I don't know its journey to south-Indian kitchens. But by late eighties and early nineties i was pretty familiar with these Chinese dishes as i knew Masala-Dose!During those years when i was still in school my tongue used to crave of Gobi manchuri and we could not go out to eat as often. So that motivated me to try making this snack in my mother's kitchen. After various disasters i came to perfect a recipe that suited my family and my palate. Last night i made it again after a long time. Here is the recipe.

Cauliflower florets banched in salted water 1/2 lb

Corn flour (corn starch) 1/4 cup

All purpose flour (Maida) 2 heaping tablespoon

Dark Soya sauce a few dashes

pepper powder

salt

chilly powder (optional)

For the sauce:

Tomato ketchup (Indian brands maggi/ kisans works better than american brands like heinz)Garlic fine chopped 1/2 tablespoon

Onion fine chopped 1/2 tablespoon

Green chillies fine chopped 1/2 table spoon

Soy sauce a few dashes

Salt

Coriander (Cilantro)

Salt

Oil

Method

Mix corn starch, maida, salt pepper and soy sauce. Make a thick batter with enough water. The batter should resemble the Bajji batter. Dip the cauliflower florets in the batter and deep fry it till golden brown. (If you desire a rich golden brown color mix in a couple of teaspoons of kashmiri chilly powder in the batter) Set aside.

To prepare the sauce, heat oil in a pan. Saute garlic onions and green chillies on very high heat till fragrant. (It should smell like Chinese food stalls!!!!) mix in the tomato ketchup, chilly sauce and the soy sauce. Adjust salt and the heat. Stir in the chopped corinader. Keep stirring constantly. Once the sauce is all combined, toss the fried cauliflower florets and make sure it is all evenly coated. remove from heat and serve hot...Enjoy

P.S: A recipes call for ajinomoto or MSG. I have used it before and found that taste does not alter significantly if it is omitted given its adverse impact on our health. It should be remembered that MSG is just a flavor enhancer and has no taste of its own. Since we cook on small scale it is better to do without it altogether.