Veg Manchurian is a really popular Indo Chinese dish thats ready in 35 minutes, where fried vegetable balls are dunked and simmered in Manchurian sauce. The result is a sweet, sour, spicy dish thats saucy and full of umami!
Veg Manchurian or Veg balls in Manchurian sauce is probably on every Indian restaurants menu! And for good reason! Deep fried vegetable balls that are crunchy and packed with flavour are simmered in an intense, spicy, sour, tangy, umami rich, aromatic sauce till they soak up all that flavour and become even better!
Traditionally, manchurian balls are deep fried. But in this recipe, I am showing you how to make this dish healthier manchurian balls in the air fryer, so they’re healthier and lighter, but still as crispy and delicious as it’s deep fried counterpart.
Jump to section: Veg Manchurian | Air fried & deep fried
Who invented Manchurian?
Like a lot of Indian Chinese dishes, manchurian originated in Kolkata in the 1970’s and was born in Indo Chinese restaurants there. It is inspired by dishes in Manchuria, which is a region in North East China. Originally it was made with chicken in manchurian sauce, but since India has so many vegetarians, this vegetarian manchurian was born!
Manchurian is heavy on soy sauce and usually has a deep brown colour. The Indian influence added things like green chillies and coriander, which weren’t originally added to the dish. But we aren’t complaining because this Indianised version is so so good!
Now we have a ton of variations to this recipe like gobi manchurian, soya manchurian, paneer manchurian and even mushroom manchurian.
There are generally two ways Manchurian is made:
- Veg Manchurian with gravy usually served with fried rice or hakka noodles
- Veg Manchurian dry which is usually served as an appetizer: To make veg manchurian dry, follow all the steps in this recipe as mentioned, but only add 1/4 cup water while making the sauce. The result will be a sauce that just coats the veg balls and you’ll have a tasty veg manchurian dry
Ingredients for Manchurian Balls
Here’s what you’ll need for the veg balls:
Finely chopped vegetables: Finely chopped vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, onions, celery, spring onions are used to make the balls. Use a food processor or chopper for best results. I do not like to use vegetables like capsicum because they leave too much water and make the mixture too wet and gluggy
Ginger Garlic Paste: Ginger garlic paste is simple, ginger and garlic minced together or ground into a paste. Add flavour and a punch. You can also grate equal amounts of each and use
Green Chillies: Not traditional, but adds a nice heat and flavour to the balls. If living outside India, use serrano peppers. Skip if you don’t want extra heat
All Purpose Flour and Cornflour: Binding agents mixed with vegetables to form the balls and keep the shape intact as they fry
Ingredients for Manchurian Gravy
Here’s what you’ll need for the manchurian gravy or sauce:
Aromatics: The sauce starts with stir frying all the aromatics – garlic, ginger, green chillies, celery and onions on high heat. All finely chopped to add punchiness and spiciness to the gravy
Sauces: Only dark soy sauce and vinegar. The gravy for this manchurian is soy sauce heavy but has a perfect balance of sweet, sour, spicy and umami when all the other ingredients
Cornflour: For thickening. You can replace it with potato starch.
Herbs: Non traditional again, but herbs such as spring onions (white and green part) and coriander bring freshness and flavour. Add them right towards the end.
How to Make Manchurian Balls – Deep Fried
- Add all the ingredients for the veg balls to a bowl
- Mix them together till it comes together. Don’t knead or overmix or the balls can become dense and gluggy. There is not need to add water either as the vegetables will release enough water
- Shape them into gooseberry sized balls. You can add a little oil or water to your palm to help you shape them
- Deep fry in medium hot oil. It’s important that the oil is not too hot or the balls will only become golden from outside and will not cook from the inside
- Once evenly golden brown on all sides, remove them with a perforated or slotted spoon on a tissue lined plate to absorb any extra oil. Set these aside
How to Make Manchurian in Air Fryer
- Preheat the airfryer at 180C and brush the airfryer basket with oil.
- Place the manchurian balls and brush some oil over them. Avoid overcrowding and make sure that there is some gap between the balls.
- Air fry the balls for 7 minutes at 180C, brush with oil and air fry for 7 more minutes.
- Air fry for 2 minutes at 200 C for them to turn golden and crisp. They need to cool a bit before they can be removed from the airfryer as they stick to the basket & break, if forced out. Transfer them to a plate and set aside. Repeat the same for all the remaining balls.
How to Make Manchurian Sauce
Once you’re done frying the manchurian balls, it’s time to make the manchurian sauce and finish the gravy. Don’t forget to keep all the ingredients prepped and ready because all the cooking will be done on high heat, and the dish comes together in a few minutes.
- To start making the manchurian sauce, saute ginger, garlic, celery and green chillies in hot oil in a wok
- Add onions and saute on high heat again till onions are translucent
- Add all the sauces and give this a quick mix
- Once the sauce starts bubbling, add cornflour slurry to thicken the sauce
5. Add manchurian balls to the sauce
6. Simmer for 2-3 minutes to help the manchurian balls absorb the sauce
7. Finally add herbs like spring onions (green and white) and chopped coriander and give it a mix
8. Serve immediately with fried rice or noodles
Richa’s Top Tips & Notes
- Prep ahead and keep all your ingredients ready to go because once you start cooking, the recipe for the sauce comes together in minutes
- Use a chopper or food processor to chop all your vegetables for fast, even prep
- Don’t add any water while making the manchurian balls or the mixture will becomes too wet. The vegetables will leave enough water as you mix
- If using frozen veggies, make sure to thaw them and squeeze out any excess water before using
- Always deep fry the balls on medium high heat. This ensures they cook evenly from inside as well as outside
- For the same smoky, restaurant style flavour, use a cast iron or carbon steel wok. Cook the manchurian gravy on high heat
- To make veg manchurian dry, only add 1/4 cup water while making the sauce. All the other steps remain the same
- To make this recipe gluten free, replace the all purpose flour with rice flour or besan, and the corn flour with tapioca starch or potato starch
Serving Ideas
Veg Manchurian gravy tastes fantastic with
- egg fried rice, burnt garlic mushroom fried rice, schezwan fried rice – the medley of flavors and textures is truly incredible
- You can also serve it with hakka noodles and chicken chow mein for a delicious street-style Indo-Chinese meal.
- If you don’t want to take the extra effort, just serve it with steamed rice because the flavours in the gravy are big and bold and the rice will just soak them all up!
This veg manchurian gravy is the true essence of the Indo-Chinese cuisine. It’s one of those recipes that look complicated but are actually quite easy to make. And now thanks to the air fryer, you can also make it a whole lot healthier!
If you do try this recipe, don’t forget to DM the pictures over on my Instagram @my_foodstory. I love seeing your recreations!
Watch Veg Manchurian Recipe Video
Veg Manchurian Recipe
Ingredients
Vegetable Balls
- ½ Cup Grated Carrot
- ½ Cup finely chopped Cabbage or shredded
- ¼ Cup finely chopped Spring Onion green part only
- ¼ Cup finely chopped Onion
- ¼ Cup finely chopped Green Beans
- 1 Teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- 1 Teaspoon Green Chilli Paste green chillies ground to a paste
- ½ – ¾ Teaspoon Salt
- 3 Tablespoons Corn Flour
- 3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup Oil for frying
Manchurian Gravy
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
- 1 ½ Tablespoons finely chopped Ginger or minced
- 3 Tablespoons finely chopped Garlic or minced
- 1 ½ Tablespoons finely chopped Celery
- ¼ Cup finely chopped Onion
- 2-3 Green Chillies finely chopped
- 2 ½ – 3 Cups Vegetable Stock or Water hot
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Vinegar
- 1 – 1 ½ Teaspoons Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Corn Flour
- 3 Tablespoons Water
- 2 Tablespoons Chopped Coriander
- 2 Tablespoons Chopped Spring Onion white and green parts
Instructions
Vegetable Balls
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Add all the ingredients into a bowl. Mix to combine all the ingredients, being careful to mix just enough to bring them together. Don’t add any extra water – the vegetables will release enough water. Shape into small balls (approx 1-1 ½ tablespoons per ball). Keep aside.
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Heat 1.5 inches oil in a kadai or a deep frying pan. Once the oil is hot, carefully add the balls into it one at a time. Fry on medium high heat for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.
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Remove the vegetable balls using a skimmer and transfer to a kitchen towel lined plate. Keep aside.
Manchurian Gravy
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Heat oil in a wok. Add chopped garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant. Add celery, onions and green chilli and sauté for 1 – 2 minutes on high flame.
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Add water/stock, soy sauce, vinegar and salt. Mix well to combine. Allow to simmer.
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Combine corn flour and water in a small bowl and add it to the wok. Stir continuously to ensure the sauce does not become lumpy. Simmer till the sauce thickens and has a glossy look
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Once thickened, add the fried vegetable balls and stir to combine. Add chopped coriander, spring onion greens and whites. Serve hot along with fried rice or hakka noodles.
Video
Notes
- Prep ahead and keep all your ingredients ready to go because once you start cooking, the recipe for the sauce comes together in minutes
- Use a chopper or food processor to chop all your vegetables for fast, even chopping. If the vegetables are too big in size, the balls will not hold shape well and can also take longer to cook
- Don’t add any water while making the manchurian balls or the mixture will becomes too wet. The vegetables will leave enough water as you mix
- If using frozen veggies, make sure to thaw them and squeeze out any excess water before using
- Always deep fry the balls on medium high heat. This ensures they cook evenly from inside as well as outside
- For the same smoky, restaurant style flavour, use a cast iron or carbon steel wok. Cook the manchurian gravy on high heat
- To make veg manchurian dry, only add 1/4 cup water while making the sauce. All the other steps remain the same
- To make this recipe gluten free, replace the all purpose flour with rice flour or besan, and the corn flour with tapioca starch or potato starch
Nutrition
This article was researched and written by Urvi Dalal.
The post Veg Manchurian | Air Fried & Deep Fried appeared first on My Food Story.