Vegetable Manchurian


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobi_manchurian

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobi_manchurian

While I was in Chicago, I had the opportunity to try a Hunan fusion place for lunch one day. I love spicy, and enjoy vegetarian dishes, but often only find the combination in Indian cuisine. I deeply heart Indian food for this and many other reasons. See also Roti. In the menu was the golden duo of the symbol for spicy, a little pepper icon, and the symbol for veggie, a little broccoli icon. The name of the dish was Vegetable Manchurian.

Anyway, I ordered Vegetable Manchurian, and expected something like a spicy Pad Thai without noodles. When the meatballs in gravy showed up, i was sure there had been a mistake. It was my very delicious mistake. I figured that it was an invention of this place, but in a quick search for the calories in Manchurian veg, I was amazed to find it was a common and stylized dish!

“There are two different variants of it, dry and with gravy. Both variants are prepared by using common ingredients like cauliflower, corn flour, maida flour, spring onion, capsicum, soy sauce, chili sauce, minced garlic, ground pepper, etc. and has typical garnish of spring onion. Few recipes even call for use of Ajinomoto (MSG) to increase the taste profile however many prefer to avoid it due to health reasons. Its taste can vary from mild spicy to hot and fiery based on the recipe and personal preference.” – Gobi manchurian – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – http://goo.gl/gK1PiV

I have never had nor seen these batter based veggie bites in spicy gravy before, but I will most certainly be seeking them out here in Pan Asian food heaven, aka greater Princeton. Mine were served with rice, and were filled with cilantro, sprouts, and legumes. Amazing texture and flavor. I’m hooked.

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About lemsy

John LeMasney is an artist, graphic designer, and technology creative. He is located in beautiful, mountainous Charlottesville, VA, but works remotely with ease. Contact him at: lemasney@gmail.com to discuss your next creative project.

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