Gobi Manchurian (or Cauliflower Manchurian) recipe is a popular Indo-Chinese dish made with deep-fried crispy cauliflower florets, tossed in a spicy, sweet, tangy, and umami-rich Manchurian sauce, served as an appetizer or side dish. It can be served in both dry and gravy versions.
I have shared a detailed Dry Crispy Cauliflower Manchurian recipe in this post.
I love Indo Chinese food and have grown up eating them in India. Some of my favorite dishes are baby corn manchurian, chilli paneer, sweet corn soup, veg noodles, veg fried rice and many more.
Gobi Manchurian is a popular Indo-Chinese snack/appetizer that you can easily find on every Indian restaurants menu and street vendors.
I have also included gluten-free, vegan, gravy, and air fryer versions to make this easy crispy Gobi Manchurian recipe. This dry Gobi Manchurian tastes great with Fried rice and Veg Hakka Noodles.
Jump to:
- What is Gobi Manchurian?
- Why You'll Love This Gobi Manchurian Recipe
- Ingredients for Cauliflower Manchurian
- How to Make Dry Gobi Manchurian
- How to Make Gobi Manchurian in Air Fryer?
- Serving Suggestions for Gobi Manchurian
- Tips to make the best Gobi Manchurian
- Variations & Substitutions
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Cauliflower Recipes
- More Snacks Recipes
- Gobi Manchurian (Restaurant Style Cauliflower Manchurian)
What is Gobi Manchurian?
Gobi means Cauliflower in Hindi. Manchurian sauce is spicy, sweet, and tangy that’s primarily made with basic pantry ingredients like soy sauce, tomato ketchup, red chili sauce, and vinegar.
Gobi Manchurian consists of crispy coated deep fried gobi (cauliflower) florets which are tossed in a Manchurian sauce.
There are two different variants of Gobi Manchurian, semi-dry and gravy. Today I am sharing the Dry Cauliflower Manchurian recipe version.
The other vegetarian manchurian recipes are vegetable manchurian, baby corn manchurian, paneer manchurian and mushroom manchurian.
In Indian restaurants, Manchurian dishes are usually bright red, and that’s due to the food color they use in the recipe. However, I don’t add food color to the sauce. Instead, use Kashmiri red chili powder which gives a nice color to the dish.
Is Gobi Manchurian a Chinese Dish?
Gobi Manchurian is an Indian Chinese recipe that’s popular in India and has no relation to Manchu cuisine or Northeastern Chinese cuisine.
Why You'll Love This Gobi Manchurian Recipe
- Flavorful and delicious
- Easy to make at home, and better than takeout’s.
- No MSG and food color.
- Dry version.
- Perfect appetizer or side dish for fried rice and noodles.
- Vegan, Vegetarian, and can be made gluten-free.
Ingredients for Cauliflower Manchurian
- Cauliflower (or Gobi): Cut it into small to medium-sized florets so that they will cook faster and crispy. I did not blanch the cauliflower in this recipe. If you see worms or insects, add the cauliflower florets in hot water for a few minutes. This will help to get rid of worms hidden in the cauliflower.
- Ginger & Garlic: Use freshly minced or paste of ginger and garlic for the best flavor.
- Onions & Capsicum: Sliced thinly. I have used capsicum (green bell pepper) in this recipe. However, feel free to skip bell peppers if you want to.
- Cornflour and All Purpose Flour: Used for preparing the batter. Replace all-purpose flour with either rice or arrowroot flour for a gluten-free option.
- Sauces: You'll need some basic sauces - soy sauce, ketchup, red chilli sauce (or sriracha or any hot sauce), and white vinegar.
- Seasoning: Salt, pepper.
- Herbs: Fresh herbs like spring onion and coriander leaves are used for garnishing at the end.
How to Make Dry Gobi Manchurian
Preparation
Clean and cut the cauliflower into medium-sized florets. If you see any insects or worms, then add the florets into the hot water with some salt for a few minutes to get rid of any worms.
Discard the water and drain completely. Pat them dry using a paper towel.
Prepare the Batter
In a large bowl, add cornstarch, all-purpose flour, ginger-garlic paste, ketchup (optional), Kashmiri red chili powder, salt, and pepper.
Add a little water at a time to make a thick, smooth batter. Ensure there are no lumps.
Frying the Cauliflower Florets
Add Cauliflower florets into this batter and toss to coat.
Once the oil is hot, gently slide the florets one by one and deep fry them till crispy and golden in color on medium heat. Also, fry the florets in batches, do not overload, just add 7-8 florets at a time.
Making the Manchurian Sauce
Heat oil until smoky hot, add garlic, ginger, and saute for 20 seconds. Furthermore, add onion and capsicum. Stir fry for 30-90 seconds on high heat.
Add all the sauces one by one, then add vinegar and keep tossing the mixture.
Finally, add the fried cauliflower florets, and salt (if required), and give a quick toss till the sauce coats the pieces and serve immediately.
Garnish with coriander leaves and spring onions. Give it a final toss and serve these crispy dry gobi manchurian recipes immediately with tomato ketchup.
How to Make Gobi Manchurian in Air Fryer?
To make Gobi Manchurian in an Air Fryer, dip the florets in the batter and line them on the tray of the air fryer in a single layer.
Brush or spray the air fryer basket with some oil. Air fry in a preheated air fryer at 390°F (200°C) for 12-15 minutes or until browned and crispy. Shake them halfway through.
Serving Suggestions for Gobi Manchurian
Enjoy gobi manchurian as such as an appetizer or pair it with hakka noodles, fried rice, or plain steamed rice.
Tips to make the best Gobi Manchurian
- Size: Cut the gobhi into small to medium-sized florets. The small size helps the gobhi to get crispy faster while frying.
- Blanch Cauliflower: To clean cauliflower florets from worms or insects, Blanch cauliflower florets in hot, salted water for 3-4 minutes and run them under cold water to stop further cooking.
- Batter: I have used maida (all-purpose flour), cornstarch (cornstarch is the crisp maker here), tomato sauce, ginger-garlic paste, and a few spices to prepare the batter. The ratio of maida to corn starch varies in different blogs. I prefer to add 50:50 ratio, which comes out very crispy. Adding tomato ketchup and ginger garlic paste to the batter enhances the fried cauliflower floret's taste.
- Consistency: The batter should be of medium consistency. See the video below for consistency. Just enough to coat the cauliflower well. Do not make it too runny.
- Deep-fry on medium flame: Fry the cauliflower on medium heat. If the heat is low, they will not become crispy, and if the heat is very high, they will burn from the outside, uncooked inside.
- Fry in Batches: Deep fry the battered cauliflower in batches, or else they may not cook evenly.
- Extra-crispy Cauliflower: Deep fry batter-coated florets for a little longer than the suggested time to get crispy dry cauliflower manchurian.
Variations & Substitutions
- Gobi Manchurian Dry: The cauliflower/gobi fritters are tossed in a comparatively semi-dry sauce-like texture and are typically served and enjoyed as a snack or starter with tomato ketchup as a dipping sauce.
- Gobi Manchurian Gravy: The cauliflower fritters are tossed in a thick soup-like spicy sauce made of cornflour slurry. It is generally served with a variety of rice dishes like steamed rice, fried rice, or noodles.
- Gluten-Free Gobi Manchurian: Substitute all-purpose flour with rice flour, arrowroot flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour. Also, use gluten-free soy sauce like Tamari or Coconut Aminos.
- Baked Gobi Manchurian: You can also bake the battered cauliflower instead of deep-frying for a healthier alternative.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this recipe, I used Maida (All Purpose Flour), which is not gluten-free flour. Therefore, if you are looking for a gluten-free version, replace maida with rice flour, arrowroot flour, or chickpea flour, and replace soy sauce with Tamari Soy Sauce.
Yes!
Cauliflower has lots of hidden insects or worms inside the florets, and the best way to get rid of them is by blanching them. I highly recommend blanching cauliflower before using it in any of the recipes.
Blanch the cauliflower florets in lightly salted, boiling water for 3 minutes. Immediately drain the cauliflower and run it under cold water to stop cooking, which prevents the florets from becoming too soft or overdone.
To make Gobi Manchurian in the oven, dip the florets in the batter and arrange them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Brush or spray with some oil. Bake at 400 degrees in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cauliflower starts to brown and crisp. Turn them halfway through.
More Cauliflower Recipes
- Aloo Gobi
- Cauliflower Coconut Curry
- Roasted Cauliflower
- Tandoori Cauliflower
- Cauliflower Rice
- Cauliflower Pulao
Love Cauliflower? Check out more Cauliflower Recipes here.
More Snacks Recipes
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Gobi Manchurian (Restaurant Style Cauliflower Manchurian)
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- 2 - 2.5 cups cauliflower/gobi (cut in florets) about 20 -22 florets
- ¼ cup corn starch/corn flour
- ¼ cup all purpose flour (Maida)
- 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder
- 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 2 teaspoon tomato ketchup
- salt and pepper to taste
- water required to make make a bhaji/pancake consistency batter
For Sauce
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- ½ cup onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup capsicum (bell pepper)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon red chilli sauce (optional)
- ¼ cup tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar (optional)
- 2 tablespoon coriander leaves (cilantro) finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon green/spring onion finely chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
Preparation
- Clean and cut the cauliflower into medium-sized florets. If you see any insects or worms, then add the florets into the hot water with some salt for a few minutes to get rid of any worms.
- Discard the water and drain completely. Pat them dry using a paper towel.
Prepare the Batter
- In a large bowl, add corn starch, all-purpose flour, ginger-garlic paste, ketchup (optional), Kashmiri red chili powder, salt, and pepper.
- Add little water at a time to make a thick, smooth batter. Ensure there are no lumps.
Frying the Cauliflower Florets
- Add Cauliflower florets into this batter and toss to coat.
- Once the oil is hot, gently slide the florets one by one and deep fry them till crispy and golden in color on medium heat. Also, fry the florets in batches, do not overload, just add 7-8 florets at a time.
Making the Manchurian Sauce
- Heat oil till smoky hot, add in garlic, ginger, and saute for 20 secs. Furthermore, add onion and capsicum. Stir fry for 30-90 secs on high heat.
- Add in all the sauces one by one, then add in vinegar and keep tossing the mixture.
- Finally, add the fried cauliflower florets, salt (if required), and give a quick toss till the sauce coats the pieces and serve immediately.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and spring onions. Give it a final toss and serve these crispy dry gobi manchurian recipes immediately with tomato ketchup.
Air Fryer Cauliflower Manchurian
- To make Gobi Manchurian in an Air Fryer, dip the florets in the batter and line them on the tray of the air fryer in a single layer.Brush or spray the air fryer basket with some oil. Air fry in a preheated air fryer at 390°F (200°C) for 12-15 minutes or until they are browned and crispy. Shake them halfway through.
Baked Cauliflower Manchurian
- To make Gobi Manchurian in the oven, dip the florets in the batter and arrange them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.Brush or spray with some oil. Bake at 400 degrees in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cauliflower starts to brown and crisp. Turn them halfway through.
Video
Notes
Tips to make the best Gobi Manchurian
- Size: Cut the gobhi into small to medium-sized florets. The small size helps the gobhi to get crispy faster while frying.
- Blanch Cauliflower: To clean cauliflower florets from worms or insects, Blanch cauliflower florets in hot, salted water for 3-4 minutes and run them under cold water to stop further cooking.
- Batter: I have used maida (all-purpose flour), corn starch (cornstarch is the crisp maker here), tomato sauce, ginger-garlic paste, and a few spices to prepare the batter. The ratio of maida to corn starch varies in different blogs. I prefer to add 50:50 ratio, which comes out very crispy. Adding tomato ketchup and ginger garlic paste to the batter enhances the fried cauliflower floret's taste.
- Consistency: The batter should be of medium consistency. See the video below for consistency. Just enough to coat the cauliflower well. Do not make it too runny.
- Deep-fry on medium flame: Fry the cauliflower on medium heat. If the heat is low, they will not become crispy, and if the heat is very high, they will burn from the outside, uncooked inside.
- Fry in Batches: Deep fry the battered cauliflower in batches, else they may not cook evenly.
- Extra-crispy Cauliflower: Deep fry batter-coated florets for a little longer than the suggested time to get crispy dry cauliflower manchurian.
Kristi says
Hi! I’m so excited to try this recipe. Can you explain what “red chili sauce” is? I found chili sauce in the grocery store but I’m not sure if that’s correct. If you can share a brand or more details on ingredients that would be great. Thank you!
bhavana says
Hey Kristi,i use this brand https://amzn.to/3kDl0ul ...red chilli sauce is optional its just to increase spiceness of the dish.sometimes i make cauliflower manchurian without it as well.Hope his helps.
Akshita says
This turned out really good. thank you.
Bhavana Patil says
Thank you Akshita 🙂