Gobi Manchurian is a fun Indian Chinese appetizer, but we had it for a main course with Indian Chinese fried rice. I based my recipe on Sailu’s Kitchen blog and Show Me the Curry.

We wanted it with quite a bit of gravy and while delicious, the fried cauliflower wasn’t quite as crisp as I would have liked. To fry the cauliflower without using too much oil, I did multiple batches. The last batch stayed the crispiest, so next time I might try doing them all at once in a bigger pan, toss quickly and eat right away! Or maybe even making a thicker batter would work. But the light crisp batter is so yummy.

I used olive oil which I hear different ideas about its use in frying. From what I have read though, monounsaturated should be safer to fry with than polyunsaturated. The best would probably be coconut oil.

1 1/2 pounds cauliflower broken into florets
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoon rice flour
Salt
7-8 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon white vinegar
4 tablespoons Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Chilli Sauce
4 tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons Kasmiri chili powder (redder and less spicy than normal chili powder-if you don’t have it use less normal chili powder or skip)
1 tablespoon palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 piece ginger minced
1/2 onion chopped
1/2-3/4 cup water (depending on how dry you want it)
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed in a little water
Oil for deep frying
2 green onions chopped

1. Boil a pot of water with some salt, turn off the heat and add cauliflower. Drain after 10 minutes.
2. Mix flour, cornstarch, rice flour,  a little salt and water together. Toss with the cauliflower.
3. Mix together the sauce ingredients: soy sauce, vinegar, tomato chili sauce, ketchup, chili powder, and brown sugar.
4. Heat sesame oil in a saute pan. Add garlic and ginger and cook for a few seconds. Add onions and cook until translucent.
5. Throw in the sauce and water and bring to a boil. Add the water and cornstarch mixture, bring back to a boil then reduce heat to low while frying the cauliflower.
6. Right before you’re ready to serve, heat oil for deep frying. Making sure each cauliflower is coated with batter, deep fry the florets until browned.
7. Drain on paper towels, toss with sauce, and top with green onions.