Gobi Manchurian- Cauliflower Manchurian

Gobi Manchurian 

Gobi Manchurian 

Gobi Manchurian is a very popular Indo-chinese dish. It could be served as a starter or a side dish. I prefer mine with vegetable fried rice.

Ingredients:

For the Manchurian/Cauliflower fritters

• 1/2 lb cauliflower cut into florets
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• about 1/2 cup water
• oil for deep frying

For the Manchurian Sauce

• 1 1/2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 2 -3 green chillies chopped
• 1/4 cup spring onions chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp red chili sauce
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• salt to taste
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp water

Preparation :

• Mix flour, Corn starch, salt, red chili powder and make a batter with water. Add the Gobi/Cauliflower florets and mix well. Deep fry. Keep aside.
• For the Sauce- Heat oil in a pan. Stir fry the garlic paste and the whites of the spring onions(the green is reserved for the garnish) for about a minute. Add the green chillies, soy sauce, red chili sauce, vinegar, tomato ketchup on low flame. Stir. Add water and bring to boil. Add the corn starch paste and stir continuously. Adjust the salt. Just when the sauce thickens, add the greens of the spring onions and the Manchurian/fritters. Mix it well.
• Your Gobi Manchurian is ready to serve.
• This recipe serves 4.

Baked Potato Wedges

I'm in a mood for these delicious mouth watering Potato wedges maybe say on a rainy day and on snow days which we have been blessed with so many this winter and I'm ready for Spring already or even Summer. These Potato wedges are super easy to make. They are so easy that even a caveman can make these (wait will he not need an oven..oh well, its just a thought. )

Ingredients:

• 4 Russet Potatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• McCormick Barbecue Seasoning

Preparation :

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Wash the potatoes well and pat them dry. Cut the unpeeled potatoes into 1/4 inch wedges. (About 10 wedges per potato).
3. In a bowl mix olive oil and the barbecue seasoning(about 1 tbsp). Add the potato wedges and toss to coat.
4. Take a greased baking sheet and arrange the wedges in a single layer.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes until the wedges are golden brown and crispy. Toss once after the first 15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning( salt) and serve immediately.
6. This recipe serves 4. I have used one potato per person. So you could accordingly tweak this recipe if you are making for more. Enjoy these crispy oven baked Potato wedges with a cup or two of hot ginger tea or coffee.

I have used McCormick Barbecue Seasoning. Now the McCormick Barbecue Seasoning has the following in case you would want to make your own mix- Brown Sugar, Salt, spices(including red pepper), tomato, garlic, onion , Red bell peppers and parsley. You could even use salt and red chilli powder and they are good as well .

Hara Bhara Kebab - Valentine's Day Special.

Wishing all of you my wonderful readers, A Happy Valentine's Day. !!!. Though many consider Valentine's Day a Hallmark holiday for me its my favorite holiday. I love this day so much , which explains my wedding anniversary to be on Valentine's Day. This was the only prerequisite I had when wedding arrangements were going on and when asked what would I like, there was only one thing on my wishlist - to get married on Valentine's Day... This day does have a magical effect on people.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups frozen cut spinach
• 3 medium sized potatoes- boiled and mashed
• 1/2 cup broccoli finely chopped
• 1/2 Avocado mashed
• 1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped
• 2 tbsp ginger finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh Cilantro finely chopped
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp Amchur powder(dry mango powder)
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• oil for shallow frying

You could add a little more bread crumbs to the kebab mixture if you are unable to shape them into kebabs , due to the moisture content in the spinach.
Preparation :

• In a Colander, run the frozen spinach under running hot water and squeeze all the liquid and make it as dry as possible. You could even thaw the spinach by keeping it out and once its at room temperature just squeeze the liquid.
• Now in a bowl, add the spinach, chopped broccoli , Avocado, mashed potatoes, Jalapeno pepper, ginger, Cilantro, salt, amchur powder and mix it well. Next add the lime juice and mix. Add the bread crumbs.

• Divide the mixture into 12 -14 equal portions. Shape it into the desired shape. You could even make it heart shaped for Valentine's day. I just made them into round disk shapes(like tikkis) and elongated kebabish shape.
• Shallow fry on a griddle or a Tawa. Just fry for couple minutes on each side till you get a nice golden brown color.
• Ready to serve with tomato ketchup or green cilantro chutney. This Recipe serves 4.