DISH NAME : CAULIFLOWER MANCHURIAN

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 35 minutes

Description

Since this does not have a runny gravy, after the whole process of cooking, can be served as cocktail snack or starter by inserting toothpick on cauliflower.
Spring onions are used in Chinese cooking. The taste of these onions are milder. Both the green leaves and also the bulbous onions are used for cooking.
Cauliflower belongs to the same plant family as broccoli, kale, cabbage. Choose cauliflowers that are tight and compact, with no dark spots or mildew, and with firm, straight leaves.The leaves surrounding the florets should be fresh and green. Cauliflowers also come in orange & purple colour.To freeze cauliflower, separate it into small bouquets. Blanch them for 3 minutes and drain well.Place in freezer bags. Once blanched florets lose a significant amount of their sulfur which is responsible for their odor. The head of the cauliflower which is eaten is known as 'curd'. Cauliflowers are heavily infested with insects and also a lot of pesticide is used because of this. It is always safe to soak the flower in hot water with vinegar and salt or turmeic added to it. The hot water kills the insects and they will float in water.

Note

1) I used rice flour for batter. It can be substituted with all purpose flour (maida). This was done for 2 reasons-a) to avoid Maida and b) to make it more crispier.
2) Baking soda is optional. This was added to give a smooth finish to the fried cauliflower by avoiding the small curls that accompany the fried cauliflower.
3) I made sauce first and then started frying cauliflower. After frying cauliflower, reheated the sauce and mixed in cauliflower and mixed through to heat.
4) Red chilli sauce is available in supermarkets.
5) If you want more gravy, mix 2 tsp. cornflour with half cup water and add to sauce, before adding cauliflower. Bring to a boil.

Method

For the gravy:-
1) Heat oil. Add onion, celery, chillies, ginger and garlic. Fry till onions are brown.
2) Then add tomato ketchup, chilli sauce, soya sauce and vinegar and cook till the gravy becomes thick.
3) Then add cornflour mixed in water. Add salt. Cook until sauce thickens. Keep this aside.
Cauliflower:-
1) Seperate cauliflower into florets after cleaning thoroughly. Parboil till three fourth cooked.
2) Mix rice flour, corn flour, salt, pepper powder, water and baking soda. Mix until no lumps remain.The batter should be quite thick. 3) Add cauliflower and mix well.Heat oil and deep fry till cauliflower is golden brown in color.
To finish:-
Reheat sauce. Add fried cauliflower to it and mix well to coat with sauce. Just before removing from fire, add spring onion greens. Serve hot.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with fried rice.