Crispy Babycorn & Paneer Manchurian!!

#Manchurian is inspired by #Chinese cuisine. Whenever I hear the word 'Manchurian', spicy, tangy, garlicy thick gravy loaded with veggies like cabbage, capsicum/bell peppers and scallions runs in my mind. These veggies are usually stir fried in an iron wok on a very high flame to get that perfect taste. The most common recipe of #Manchurian in #India is #GobhiManchurian which is a result of adaptation of chinese cooking techniques to suit Indian taste and has now become a staple of Indo-Chinese cuisine.

To my surprise this is going to be the first recipe on my blog where I've used Garlic. Of course, you can't even imagine Chinese or even Indo-Chinese food without garlic. It's that indispensable ingredient. This was the first time I had got baby corns while buying vegetables and that too on husband's demand. It's never in the usual list of vegetables for me. For a week, the packet rested unopened in my refrigerator, and I was in a desperate urge to use it in one of my recipes. That desire reminded me of extremely moreish baby corn manchurian I had in a restaurant on our wedding anniversary eve, and I thought I've everything needed to make that, so why not try it. The recipe I'm going to share here is a little different as I used Paneer along with baby corn and it is not as dry as the restaurant version. In the absence of corn starch I used some alternate and I'm glad it worked! I just loved how it turned out! Try it out and you' ll know for yourself :).

This recipe will serve 3-4 people . Do try it. I'm certain that you'll love it!

List of Ingredients:

For Baby Corn & Paneer Manchurian

1. Baby Corn - 12-15 (Slit in halves lengthwise). Feel free to chop to your preference.

2. Paneer - 200 gms (Cubes)

3. Bell Pepper/Capsicum (Cut in Julienne) - 1 medium sized

4. Onion (Diced) - 2 medium sized.

5. Cabbage (Cut in Julienne) - 1 cup.

6. Garlic (Chopped) - 8-10 cloves

7. Spring Onion greens - 1/4 cup.

8. Ginger (Cut in Julienne) - ~1.5 inch piece.

9. Refined Oil - for frying.

For Gravy

1. Soy Sauce - 3 tbsp.

2. Schezwan Stir Fry Sauce - 3 tbsp.

3. Tomato Ketchup - 1.5 tbsp.

4. White Vinegar - 1 tsp.

5. Chili Garlic Sauce - 1 tbsp.

6. Oil - 3 tbsp.

7. Water - Around 1 cup. (You can always adjust quantity for your desired consistency of gravy)

8. For slurry (to thicken the gravy) - Mix 1.5 tbsp maida/all purpose flour + 1 tbsp arrowroot powder in 5-6 tbsp of water to dissolve any lumps. If you are using corn starch just mix 1.5 tbsp of corn starch in 3 tbsp of water.

For Coating

1. All purpose flour - 1 cup.

2. Arrowroot Powder - 4 tbsp.

3. Kashmiri Laal Mirch Powder - 1/4 tsp.

4. Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp.

5. Salt - per taste (Keep it on lighter side because there will be salt in sauces too).

6. Water - to make a smooth semi thick batter.

Easy to follow steps:

First, make the coating. In a bowl, take all purpose flour, arrowroot powder, salt, pepper, kashmiri laal mirch powder and start adding water slowly while stirring to make a smooth lump free batter. The batter should be thick enough to provide a good crunchy coating to baby corn & paneer cubes. Take oil in a kadhai on moderate flame. When oil is hot (not smoky hot) dip corn pieces in the batter and put in oil one by one carefully. Fry them till they are nice and crisp. Take them out on a tissue to absorb excess oil and keep aside. Repeat same steps for paneer as well.

Note: If you are using corn starch then there is no need to use all purpose flour and arrowroot powder. Just make batter with 1 cup of corn starch and follow the same steps.

Let's move on to gravy now. I didn't have iron wok so used a pan. In a pan, take oil on high flame. When oil is very hot add ginger, garlic and green chilies, and fry them for 30-40 seconds while continuously stirring & making sure they don't get burned. Lower the flame and add onions. Stir fry on high flame for around a minute. Reduce flame to moderate and add rest of the veggies (Capsicum, Cabbage, Green Onion). Add 1/4 tsp of salt and stir fry on high flame while giving it a good mix. Now, add all the sauces and vinegar. Mix well & let it boil for 1-2 minutes. Time to add water. Let the gravy simmer on medium heat for another 2 minutes before we add the slurry to make it thicker. At this point I would highly recommend that you taste the sauce concoction to make sure it suits your taste, because different brands of different sauces will yield slightly different tastes. And you can always adjust it per your liking by adding desired quantities. In case you feel it's too spicy for you, just add some water. Also, be mindful that adding slurry to thicken the sauce will reduce the tartness of gravy a bit so don't worry if it tastes sour. Now is the time to add slurry bit by bit, keep it stirring as you add. Gravy will start thickening as it boils, just turn off the flame when your desired consistency is achieved. Ideally it should not be very thick. Let it sit for 5 minutes before adding crunchy pieces of corn and paneer. Garnish it with spring onion and enjoy with plain noodles or as is!! I was running out of noodles so could not pair it with any. But, trust me it tastes amazing without any accompaniment too.

Note: If you do not want to eat it right away, then do not mix corn and paneer in the gravy otherwise they'd become very soggy. Just mix'em with gravy only 5-7 minutes before eating them.

And, here we have our spicy, tangy, garlicy crispy baby corn & paneer manchurian ready!!

Happily Stay Home!

Hope you liked the recipe and didn't find it too difficult. Let me know if this got you high on flavors. Don't forget to subscribe for more updates. Leave a comment for any questions/thoughts. Talk to you in my next mouthwatering recipe!

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