Cabbage Manchurian - Chaitra's Creations (2024)

Cabbage Manchurian

Recipe by Chaitra’s CreationsCuisine: Indo-Chinese

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium cabbage (shredded)

• Batter

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour/white flour

• 1/2 cup cornstarch

• 1/2 tsp red chili powder

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

• Salt to taste

  See Also

  Gobi Manchurian (Dry and Gravy)

• Oil for deep frying

• Sauce

• 2 tbsp oil

• 2 cloves of garlic (minced/crushed)

• 1 inch ginger (grated)

• 2 green chills (minced)

• 1 small red onion (finely diced)

• 2 scallions/spring onions (sliced into thin circles and separated into white and green parts)

• 1/2 small green pepper/ capsicum (finely chopped)

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp red chili sauce

• 1/4 tsp white rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water

• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Mix the Batter
• Shred 1/2 medium cabbage and add to to a medium sized mixing bowl.
  
• Add 1/2 cup white flour, 1/2 cup corn starch, 1/2 tsp red chili powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, and salt (to taste) to the cabbage. (Note: No water is required. This is a dry batter.)
• Mix well and then make small, even balls. (Note: Smaller balls are easier to fry and cook better.)
• Deep Fry Cabbage Manchurian
• Fill afrying potabout half full with oil. Heat at a medium flame.
• Slowly drop a cabbage ball into the frying pan. (Note: Make sure that there is enough oil to completely cover the ball. Place as many balls as you can in the oil, but spread them apart – don’t let them touch each other.)
• Deep fry all the cabbage balls in batches until they turn golden and crispy. Take them out of the oil, using a spider strainer and place them on a paper towel (placed on a bowl or plate) to absorb the oil.
• Once you have fried all the cabbage balls, you can quickly deep fry all the cabbage balls again for extra crispiness. However, this is not required. Once your cabbage balls are ready, it is time to make the sauce.
• Make the Sauce
• To make the sauce, first heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok at a medium flame.
• Add 2 cloves garlic (minced/crushed), 1 inch ginger (grated) and 2 green chilis (minced) and sauté.
• Add 1 small red onion (finely diced) and the white part of 2 scallions/spring onions (thinly sliced into circles). Sauté till translucent.
  
• Then, add 1/2 green pepper/ capsicum (finely diced) and sauté. Cook covered for a few minutes.
  
• Once the green pepper is cooked, add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp red chili sauce, and 1/4 tsp vinegar. Mix well and let simmer for a few minutes.
• Once the sauce starts to bubble, add a mixture of 1 tbsp of cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water. (Note: This is the “secret” ingredient to a thick sauce.)
• If you want wet Cabbage Manchurian, add another 1/2 cup of water. If you prefer it dry, skip this step and keep going.
• Add 1/4 tsp ground black pepper and salt to taste. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes.
• Once the sauce starts to bubble, turn off the flame.
  
• Off flame, add the fried cabbage balls to the sauce. Mix and garnish with the green part of 2 scallions/spring onions (thinly sliced into circles). Enjoy! 🙂

Notes

• As mentioned in the instructions, the batter for cabbage manchurian is dry and doesn’t require any water.
• I would suggest to prep your ingredients for the sauce ahead of time so that as soon as you are done frying the cabbage balls, you can start the sauce. You don’t want to let the fried cabbage balls sit for too long, or it might lose its crispiness.
• If you are nervous about deep frying, my advice is to use a small, deep pot/pan instead of a wider, shallow one. Also, if you aren’t comfortable dropping the item to be fried into the hot oil with your bare hands, a spoon works just as well.
• As mentioned in the instructions, you can double fry the cabbage balls for extra crispiness. However, this is not required.
• It is very important to add the fried cabbage balls to the sauce off flame to prevent the manchurian from becoming mushy.
• If you don’t have red chili sauce, you could use siracha sauce or tomato sauce/ ketchup.
• I prefer to crush my garlic via amortar and pestle. You could finelyminceby hand or use a pre-made garlic paste.
• I prefer togratemy ginger. Alternatively, you could use a pre-made ginger paste.
• I prefer to mince my green chilis in agrinder. However, you can finelymincethem by hand or even just slit them.
• There are many versions of this recipe. This is my tried and true version that I came up with. I hope you love it!
• Vegan Option: This recipe is Vegan! 🙂