Cauliflower/Gobi Manchurian

Gobi manchurian reminds me of my college days. I was staying in a hostel and there used to be a roadside cart-wala nearby,  selling hot gobi manchurian. Myself and my friends enjoyed it a lot, almost every day. A plate cost was just Rs.10 and we also had take aways. There was a house construction going on opposite to the shop and we used to sit on the sand used for the construction with our hot plates of manchurian. Those were the unforgettable golden days of my life! Hope they come back :-)

Ingredients
Cauliflower florets (medium) - 1cup
All purpose flour (maida) - 4 Tablespoon
Corn flour/rice flour - 2 Tablespoon
Ginger & garlic  - 1 Tablespoon (finely chopped)
Oil - for deep frying
Onion (big) - 1 (chopped into big chunks)
Green chilli - 2 (chopped)
Spring onions - 2 (chopped)
Sauces
Tomato sauce - 3 Tablespoon
Red/Green chilli sauce - 1 1/2 Tablespoon
Soya sauce - 2 Tablespoon
Plum Sauce - 1 Tablespoon (optional)
For Marination
Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tablespoon
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 Tablespoon
Salt - to taste
Pepper - 1/4 Tablespoon


Method
1. Marinate the cauliflower florets with the ingredients mentioned under the marination header for 30 minutes.
2. Mix all purpose flour and corn flour into a thin paste with water.
3. Heat the oil for deep frying in a thick bottomed pan. When the oil is super hot, dip the florets into the flour paste and drop them immediately into the oil. Fry them for 4-5 mins until they are crispy. You will get a nice golden brown colour. Repeat the process for all the batch of florets and drain the excess oil with kitchen towel.
4. Once all the florets are fried, heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onion and green chilli. Do not overcook  the onion. It should be crunchy and there should be no raw smell of the onion.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic and ginger and cook until the raw smell goes off.
6. Now add the sauces one by one and turn off the heat.
7. Add the fried florets to the sauce and toss well. Make sure each floret is coated well with the sauce.
           Serve the manchurian with the spring onions garnished on top.


Note
* Leave 2 minutes gap between the frying of each batch of cauliflower florets so that the oil is hot enough, else the florets will consume lot of oil.
* You can also add a 1/4 tablespoon of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to the flour mixture. This will keep the florets soft inside and crispy outside.
* You can also add capsicum along with the onion when you prepare the manchurian.