GOBI MANCHURIAN

GOBI MANCHURIAN

The whole week's been lousy .Thanks to the weather .It rains every now and then and the pleasant spring weather has taken a toss .Its cold ,and chill weather.

And the only hting that reminds me of this weather is something fried and savouring.

Cauliflower is a favorite of mine.And according to my hubby dear i am wasting the vegetable if i am not frying it.And myself prefer to waste the vegetable than fry it.

But this weather made me do it.I fried them and gave the vegetable its ultimate best by making manchurian.

Cauliflower should always be cleaned well before cooking,advice from amma.
and this is what she does before using it and i have been following the same .
Remove the leaves.Wash once with cold water the amount yiu want ot use.
cut it into florets and soak them in warm water with little salt and turmeric to remove it of all the dirt and minute insects,hidden if any.Soak for 5 minutes.
Remove and wash them with cold water.

Though it takes time but worth doing.
Keeping it done beforehand helps.
Coming back to the dish now.
I made a whole lot just to see it disappear from the plate within minutes.

Here's the recipe

Cauliflower-cut into florets-about 250 g

Corn flour-1/2 cup

all purpose flour-2 table spoon

chilli powder -1 teaspoon

salt-as per taste.

water-half cup or as much required to make the batter.

vinegar-1 teaspoon

ginger garlic paste-1 teaspoon.

For the seasoning

onion-finely chopped-1

green chillis-slit -2

Fennel seeds-1/2 tsp

garlic flakes-2 big(chopped)

ginger -julliens -1/2"

dark soy sauce-1 tbsp

tomato ketchup-1/2 tbsp

oil for frying

Method

Wash and cut cauliflower into small florets into desired size.

Sieve together the flours with salt and chilli powder.
Make a batter with enough water so that the it is not too runny.
add vinegar and ginger garlic paste to the batter.
If the florets are dipped in ,it should hold the batter.

Heat oil for frying .dip each floret in the batter and deep fry them.
remove and drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Take care not to eat them ,as there will not be enough left to continue.

Now take a wok ,or a frying pan which is deep.Take a table spoon of oil used for frying.
heat it.add fennel seeds,when they sizzle add garlic chopped and ginger julliens.add the green chilli.saute.
Add the onion ,and increase the flame.saute well .till they turn light gold.
add the fried florets.keep mixing them.add the soy sauce all over .mix well.
then add the ketchup.mix once again,such that the sauce coats evenly.
remove on a plate.garnish with fresh chopped cilantro(coriander leaves).

Serve it hot with tomato chilli sauce.

PATHRODE

KOMATSUNA PATHRODE (Using Japanese mustard leaves)

Pathrode is a konkani dish made from taro leaves.7 to 10 leaves are used to make a roll and cut into spirals.They can be steamed or fried.A delicacy during rainy season and a hot favorite of konkanis.I never got my hands on taro leaves in tokyo ,though taro roots are abundant in stores.

Might be available in the suburbs but didnt find any recipes from japanese frineds.

So once my friend got me a bunch of field grown komatsuna(Japanese mustard leaves)when they visited a village far from tokyo.

And they were pretty huge than the normal ones.Seeing the width of the leaves i thought why not give a try and make some pathrodes out of them.

And i made them .They were delicious.

Here is the recipe.

Komatsuna leaves(deiscard the stem) -10(Wash and pat dry )

rice -1/2 cup

mungdal(split green gram)-1/2 cup

red chillis-10

tamarind-small marble sized

salt-1 tsp

asafoetida-a pinch

turmeric-a pinch

coconut-1 tablespoon(fresh or dessicated)

Method

Wash rice and mungdal.Soak it in water for 3 hours.

Dry roast red chillis in a pan on a sim flame fro 2 minutes.turn off..

Grind it with rice ,mungdal,coconut,asafoetida and red chillis to a not so smooth paste.

Take one leaf preferably largest of all the leaves,spread it on a clean surface,(i used a foil),such that the vein part is upside.

The front of the leaf,the smooth side should be on the foil.

now take a spoonfull of the paste and spread it all over the leaf in a thin layer.

place another leaf over it.

Spread another spoonfull of paste over the second leaf.Continue with all the leaves.

When done,roll it from one end like we roll a carpet.

Steam it for 15 minutes in a pressure cooker or a steel steamer.

Remove and cut into spirals of ur choice.

They can be consumed as a side dish with rice and dal.

Further they can be pan roasted too.Roll them in ric flour andpan roast with a teaspoon of olive oil (coconut oil in case you used taro leaves)drizzled over them.

They tasted well, even though they were not the original with taro leaves.

The same recipe stands for Taro leaves and colocassia leaves.