Dry Manchurian is a popular Indo-Chinese dish made with deep-fried vegetable balls coated in a flavourful sauce. This delightful recipe features crispy vegetable dumplings tossed in a glossy, red-brown sauce bursting with tangy, sweet, spicy, and salty flavours—an irresistible combination!
In this recipe, I’ll share essential tips and tricks to make Manchurian balls crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. You’ll also learn the perfect ingredient ratios to achieve restaurant-style Dry Manchurian on your first try. Whether as an appetizer or a party starter, this dish is loved by everyone. Give it a try!
Key Tips for Making Perfect Dry Manchurian at Home
- Preparing the Manchurian Balls
- Use grated cabbage as the primary ingredient. Grate the cabbage using a large-holed grater and ensure to squeeze out excess water. If the grated cabbage has too much moisture, you’ll need to add more flour to bind the balls, which can make them chewy when cooled.
- For variety, you can add other vegetables like capsicum, beans, spring onions, peas, or onions to the mix.
- Achieving Crispy Texture
- Add corn flour to the mixture for crispiness. To enhance the crunch further, include some rice flour—it’s a healthier option than all-purpose flour (maida).
- Use a minimal amount of maida, just enough for binding. Excess flour can make the balls overly dense and chewy.
- Making the Manchurian Sauce
- For the sauce, combine vegetables with Chinese sauces like soy sauce, chili sauce, and vinegar.
- If you prefer to avoid Chinese sauces, prepare a homemade tomato-chili paste. Grind fresh tomatoes with soaked Kashmiri red chilies for a flavorful substitute.
- Serving Suggestions
- Dry Manchurian tastes best when slightly spicy and served hot. This ensures the perfect texture and flavor.
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Ingredients
Making Manchurian Balls
- Take 700 grams or 1 medium-sized cabbage and grate it using a grater with large holes.
- Add salt to the grated cabbage - mix well, and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the water from the grated cabbage and transfer it to a mixing bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste - 1 tablespoon of Kashmiri red chili powder, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper powder. Mix well.
- Now add ½ cup of cornflour - ¼ cup of rice flour, ¼ cup of maida, and a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly until the Manchurian balls bind properly. If the mixture does not bind, add some more cornflour.
- Slightly wet your hands - take some mixture, and shape it into small-sized Manchurian balls.
- Heat oil in a kadai. Add the cabbage balls and fry them over medium heat until crispy on both sides.
- Allow the balls to cool slightly. Heat the oil on high flame and fry the Manchurian balls again on high flame for a crispy texture. Remove the fried balls and place them on a wire rack. Set them aside.
To Make the Dry Manchurian:
- In a kadai - heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil. Add 1 tablespoon of chopped ginger, 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic, and 2 chopped green chilies. Sauté over high heat.
- Add ½ cup of chopped onion and sauté it.
- Add ½ cup of sliced capsicum and 2-3 chopped green onion bulbs - white part. Continue to sauté.
- Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce - 1 tablespoon of red chili sauce, 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, ½ teaspoon of Kashmiri red chili powder, a pinch of salt, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper powder. Mix well.
- Add ½ cup of water and mix. When the sauce starts to boil - prepare a slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornflour with 3 tablespoons of water in a separate bowl.
- Add this cornflour mixture to the kadai and stir well.
- As the mixture starts to thicken - add the prepared Manchurian balls, some chopped spring onions, and coriander leaves. Mix well. Do not cook the Manchurian for too long. Switch off the gas.
- Your dry Manchurian is now ready to be served hot.
Notes
- Grate cabbage using a grater with large holes.
- Add salt to the grated cabbage and let it sit for 15 minutes to release water.
- Squeeze out the water from the cabbage for the perfect texture of Manchurian balls.
- If the cabbage contains too much water, more flour is needed to bind the Manchurian balls.
- Cornflour absorbs moisture and adds crispiness to the Manchurian balls.
- Maida serves only as a binding agent for Manchurian balls.
- Rice flour contributes to the crispiness of the Manchurian balls.
- Avoid adding excessive flour to bind the Manchurian balls.
- Fry the Manchurian balls on medium flame.
- Fry the Manchurian balls a second time on high flame.
- Sauté vegetables on high flame; do not cook them on low flame.
- Cornflour adds thickness and provides a coating consistency to the Manchurian gravy.
- Do not cook the Manchurian balls after adding them to the Manchurian sauce.