Mumbai Street Style Manchurian is a popular Indo-Chinese dish made with crispy vegetable Manchurian balls topped with a spicy, flavorful Manchurian sauce and garnished with fresh cabbage and crispy noodles. In this recipe, I share the perfect ingredient ratios and easy tips to help you make crispy Manchurian balls on your very first attempt. You’ll also learn how to prepare a delicious market-style Manchurian sauce in just 5 minutes using simple pantry ingredients.
The combination of crunchy Manchurian balls, rich spicy sauce, and fresh garnishes creates an irresistible street food experience right at home. Whether you’re serving it as a snack, appetizer, party starter, or evening treat, this Mumbai-style Manchurian is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Give this easy recipe a try and enjoy restaurant-quality Manchurian at home!
Key Tips for Making street style Manchurian at Home
Preparing the Manchurian Balls: Use finely chopped cabbage as the main ingredient. I chop the cabbage in a mixer jar using the pulse mode, but you can also grate it by hand. After chopping, add a little salt and let it rest for 10 minutes to release excess moisture. Squeeze out as much water as possible before preparing the mixture. If the cabbage contains too much moisture, you will need to add extra flour to bind the balls, which can make them dense and chewy after frying.
Achieving Crispy Manchurian Balls: Add cornflour to the mixture to make the Manchurian balls crispy. Rice flour also helps create a light and crunchy texture, although you can substitute it with maida (all-purpose flour) if needed. Keep the proportion of cornflour and rice flour (or maida) equal. Avoid adding excess flour, as it can make the Manchurian balls hard, dense, and chewy instead of crispy.
Making the Manchurian Sauce: Prepare the sauce by cooking vegetables with Chinese sauces such as soy sauce, red chili sauce, and vinegar. If you prefer not to use store-bought Chinese sauces, you can make a delicious homemade alternative by grinding fresh tomatoes with soaked Kashmiri red chilies to create a flavorful tomato-chili paste.
Serving Suggestions: Serve the crispy Manchurian balls hot with the prepared Manchurian sauce poured over the top. Garnish with finely shredded cabbage and crispy fried noodles for an authentic street-style presentation and extra crunch.
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Recipe video
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Ingredients
For manchrian balls
- 6 cup chopped cabbage
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tbsp chopped green chilli
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ tsp black pepper powder
- ½ cup cornflour
- ½ cup rice flour
- Oil for frying
For Manchurian sauce
- 2 tbsp oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 chopped green chilli
- 1 inch chopped ginger
- 2 tbsp chopped garlic cloves
- ½ cup chopped capsicum
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 1 cup water or as required
- 1 tsp soya sauce
- 1 tbsp red chilli sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp vinegar
- Some coriander leaves
Serving
- Manchurian balls
- Manchurian sauce
- Thinly slices cabbage
- Fried noodles
Instructions
Making the Manchurian Balls
- Take 750 grams (1 medium-sized) cabbage, roughly chop it, and add it to a mixer jar. Pulse a few times until it is finely chopped. Do not grind it into a paste.
- Add salt to the chopped cabbage, mix well, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Squeeze out all the excess water from the cabbage and transfer it to a mixing bowl.
- Add 2 chopped green chilies, 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste, 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder, and ½ teaspoon black pepper powder. Mix well.
- Add ½ cup cornflour, ½ cup all-purpose flour (maida), and a pinch of salt. Mix everything well until the mixture binds properly. If it doesn't bind, add a little more cornflour.
- Lightly grease or wet your hands, take small portions of the mixture, and shape them into small Manchurian balls.
- Heat oil in a kadai. Fry the Manchurian balls over medium heat until they turn golden brown and crispy from all sides. Remove and keep aside.
Making the Manchurian Sauce
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a kadai. Add ½ cup chopped onion, 2 chopped green chilies, 1 tablespoon chopped ginger, and 2 tablespoons chopped garlic. Sauté on high heat for a minute.
- Add ½ cup chopped capsicum and salt to taste. Sauté for another minute.
- In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornflour with 1 cup water and mix until smooth. Then add 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon red chili sauce, 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup, and 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder. Mix well.
- Pour the prepared sauce mixture into the kadai and stir continuously until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Add ½ teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and a few chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.
- The Mumbai-style Manchurian sauce is ready.
Serving Mumbai-Style Manchurian
- Place the crispy Manchurian balls in a serving bowl.
- Pour the hot Manchurian sauce over the balls.
- Garnish with thinly sliced cabbage and crispy fried noodles. Serve immediately while hot.
Notes
- Pulse-grind the chopped cabbage in a mixer jar.
- Add salt to the grated cabbage and let it rest for 10 minutes to release excess water.
- Squeeze out the excess water from the cabbage to make perfectly textured Manchurian balls.
- Â If the cabbage contains too much moisture, you will need to add more flour to bind the Manchurian balls.
- The proportion of cornflour and rice flour should be equal.
- Cornflour absorbs excess moisture and rice flour also helps make the Manchurian balls extra crispy.
- Avoid adding too much flour, as it can make the Manchurian balls hard and dense.
- Â Fry the Manchurian balls over a medium flame until golden brown and crispy.
- Â Cornflour thickens the Manchurian sauce and gives it a smooth, glossy coating consistency.