Cauliflower Manchurian with Szechuan Sauce (Easy Indo Chinese)

Summer is a busy time around the farm but it is the time when we get to enjoy the abundance that nature bestows on us. So posting recipes to the blog takes a back seat.

Making Szechuan sauce is simple, with vinegar added the sauce is good for a few months. Refrigerated they last even longer. Once you have the sauce it is pretty versatile and can be used for making noodles, manchurian recipes, fried rice, chili paneer, chili roasted chicken etc.,

The sauce can be made with any kind of ripe chilies mild or hot. I made this sauce again with jalapeno peppers. Slightly different and fruity in taste but just as versatile.

Fall time is when we have an abundance of ripened chilies. They can be frozen for later use. if you can grow just 2-3 chili plants, it will provide you with enough chilies for the whole year.

When the outside temperature starts to dip, these are the kind of dishes you crave,
Recipe in pictures.

Take the required amount of the Szechuan sauce. In a bowl take the cauliflower florets and add the corn starch, black pepper, chili powder and salt.
Mix the powders with the cauliflower florets and set aside. Put a pan of oil to heat for deep frying.
Deep the florets and set aside to drain on paper towels.
In a saute pan, heat oil and add finely chopped garlic and grated ginger and saute for a minute. Add in the onions and bell peppers and saute till they start to turn color.
Add in the deep fried cauliflower and the szechuan sauce and mix it in. Saute till the saue is coated on all the caulilower pieces. Turn off the heat.

Paired with some fried rice or noodles, this makes an excellent meal.

Cauliflower Manchurian with Szechuan Sauce
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:25 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 head of cauliflowr separated into florets
2. 1/4 - 1/3 cup of Szechuan Sauce
3. 1 cup of 1 inch diced red onions
4. 1 cup of 1 inch diced bell pepper
5. 1 tbsp of finely minced garlic
6. 1 tbsp of grated ginger
7. 2-3 tbsp of corn starch
8. 2 tsp black pepper
9. 2 tsp red chili powder
10. salt to taste
11. oil for deep frying + 1/2 tbsp of oil

Method

1. Set a pan of oil to heat for deep frying.
2. In a mixing bowl, take the cauliflower florets and add in the corn starch, pepper powder, chili powder and salt and fingers mix the powders into the cauliflower florets.
3. OnceAdd the florets to the oil and deep fry them and set aside to drain on paper towels.
4. In a wide mouthed pan, add oil and when hot add the garlic and ginger and saute for a minute. Add in the onions and bell pepper pieces and saute till the onions become translucent.
5. Add the fried cauliflower florets and saute for a minute, now add the szechuan sauce and mix it in and saute till all the pieces are well coated.
6. Add salt if required and turn off the heat.

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Chicken Noodles

Noodles is a quick meal that is easy to put together and is almost always well liked by everybody. I usually make noodles with shrimp because I have shrimp in the freezer but making it with chicken requires a little bit of planning since I don't normally stock chicken.If you have chicken then this recipe is quick. I use boneless chicken thighs but use whatever you fancy.

The vegetables that works best in noodles are cabbage, broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, beans, greens like chard/kale and green onions. All or a few of these vegetables can be used. I had cabbage harvested from the farm along with bell pepper, green onions


The trick in making good noodles is to cook it at high heat and make sure not to make it soggy which means completely dry the vegtables and cook the chicken before adding it to the vegetables.

Here is the recipe in pictures,

Cut the chicken thighs into bite sized pieces and marinate for about 20 minutes with salt and chili powder. Set a pan and add oil and let it get hot.
Add the chicken and let it cook till the pieces are cooked.
Drain the chicken and set aside. In a pot of boiling water set the noodles to cook.
Get the vegetables ready.
In a pan add onions, garlic and grated ginger. When translucent add in the vegetables first the peppers, followed by the carrots and then the cabbage and any greens if using.
Add in the spices/sauces and saute on high heat for a few more minutes. Add the cooked chicken and mix well.
Add the cooked noodles, mix it in well and add more salt if needead and turn off the heat.

Some fresh tasty noodles is ready.

Chicken Noodles
Preparation Time:20 minutes
Cooking Time:25 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 lbs of boneless chicken thighs
2. 1 packet of Chinese Noodles
3. 2-3 cups of sliced vegetables - I used cabbage, carrots, bell peppers and some chard
4. 1/2 red onion sliced
5. 3-4 garlic cloves minced
6. 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
7. 1 tbsp chili oil or any chili sauce
8. 1 tbsp ketchup
9. 2 tsp soy sauce (optional)
10. 2 tsp pepper powder
11. 1 tbsp chili powder
12. salt to taste
13. 1 tbsp oil

Method

1. Wash and pat dry the chicken, chop them into bite size pieces and mix them in chili powder and salt. Marinate for 1/2 hr or so if time permits.
2. Set a pot of water to boil and cook the noodles as per the package directions. Rinse in cold water and drain.
3. In a wide mouthed pan heat oil and add chicken pieces and cook till the chickens turns white and is fully cooked. Set aside. Takes about 8-10 minutes.
4. In the same pan add a bit more oil and add onions and saute till it turns translucent. Add ginger and garlic and saute for a few more minutes.
5. Cook the vegetables in high heat, add the bell pepper and saute for a couple of minutes, followed by all the other vegetables.
6. Once they are hald cooked add the salt, chili oil/chili sauce, ketchup and soy sauce.
7. Add in the cooked chicken pieces and mix it in.
8. Add the noodles and let it heat through.

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Vegetable Manchurian with home made tomato sauce

I was never a big fan of watching youtube videos but the last couple of covid years changed all that. While some people went out and bought puppies I became a YouTube addict. It started with watching videos on permaculture and farming and which led to YouTube recommending me similar videos which is how I chanced upon this channel called "Crazy for Indian Food" and saw this recipe for Vegetable Manchurian. It was the time of the year when I had some freshly harvested cabbage and tomatoes that I had frozen from the summer. This is the best manchurian I ever tasted. I am not really fond of the quantity of corn flour that is usually added to the manchurian. In this recipe a combination of corn and wheat flour were used.

Good quality tomatoes are require to male the all purpose tomato sauce, which is used both in the manchurian and the fried rice. I used a combination of cabbage and some multicolored carrots that I had picked up at the store. You can add any vegetables that can be shredded and do not end up being too soggy.

For a full meal, the same manchurian sauce can be used to make fried rice. Precook the rice and mix it with the sauce.
Now on to the recipe in pictures for the manchurian.

Shred the cabbage and carrots. Add wheat flour, salt. pepper and corn starch.
Mix in the flour with just the moisture present in the vegetables. Do not add extra water.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the vegetable balls in batches.
In a wok add oil and when hot add onions and chopped jalapeno, saute and add the cabbage. Once the cabbage is softened add the tomato sauce.
Add in the vegetable balls and mix into the sauce.

While machurian is the star of the recipe, the tomato sauce has an equally important role to play in it. Like mentioned earlier the quality and the ripeness of the tomatoes matters much. I tend to make fried food during winter and fresh tomatoes are hard to find but the tomatoes I had frozen during the summer adequately serves the purpose. While it is not fresh of the vine tomatoes, it still locks in the taste :)

Vegetable Manchurian with home made tomato sauce
Preparation Time:20 minutes
Cooking Time:50 minutes
Ingredients
For the sauce

1. 10-15 medium sized ripe tomatoes
2. 1/4 cup of finely chopped onions
3. 2 tsp of grated ginger
4. 1 1/2 tbsp of finely chopped garlic
5. 4 Jalapeno chilies (or any medium spice green chilies)
6. salt to taste
7. 2-3 tsp of oil

For the Manchurian

1. 4 cups of shredded cabbage + 1/2 cup of cabbage
2. 1 cup of shredded carrots (or any other vegetable of choice like broccoli or cauliflower)
3. 1/2 cup of thinly sliced onions
4. 1/4 cup of corn flour
5. 1/3 - 1/2 cup of wheat flour
6. salt to taste
7. 3-4 tsp of pepper powder or to taste

Method

For the sauce
1. In a wok/kadai/wide mouthed pan add 2 tsp of oil and when hot add the chopped onions and chopped jalapenos and when it becomes translucent add the ginger and garlic and saute for a minute more.
2. Now add in the tomatoes and continue till it reduces to a fairly thick consistency.
3. Add salt and pepper powder and mix it in. Taste and add more if needed.

For the Manchurian

1. Set a wide mouthed pan with oil for deep frying.
2. Add the shredded cabbage, carrot, pepper powder, salt, corn flour and wheat flour and mix it well with the tip of the fingers so the flour is evenly coated.
3. Make small round balls, fry them in batches and set them aside.
4. In a wide mouthed pan, add oil and when hot add the thinly sliced onions and when translucent add saute till the cabbage becomes soft.
5. Add 1/4 cup or required amount of the sauce and the rquired number of the fried manchurian balls and mix in them well.

For the Fried Rice

1. In an instant pot or pressure cooker, cook rice with a 2 tsp of oil and salt. Once cooked fluff with a fork and set aside.
2. To this add the sauce and mix it in gently.
3. Add some roasted vegetables on top. I added some roasted broccoli.

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