Low Cal Chinese Veg Machurian

I love Chinese food and I have such lovely memories attach to it. When I was in mumbai I used to love going to Chinese retros and watch rain fall through the glass window while I sip away my hot sweet corn soup followed by steaming hot noodles, Manchurian and what not.

I love rains and I love having hot Chinese food watching the rain outside my window. Its gives me that cosy lovely feeling.

Manchurian is my husband's favorite dish. I love it too but after weight loss the whole dish seems nothing but a sure short way to weight gain. Its a bowl thickened with cornflour and added to it are fried vegetables balls ouch!!!!.

Once I saw a cook making it, he grinded the veggies added cornflour and fried the vegetable balls. Again cornflour went to thicken the gravy

Just because I eat low calorie food and I want to lose weight it does not mean that weekends will be sad for me. Oh no they won't.

Ever since childhood I used to love sundays because it meant something special will be made that day, ever since I grew up and got married I have followed the tradition. The only difference now is that my husband looks forward to weekends because he knows that he is gonna get some tasty food to eat
for a change.

This Manchurian is far healthy than the one we get outside and guess what its damn tasty too. Little cornflour cannot be avoided. I made it as an experiment, my husband was preparing himself to eat a disastrous meal and to both our surprise the dish came out really tasty and matched the outside dish. This is now a regular weekend meal for us and a hot favorite with my DH.

Here is what we need for the recipe

Ingredients for the Manchurian Balls

1.3/4 cabbage.

2. 1 big capsicum.

3. 1 carrot.

4. 9-10 garlic pieces

5. 1 inch Ginger

6. 2 tsp of corn flour.

7. Salt to taste

8. 2 tsp oil.



Procedure For Manchurian Balls

1. In a grinder, grind all vegetables, ginger and garlic.

2. Add Salt and cornflour to the grinded vegetables.



3. In a pan heat the oil and cook the mixture. You need to cook it till it become sticky like dough. Keep stiring it in between so that it does not stick to the bottom. The moment you feel that it has become like a dough where in all the veggies have gone soft and are cooked, switch off the gas.



4. Its best to keep the ball mixture in a fridge for 2 -3 hours. I know its a pain but that the best I could do. I prepare the ball mixture at night and keep it in fridge and use it the next day. We need the mixture to be cold else the balls won't hold themselves.

5. Now once cold mixture is ready, make the balls and keep aside, do it after heating the pan. Don't go on the pic, I discovered the size trick after taking the pic.



6. Heat 1 or 2 tsp oil and grill the balls. Everything is cooked we just want to make the balls crispy.



PS: Keep few balls aside without frying them on the pan, you can crumble them and add to gravy for enhancing the taste.

Ingredients for Gravy:

This is very easy, just takes max 10 minutes to prepare.

1. Green onions chopped.

2. Capsicum, carrots chopped. You can add other veggies but I had just these at that time.

3. 1 whole pod garlic fresh paste.

4. 1 inch ginger fresh paste

5. 2 tbsp oats powder. Just take Quaker white oats and grind them in a powder.

6. Soya sauce 2 tsp or according to taste.

7. Vegetarian oyster sauce 1 tsp (optional, I had it so I used it).

8. 2 tsp oil.

9 Salt to taste.

10. 1 or 2 cup water.



Procedure

1. Heat oil in a pan and add ginger garlic paste. Saute for few seconds.

2. Add all the veggies and cook on high flame for 5 minutes. The vegetables should be crisp and almost cooked. The way they have in Chinese food. I like adding few paneer pieces too, they taste yum with this gravy. So if you like paneer go on throw it in.



3. In half cup cold water add the oats powder and mix well.

4. Pour on the veggies. Stir well.
Now adjust water quantity i.e if you want more water add slowly.

5. Add in the sauces and salt. Also crumble the balls that you have kept aside (non grilled ones) and add to the gravy. Boil till the gravy thickens.



6. Add the Manchurian balls. Give a final boil and serve hot.



I even froze this dish. It tasted awesome after reheating the only thing is that the balls will collapse when reheating but its fine, it gives such a nice thick taste.

Bon Appetite!!!