Air Fried Gobi Paneer Manchurian

Hakka Chinese cuisine is my family’s favourite. I have tried many recipes and always look forward to try something new. We love Manchurian in gravy with rice. When we go to the Chinese restaurant, we also order dry Manchurian as an appetizer. I absolutely love the chewiness in Manchurian with sticky sauce. Manchow soup and vegetable fried rice are absolute must to order!

You must have seen my recipe of Vegetable Stir Fry with Manchurian Balls where I made Manchurian balls in appe pan (non fried) and added with veggies and sauce. This time when I saw all the ingredients in my fridge, I decided to make dry Manchurian using gobi (cauliflower) and paneer which I deep-fried. We ate it as a whole meal (who want to eat anything else when there is this delicious food 😉 😉 ). I made a lot but finished it in one meal. They came out absolutely delicious, chewy and sticky, just the way I like it. I also added lot of veggies to make it nutritious. I have made it gluten-free but you can use all-purpose flour instead of rice flour.

This recipe serves 2 people.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups cauliflower (gobi) florets
200 gm paneer cut in 1″ cubes
1 onion cut in big cubes and then separate the layers
1 colour bell pepper cut in cubes
3-4 spring onion chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic sliced
1″ piece of ginger cut into gimlets
1 green chilli finely chopped
Oil for cooking

Batter
4-5 tbsp corn flour
4-5 tbsp rice flour
Salt to taste
Pinch of black pepper powder

Sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp white vinegar
Salt to taste
Pinch of black pepper
1 cup Water

Procedure

1. Clean and cut all the veggies as shown in the picture. Some recipes ask to boil cauliflower florets but I kept it raw. They cooked perfectly when fried.

2. In a bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients with 1 cup water.

3. In a pot, heat water with some salt. Add cauliflower florets and boil for 2-3 mins. Florets should still be crunchy. Remove from water.

4. In a bowl, add cauliflower florets, 2 tbsp each of rice flour and corn flour, salt and black pepper powder. If you feel flour is less, you can add little more. Mix well. You won’t need water as steam from cauliflower will add moisture to the flour. Keep aside

5., In a separate bowl, add paneer cubes, 2 tbsp each of rice flour and corn flour, salt, black pepper powder and little water to add moisture. Keep aside.

6. Set Air Fryer on air fry mode at 200C for 20 mins. Pre heat air fryer. Once ready, spread cauliflower florets, don’t over crowd the insert. It took around 17-18 minutes in my Gourmia air fryer. Make sure to shake the insert every few minutes. Follow the same process for paneer cubes. Keep these aside.

7. For deep frying, heat a cast iron pan with oil. Once oil is ready, deep fry cauliflower florets and paneer in batches until they are brown. Keep aside.

8. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a big pan, add ginger, garlic and green chili. Cook for 1 minute then add onion, peppers and spring onion. Keep few chopped spring onion on side for garnishing. Cook on a medium to high heat stirring few times for 2-3 minutes or until veggies start to soften slightly . Then add sauce and stir continuous. If mixture start to get too thick then add some water. When sauce is slightly cooked (2 – 3 mins) and slurry, add fried gobi (cauliflower) and paneer. Mix well and cook on low heat for 3 – 4 mins stirring frequently. All the sauce will stick to veggies and Manchurian.

9. Serve this dry Manchurian immediately. I don’t think anyone want to wait after seeing this luscious dish 😋😋. It’s super delicious, sauce is sticky and Manchurian are chewy. Try it to believe it! We finished the whole pan in just few mins…haha.