Quick Gobi (Cauliflower) Manchurian

Of the many cuisines I have tried so far, the one cuisine that has a special place in my heart is Indian Chinese a.k.a. Chindian. The food that for many years passed off as Chinese food in India. The chowmein from the roadside seller to the exotic(!) veg Munchurian with gravy, we have all had it at some point or another and we have liked it too. The Chinese may not recognise it but us desis do and sometimes that is all that matters.

So when I picked up a cauliflower in an attempt to include more vegetables in my daily diet, the only thing that popped in my head was to make some really quick Gobi (Cauliflower) manchurian, which teamed perfectly with the winter chill. And all it took was 20 mins. Here's how it goes, lazy cooks:  

For Florets
1 medium size cauliflower, broken into medium sized florets
1/2 cup corn flour
5 tablespoons all purpose flour (maida)
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
Oil, for deep frying
Salt to taste
Approximately 1/2 cup water

For the Sauce
1½ teaspoons garlic paste
2 teaspoons ginger paste
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 small green capsicum, finely chopped
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon chilli sauce
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup or tomato sauce
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons spring onion, finely chopped (for garnishing, optional)
Salt as per taste

Method
For the florets
1. Boil the florets in salted water for 4 mins, drain water and set aside
2. In a bowl, mix all purpose flour, corn flour, ginger paste, garlic paste and salt. Add water little by little and stir to make a batter. the thickness of the batter should be similar to thickness of dosa batter. Add all florets in batter and mix well. Ensure that the batter coats the florets evenly.
3. Heat oil in pan over medium flame and deep fry the florets in small batches of 6 to 8 till they turn golden brown. Drain and transfer the deep fried florets to plate with paper napkin on it to soak excess oil.

For the sauce
1. Heat 2-tablespoons of oil in a wide, thin-bottomed pan or wok on medium flame. Add ginger paste, garlic paste, chopped green chillies, chopped capsicum and chopped onion.
2. Sauté them on high flame for 3-4 minutes to eliminate the raw flavour of ginger and garlic.
3. Add soy sauce, tomato ketchup, chilli sauce and salt. Stir continuous and cook for a minute
4. Toss in the deep fried florets and mix all ingredients (florets and the sauce) on high flame for a minute.

Voila! it's ready to be plated and served hot with a generous sprinkling of finely chopped spring onions. 

Yum Yum Cha @ Cyberhub, Gurgaon

I have the good fortune of working in a location where there are some top-notch restaurants just few feet away. It is but natural that a lot of the official lunches, dinners and dates happen in this amazing hub of eateries. and after having tried and tested almost all of them in my last 2 years in my current location, I was waiting for a long time for a new restaurant (worth my time and interest) to open up...and my prayers were answered recently.

A couple of months ago, I saw a banner announcing that Yum Yum Cha was opening up at that location soon. I was super excited, to say the least. I had been waiting FOREVER to try their much publicized dumplings and sushi.

Once the restaurant opened, so did the stories about the loooong wait to get a table. I was able to beat the lunch crowd by reaching at Yum Yum Cha for lunch at 12:30 pm. Perfect timing.

The restaurant is clearly a small but the decor and good lighting (natural and artificial) makes the place bright and spacious. Not to mention their bright origami (metal) decorative items that I absolutely adored.

And the Menu has good range of items and nice pretty pictures of what we could expect and their description. For a visual person like me, and those who were not very familiar with more authentic Japanese and Chinese flavors, this is a very safe place to start. 

My friends and I immediately got down to business. We ordered their Crystal Duck dumpling (Peking duck, hoisin, cherries), Rainbow Vegetable sushi (I know. I cringed too at the thought of vegetarian Sushi but it was for the vegetarian friend who had never tried sushi) and Red Thai curry and rice.


I had some concerns about the dumpling, I mean cherries and duck as a combination didn't exact conjure the best images but once I look a bite of it, I was stunned by how much I loved it! The balance between the salty pieces of duck and the sweet ripe cherries merged beautifully. Each bite was flavorful and the sweet-salty juices burst through the thin dumpling skin. Look at those beautiful dumplings below:

Moving on to the vegetarian sushi, quite frankly, I have had better and I have had it at Yum Yum Tree. I think  the joy for me was a little less since it was vegetarian sushi and there is limited magic that wasabi can do here. Nonetheless,  the sushi novice was thrilled by how wonderful it was. I will be going back for more sushi (non-veg, this time) to make up my mind about it.

The Red Thai curry was one of the best I have had in India. The spices were balanced just right with the coconut milk such that the spices didn't overpower the dish and neither did the coconut milk hijack the same.

One thing we did not anticipate was the good helpings. the 3 of us found ourselves feeling full but we just HAD to have something sweet at the end of a very satisfying meal and hence we ignored our newly acquired muffin tops and daringly ordered a New York Cheesecake.

I think I fell in love when I saw the Cheesecake accompanied by some sweet mango pulp. Once I had a bite of it, I was ready to write an Ode. No kidding! The smooth slightly sweet cheesecake and the rich mango pulp had me dreaming about it for days afterwards.

What tried the entire experience together was the very friendly bill that we received for a very filling and satisfying meal.

My ratings:
Price for 2 : INR 1500
Ambiance: 4.5/5
Food: 4.5/5

Chindian Chilli chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 250 grams of boneless chicken pieces, cubed

For batter:

• ½ cup of plain flour (maida)
• ¼ cup of cornflour or cornstarch
• 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
• ¼ tsp of chilli powder
• 1 tsp of soya sauce
• ½ tsp of black pepper powder

For stir-frying:

• 1 tbsp of oil
• 1 cup of cubed onions
• ½ cup of cubed capsicum (bell pepper)
• 2-3 green chillies, slit
• 1 tsp of crushed garlic
• 1 tsp of grated ginger
• 1 tsp of tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp of vinegar or lime juice
• 2 tbsp of minced spring onions or coriander leaves for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Clean and cut the chicken pieces into bite-sized cubes
2. Prepare the rest of the ingredients and keep it ready
3. Mix all the ingredients for the batter and add enough water to make a thick batter (pancake consistency)
4. Add the chicken pieces to this
5. Heat oil for deep frying
6. When the oil is smoking hot, add the chicken pieces thoroughly coated in the batter
7. Fry on medium heat until golden brown
8. Drain and set aside
9. Proceed with the next batch until all the chicken is fried
10. Drain and set aside
11. Heat oil and add the onions, ginger, garlic, and green chillies
12. Saute until the onions turn transparent and soft
13. Then add the soya sauce, vinegar or lemon juice, and tomato ketchup
14. Saute for 2 more minutes
15. Then add the fried chicken pieces and capsicum
16. Sprinkle some water and cover the pan
17. Cook on very low heat for 4-5 mins or until the ingredients come together nicely
18. Uncover, give everything a good mix, check for salt and add more if needed, and remove from heat
19. Garnish with spring onions or coriander leaves
20. Serve hot as an appetizer or side dish with fried rice or noodles

Note: I find the salt from the sauces sufficient but if needed, salt can be added as mentioned in the recipe.

Dimsum Bros. - Ambience Mall, Gurgaon

If one wants to try food more evolved than the roadside Momo stands (I have nothing against them, by the way), I would certainly suggest a trip to Dimsum Bros., Ambience Mall, Gurgaon The food will not disappoint you unless, of course, your taste buds have been corrupted by years of Chindian food that is usually served in "Chinese" restaurants in India.

Once you enter the restaurants and your senses settle to the sights and sounds that is quite opposite the the loud and busy scene just outside the restaurant, you will want to stick around. So find yourself a nice Earth-brown or Ivory chair, relax, and get ready to experience the magic.

Dimsum Bros has a fairly decent collections of drinks (Rose and Cucumber Vodka, to name just two) to chose from but before you sip your favorite poison, keep in mind that dimsums are traditionally small serving of food served with green tea and Dimsum Bros. will serve you the complementary tea along with your order. So hold the vino for a little while and savour the food like it is meant to be eaten.


Take your time to chose from the list of 35+ varieties of dim sum - steamed, baked, shallow and pan-fried - and do not hesitate to be greedy. Each dimsum served here, thankfully, tastes different from the other.  If you think that the quantity does not justify the cost, remember that this is food art and it does not sell by the dozen.

So now let me recall some interesting bits from the menu. The "Play boy" or Bunny and Pear-shaped dimsums are a delight to the eyes and the Prawn Har Gow, Beijing Chicken dumpling with home made vinegar were really good.

If you are looking for something other than a dimsum, fear not, there are other things to chose from the menu like the Prawns tempura that add a light crunch to the slightly hot Wasabi Mayo and the stir fried chicken in Saki wine that melts in your mouth before your teeth get working on it---Fabulous!

This post, unfortunately, does not contain any pics; no thanks to my comp crashing a few days ago. *grumble* However, the good news is that I'll be making my third trip there soon. I have to. I have not yet tried EVERYTHING on the menu.

Avg. cost: Rs.1600 for a meal for two.
Rating: 4/5