• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Rice Recipes
    • Paneer Recipes
    • Snacks Recipes
    • Dal Recipes
    • Veg Curry
    • Indo-Chinese Recipes
    • Latest
    • Recipe Index
  • ABOUT

Swasthi's Recipes

Home >> Recipes >> Indo-Chinese Recipes

Gobi manchurian recipe | How to make crispy cauliflower manchurian

By swasthi , on December 21, 2019, 213 Comments, Jump to Recipe

Gobi manchurian recipe – Make the best super delicious & crispy gobi manchurian at home with this simple recipe. Cauliflower manchurian is one of the most popular manchurian dishes from Indo chinese cuisine. Gobi means cauliflower in hindi & manchurian is a sweet, tangy & slightly spicy sauce made with chilli sauce, vinegar, ginger & garlic.

gobi manchurian recipe

This delicious crisp fried appetizer is very popular in Indian subcontinent. It makes its appearance everywhere in street stalls, restaurants and even in parties. Gobi manchurian is not an authentic Chinese dish nor a manchu dish but is a fusion of both the Indian & Chinese cuisine.

Advertisement

If you are new to Indo chinese cuisine then read on to know more.

What is gobi Manchurian?

Gobi Manchurian is a popular Indo Chinese appetizer made with cauliflower, corn flour, soya sauce, vinegar, chilli sauce, ginger & garlic.

To make gobi manchurian, cauliflower is first coated in batter & then deep fried until crisp. Then these are tossed in sweet, sour and hot manchurian sauce.

Though a manchurian recipe can be made using chicken, mixed vegetable, soya chunks, fish etc – this one made with cauliflower has very much been loved and raved by most Indians.

The aroma and taste of fried cauliflower makes gobi manchurian a unique & super delicious appetizer.

This crispy gobi manchurian recipe is roughly adapted from the other manchurian recipes on the blog,
Veg manchurian
Chicken manchurian
Fish manchurian

There are 2 variations of gobi Manchurian – first one is a dry or a semi dry version & the second one a gravy version.

Which one tastes best – dry or gravy gobi manchurian?

My vote is for the dry or semi dry version of gobi manchurian. It is tasty & is much healthier than the gravy version. The major ingredient used to make the gravy is the corn starch which I always prefer to minimize.

Moreover the gravy version also needs more amounts of soya sauce and chilli sauce which I don’t opt. Over all it is a personal choice.

In this post I have included instructions for all the 3 versions – dry, semi dry & gravy versions. In the video I have shared how to make dry crispy gobi manchurian without using corn starch for the manchurian sauce.

For making semi dry & gravy, do check the notes in the recipe card

Can you bake gobi?

Yes you can bake them. Rinse and drain the florets. Toss the moist florets in spices first and then in 2 to 4 tbsps flour. Dust off the excess flour and place them in a greased tray. Ensure the cauliflower is moist otherwise the dry ingredients will not coat them well. You may check the details on this post – Baked gobi 65

gobi manchurian recipe

What to serve with gobi manchurian?

Dry gobi Manchurian is served as a starter or appetizer so you don’t need anything else. It has a right balance of slightly spicy, sour & sweet tastes so it tastes amazingly delicious on its own.

However if you are making it for a meal. Serve it alongside hakka noodles or fried rice .

Gobi manchurian gravy can be served as a side with any noodles, fried rice or even with plain fluffy long grain rice.

How to make the recipe glutenfree?

For gluten free version just replace all purpose flour with corn flour or arrowroot powder. Use gluten free sauces.

You may like to check these Cauliflower recipes
Gobi 65
Crispy gobi pakoda

Preparation for gobi manchurian recipe

1. Clean cauliflower florets and add them to hot water, not to very hot or boiling water. Rest them for 3 to 5 mins. Discard the water and rinse them well few times. Drain them to a colander. Allow the water to drain completely.

Clean cauliflower florets for gobi manchurian

2. Spread them on a clean cotton cloth or a wide colander. Air dry for sometime. This is done to remove excess moisture after washing. I usually leave them in a wide basket colander for sometime.

Spread them on a clean cotton cloth

3. Begin to heat oil in a kadai on a medium flame. Meanwhile prepare the batter. To a large mixing bowl, add plain flour/ maida, corn flour, red chilli powder, salt and pepper. Mix.

mixing flours to make gobi manchurian

4. Add water as needed and make a free flowing batter.

Add water to make batter
Advertisement

5. The batter must be smooth, free flowing and thick. It should not be runny or too thick. Check the salt, if needed add more.

smooth batter to make gobi manchurian

6. Add gobi to this batter and coat them well.

Add gobi florets to make manchurian

7. Check if the oil is hot enough and pick up the florets one by one and gently slide in hot oil.

pick gobi & slide in oil
Advertisement

How to make crispy gobi manchurian?

8. This two step guide will help you to make perfect crunchy fried gobi.
Make sure the flame is medium when you begin to add the florets and the oil is hot. Gradually as you add more florets to the pan, slightly increase the flame to maintain the temperature.

frying gobi to make manchurian

9. Once you finish adding the florets, regulate the flame to medium again and keep frying stirring often. At one point you will see that the bubbles begin to cease or at least reduce, then put the flame to low and allow them to fry for 2 to 3 mins without burning. During this 2 to 3 mins you have to keep stirring without stopping else they may get burnt.

golden fried gobi for manchurian

10. The above 2 steps give the same effect of double frying the gobi which is usually done in restaurants. Remove them when they are golden.

remove the fried cauliflower

11. Drain them on a kitchen tissue. This recipe requires frying gobi for longer time, the oil is no longer good to use. Just discard it.

Drain them on a kitchen towel

Making manchurian sauce

12. Add 1 ½ tbsp fresh oil in a wide pan or wok and heat it. Add garlic, ginger and green chilies. Saute them well for 1 to 2 mins. Do not over fry as it makes the manchurian bitter.

frying garlic and ginger in oil
Advertisement

13. Add onions or spring onions and capsicum. Even onion works well here. Finely chopped capsicum lends a very good flavor to the sauce. Saute this for 1 to 2 mins.

frying spring onions and capsicum

14. Add soya sauce. Prefer organic or at least naturally brewed soya sauce for health reasons.

Adding soya sauce to make manchurian

15. Add red chilli sauce, red chilli paste and vinegar. To make red chilli paste, mix chilli powder with little water. Do not add dry powder to the pan, this may make the sauce bitter.

adding sauces and vinegar to make gobi manchurian
Advertisement

16. Add sugar.

Adding sugar

17. Mix everything well.

bubbling sauces

18. Pour 3 tbsps of water. Mix it very well and allow to cook on a low heat until the sauce thickens. Red chilli sauce has already starch added to it so as we add water and cook it turns saucy.

Pour water to make manchurian sauce

19. Add coarsely crushed pepper. When the sauce turns thick turn off the stove and allow to cool down a bit. Just for 2 mins. Taste the sauce. It has to be slightly sour, sweet & hot. If needed you can adjust the salt, vinegar and red chilli sauce as well. I have not used any extra sauce than mentioned in the recipe card.

add crushed pepper to make gobi manchurian

20. Add fried gobi, just before serving. Toss well.

tossing fried gobi in manchurian

21. Garnish with spring onions.

Garnish gobi manchurian with spring onions

Serve gobi manchurian as a appetizer or a side with fried rice or noodles.

gobi manchurian

Related Recipes

veg manchurian recipe

Veg manchuria...

hakka noodles

Hakka noodles...

fried rice recipe

Veg fried ric...

aloo gobi

Aloo gobi rec...

indian dinner recipes

Indian dinner...

gobi 65

Gobi 65 recip...

Advertisement
gobi manchurian recipe

Gobi manchurian recipe

Cauliflower manchurian is made by tossing crisp fried cauliflower in slightly sour, sweet & hot manchurian sauce. It can be served as a starter or as a side with noodles or fried rice. This recipe will give you the best restaurant style gobi manchurian.
Pin Recipe Print Recipe

For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Servings3
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

To make gobi manchurian

  • 250 grams cauliflower florets (gobi cleaned)
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour (maida, prefer organic or at least unbleached)
  • ¼ cup cornstarch (white corn flour or yellow corn flour)
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon red chilli powder or paste (less spicy variety) (optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper crushed or ground
  • ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
  • ½ cup water (more if needed)
  • Oil for deep frying as needed

For Manchurian sauce

  • 1½ tablespoons oil (for sauce)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic finely chopped
  • ½ tablespoon ginger finely chopped
  • 1 green chili chopped (optional)
  • ⅓ cup onions or spring onions finely chopped
  • ¼ cup bell pepper (capsicum chopped finely) (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon soya sauce (organic or naturally brewed)(or tamari)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoon Red Chilli sauce (or 2 tsps hot sauce, adjust to taste)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon tomato ketchup (optional, use if using hot sauce)
  • ½ teaspoon Red chili powder (optional) (less spicy variety)
  • ½ tablespoon rice vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar (adjust to taste)
  • salt as needed
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons water
  • ½ to ¾ teaspoon black pepper crushed or ground
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons spring onion greens chopped for garnish
Advertisement

Instructions

Preparation for gobi manchurian

  • Clean 250 grams of gobi and cut the florets to medium size.
  • Add them to 3 cups of hot water and rest for 5 minutes.
  • Later drain the gobi completely to a colander or spread on a clean cloth until no moisture remains on the gobi.
  • You can do this ahead and set aside. Any moisture in the gobi will cook it to soft and not crisp.
  • Heat up the oil for deep frying on a medium heat.
  • Meanwhile make the batter by adding cornstarch, all-purpose flour, red chilli powder, black pepper and salt to a mixing bowl.
  • Mix and add water little by little as needed and make a free flowing lump free batter. The consistency has to be medium and not too thick or very runny. Adjust salt as needed by tasting the batter. (check video)
  • Then add the gobi florets to the batter in batches, coat them well.

Frying cauliflower

  • When the oil turns hot enough, check by dropping a small amount of batter to the hot oil. The batter has to rise without browning. This is the correct temperature. 
  • Pick up each cauliflower floret with a spoon or fingers & gently drop them one by one to the hot oil. The flame has to be medium initially and should be increased slightly as more gobi is added. Reduce the flame to medium and fry until the florets turn golden and crisp. Keep stirring in between for even frying.
  • Drain them to a kitchen tissue or a steel colander. Repeat the same steps of adding the rest of the cauliflower florets to the batter, coating them well and then frying them in hot oil until crisp.
  • For extra crisp gobi manchurian, you can also refry the once fried gobi again in oil. I usually do not do it as frying them once is good enough to get very good crisp manchurian with this recipe.

How to make gobi manchurian

  • Mix together red chili powder with little water to a paste and keep aside. This step is optional and is used mainly for the red color.  
  • Heat 1½ tablespoons oil in a wide pan.
  • When the oil turns hot, add garlic, ginger and green chilies. Saute for a minute or two.
  • Then add spring onions & capsicum. Saute them on a high flame for 2 mins. 
  • Add soya sauce, red chili sauce, tomato ketchup, red chili paste, sugar and vinegar. (for gravy version refer the notes section below).
  • Mix and add water. Mix and cook stirring and add pepper.
  • Cook on a medium heat until the sauce thickens. 
  • Turn off the stove and check the taste.
  • The sauce has to be slightly sour, sweet & hot. If needed you can adjust the salt & add more sauces as well.
  • Allow the sauce to cool for 1 to 2 mins. 
  • Add the fried cauliflower and stir gently to coat the gobi well with the manchurian sauce.
  • Garnish gobi manchurian with spring onion greens.
  • Serve immediately as a appetizer or as a side with noodles or fried rice.
Advertisement

Notes

Red chilli sauce is a sweet, hot and slightly tangy sauce. If you do not have it, use 1 to 2 tsps of any hot sauce along with tomato ketchup. Adjust the sugar as well.

To make gobi manchurian semi-dry

  1. Double the amount of chilli sauce, sugar, vinegar and tomato sauce. Use red chilli powder as required. I double it.
  2. Mix 1 tsp corn flour with half cup water. Stir in to the bubbling sauces. Taste and adjust the sweet, spice & tang.

To make gobi manchurian gravy

  1. Triple the amount of chilli sauce, sugar, vinegar & tomato sauce. I triple the red chilli powder as well for this. But if you want it less spicy then you may just double it.
  2. Mix ¾ tbsp corn flour with 1 cup of water and stir in to the bubbling sauces. Taste the sauce when it thickens and adjust the sweet, spice & tang.
Other notes for the recipe
  1. Please adjust the amount of chilli powder as needed. I use a low heat chilli powder. Some readers mentioned it turned out too spicy for them. You can totally skip the chilli powder in the seasoning as it is used only for color.
  2. Since cauliflower is fried for long time, for health reasons discard the used oil and do not reuse it.
  3. Instead of frying you can also bake the cauliflower. Rinse and drain the florets. Toss the moist florets in spices first and then in 2 to 4 tbsps flour. Dust off the excess flour and place them in a greased tray. Ensure the cauliflower is moist otherwise the dry ingredients will not coat them well. You may check the details on this post – Baked gobi 65

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

Video

Video of crispy gobi manchurian recipe

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Gobi manchurian recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 299 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 460mg20%
Potassium 302mg9%
Carbohydrates 29g10%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 390IU8%
Vitamin C 56mg68%
Calcium 18mg2%
Iron 1.1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

WhatsApp
Share17K
Pin8K
Reddit
Tweet
Email
25K Shares
FOR MORE RECIPES

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.


Gobi manchurian recipe | How to make crispy cauliflower manchurian
WhatsApp
Share17K
Pin8K
Reddit
Tweet
Email
25K Shares

Related Posts

Advertisement

FEATURED RECIPES

Breakfast Recipes

Upma recipe (r…

upma recipe

Cake Recipes

Banana cake re…

banana cake recipe

Breakfast Recipes

Aloo paratha r…

aloo paratha

vegetarian

Paneer recipes…

paneer recipes

Dal Recipes

Dal makhani (S…

dal makhani recipe

Rice Recipes

Veg biryani re…

veg biryani

Advertisement

POPULAR RECIPES

Idli recipe (S…

soft idli

Samosa recipe …

samosa

Pav bhaji reci…

pav bhaji

Eggless chocol…

eggless chocolate cake

Palak paneer r…

palak paneer

Rajma recipe |…

rajma

Advertisement

Paneer butter …

paneer butter masala

Kadai paneer r…

kadai paneer

Paneer tikka r…

paneer tikka

Advertisement

About swasthi

I’m Swasthi shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthis recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills.
Read more..

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Advertisement
  2. Amina says

    June 11, 2020

    5 stars
    Swasthi, usually when I follow a recipe, the results aren’t so impressive – but I’ve tried several of your recipes and they are so easy to follow and actually turn out great. Thank you

    Reply
  3. Rajni says

    June 10, 2020

    Very good recipe! I tried it and it came out very delicious

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      June 11, 2020

      Thank you

      Reply
  4. Monisha says

    June 10, 2020

    Hi can you use gram flour instead of corn flour?

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      June 11, 2020

      Hi Monisha
      Yes you may try. A reader has commented below that it turned out good with gram flour

      Reply
  5. Rajesh Desikan says

    May 30, 2020

    Tried Chinese fried rice and Gobi Manchurian. Came out well

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      May 31, 2020

      Glad to know!
      Thank you!

      Reply
  6. Darla says

    May 29, 2020

    5 stars
    Loved the gobi Manchurian! I went a little light on the heat, but next time I’m adding extra. Also, the double fry makes a big difference. The cauliflower doesn’t get mushy as quickly . Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is going into my meal rotation?

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      May 31, 2020

      Welcome Darla
      Glad to know!
      Yes it does make a difference. Thank you
      🙂

      Reply
  7. Msk says

    May 27, 2020

    5 stars
    Swasthi, can you please tell me alternatives for soy sauce and corn starch/corn meal?

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      May 27, 2020

      Hi Msk,
      You can use coconut aminos, liquid aminos or tamari as as substitute to soya. You can use rice flour or potato starch for corn starch. Some readers also shared in the comments below that besan worked out well. Hope this helps. Thank you

      Reply
  8. Advertisement
  9. Suma says

    May 24, 2020

    I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious! Thank you!!

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      May 26, 2020

      Welcome Suma

      Reply
  10. Vandana says

    May 23, 2020

    4 stars
    It was same as restaurant style … very easy to prepare well conveyed thank u so much

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      May 26, 2020

      Welcome!

      Reply
  11. Sujata says

    May 11, 2020

    5 stars
    Thanks for the detail explanation, Gobhi Manchurian came out really good.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      May 14, 2020

      Welcome Sujata!
      Glad to know it turned out good.
      Thank you

      Reply
  12. Mich says

    May 10, 2020

    This is a bomb ass recipe. Adjust your sweet, salt, spice and acid as you like, but otherwise perfect arrangement of ingredients. I’ll be getting fat off this in the years to come.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      May 13, 2020

      Thank you Mich
      Glad you liked it!

      Reply
  13. Callie V says

    May 3, 2020

    5 stars
    I baked cauliflower and used this recipe for the sauce. So good! I added some honey and more vinegar and it was perfect. Thanks for a yummy recipe!

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      May 5, 2020

      Glad to know! Thank you

      Reply
  14. Advertisement
  15. Harry says

    April 29, 2020

    Don’t have red chilli sauce or any hot sauce. I do have sweet chill sauce. Whatshould I do?

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 29, 2020

      Hi Harry,
      Yes you can add sweet chili sauce, skip sugar and use something else for heat. Green chilies, more ground black pepper or red chilli powder should work.

      Reply
  16. Divya says

    April 29, 2020

    5 stars
    Awesome recipe! I put the gobi in an air fryer for a couple minutes to dry faster and used tacobell fire sauce since I didn’t have any hot /chili sauce. The whole fam loved it! And I posted a picture and 4 people have already asked me for the recipe! Thank you!

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 29, 2020

      Hello Divya!
      So happy to know you all loved it. Thank you so much!
      🙂

      Reply
  17. Hitha Mandrira Shivappa says

    April 26, 2020

    I tried the recipe and to be honest this was the easiest and quickest way of achieving great tasting Gobi 🙂 thanks for the little tips as well

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 27, 2020

      Hello,
      You are welcome! glad to know it turned out good. Thank you

      Reply
  18. Karthik says

    April 23, 2020

    5 stars
    Tried and turned out extremely well. Thanks for the excellent recipe.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 24, 2020

      You are welcome! Glad to know
      Thank you

      Reply
  19. Ann says

    April 17, 2020

    Hi.
    I’m yet to try it but can I skip the vinegar part?
    Or is there a substitute for it?

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 17, 2020

      Hi Ann,
      You can skip the vinegar

      Reply
  20. Advertisement
  21. Jaya says

    April 15, 2020

    5 stars
    Its amazing..
    Thank you so much for sharing it..
    ❤️❤️

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 16, 2020

      Welcome Jaya

      Reply
  22. Rajani Kandarpa says

    April 10, 2020

    5 stars
    My kids and husband devoured it. Thank you so much. I followed the recipe to the T and it was simply delectable.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 11, 2020

      You are welcome! Glad you all loved it. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Linta S says

        June 14, 2020

        Can you please share what brand of red chilli sauce you use?

        Reply
        • swasthi says

          June 15, 2020

          I use Maggie sweet and hot chilli sauce.

          Reply
  23. Pooja Patel says

    April 6, 2020

    Do you think it’d be possible to use frozen cauliflower that’s already cut into florets?

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 7, 2020

      Hello Pooja,
      I think it should be fine. Use it after it comes to room temperature

      Reply
  24. Sujata Gaonkar says

    April 6, 2020

    5 stars
    Turned out quite tasty. Thanks swasti for details.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 8, 2020

      Welcome Sujata
      Thank you

      Reply
  25. Sara says

    April 5, 2020

    What is Red Chili sauce? And what’s a good substitute if I don’t have it?

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 5, 2020

      Hi Sara,
      Red chilli sauce is a sweet, sour and hot sauce. You can use 1 to 2 tsps of any hot sauce you have along with 2 tbsps tomato ketchup

      Reply
    • Pooja Patel says

      April 15, 2020

      I used Sriracha and I think it turned out great!

      Reply
      • swasthi says

        April 16, 2020

        Thank you!

        Reply
« Older Comments
Newer Comments »

Share Your Comments & Feedback: Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Advertisement

DIWALI RECIPES

JALEBI RECIPE
RASGULLA RECIPE
RASMALAI RECIPE
GULAB JAMUN
BESAN LADOO
KAJU KATLI
RAVA LADDU
Advertisement

CATEGORIES

DINNER RECIPES
SANDWICH RECIPES
BREAKFAST RECIPES
RICE RECIPES
CHUTNEY RECIPES
SNACKS RECIPES
SWEETS RECIPES

Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Follow me on social media

Facebook

Like

Instagram

Follow

Pinterest

Follow

Twitter

Follow
Advertisement

HEALTH CORNER

RAGI RECIPES
OATS RECIPES
MILLET RECIPES

Advertisement
Advertisement

© 2012 - 2020 - Swasthi's Recipes. The content is copyrighted to SWASTHI'S and may not be reproduced in any form.