Veg Manchurian Recipe - Indo Chinese Party Starter (2024)

Published: Jan 10, 2020 · Modified: May 1, 2022 by Prajakta Sukhatme · This post may contain affiliate links · 3 Comments

Veg Manchurian is popular Indo-Chinese starter recipe. Another one of our favorite Indian street food recipe that is party perfect crowd pleaser too.

Crispy veggie dumplings are tossed in alluring Manchurian sauce to create unbelievably delicious and addictive dish. It’s sweet and sour, tangy and spicy, crispy and creamy all at once. Serve it with Vegetable Fried Rice, Lo-mein Noodles or Chili Garlic Noodles for scrumptious Chinese food at home.

Dry Manchurian or Gravy Manchurian

You can make the recipe into Dry Manchurian or Gravy Manchurian depending upon the amount of sauce used in serving. The preparation of crispy veg Manchurian without corn flour or white flour like maida makes it gluten free as well.

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This Homemade Veggie Manchurian Recipe

• is gluten free, vegan and guilt free eating
• a slimmer and figure friendly version compared to deep fried Manchurian
• Tastes just like restaurant but with better quality ingredients and lower calories.

WHAT IS MANCHURIAN SAUCE

Manchurian dishes are ever so popular amongst the kids and adults alike. This delectable sauce concoction believed to have originated in street food stalls of India.

Manchurian sauce is typically a combination of ginger, garlic, green onions tossed in soy sauce, tomato sauce and spicy hot sauce. I typically use some red bell pepper and stalk of celery for light crunch and added flavor.

Since there is soy sauce involved, it got labeled as Indo – Chinese. A lip smacking yummy fusion, you will find varieties of manchurian dishes served and devoured across the food stalls.

HOW TO MAKE VEGGIE MANCHURIAN

The vegetable Manchurian recipe involves two step process. Making veggie balls ( dumplings) and making Manchurian sauce. The dumplings then get dunked into the sauce and makes tantalizing Manchurian.

Finely chop or use food processor to pulse and finely grate all the vegetables. Mix the veggies with poha or ( bread crumbs) and rice flour along with all the seasoning. Create a dough like mixture. Make smooth rounded small balls. I use cookie dough scoop so it measures evenly.

Using either the appe-pan or air-fryer cook the veggie balls to golden brown. Set them aside.

Make the Manchurian Gravy by sautéing all the veggies and aromatics in oil. Add the rice flour slurry to the mix so the gravy thickens.

Add the prepared veggie balls in the gravy. Adjust the seasoning. Garnish with green onions and serve hot.

Easy Short Cuts

1. Initially, the recipe feels daunting but don’t be afraid. You can plan and make this recipe in jiffy.
2. You can plan ahead and make a big batch of these balls at once and freeze them for later use.
3. Same goes for Manchurian sauce. You can make it ahead of time and warm it up just before serving.
4. To make it semi- homemade, I sometimes use store brought veggie balls. Trader Joe’s and Aldi’s have nice tasting meatless veggie balls so does Ikea. You can certainly use those to save time and efforts.

USING AIRFRYER OR APPE PAN TO MAKE VEG MANCHURIAN

I prefer to make these veggie dumplings in the appe pan with a crispy texture on the outside and with just a couple of drops of oil! Guilt free snacking.

Lately, I have been making them in air fryer as well. So many options depending upon how big a batch you are making. After you make the dumplings, simply toss them in the air fryer basket. Spray some cooing oil. Use 350 °F setting for 15 minutes. Check midway and flip them so they get golden brown evenly.

Also, the street vendors, make these dumplings deep fried which you can avoid if you make them at home. So let’s get cooking these skinny non fried veggie manchurian!

Useful kitchen tools to make this Veggie Manchurian Recipe

• Food Processor
• Appe Pan or Takoyaki Pan or Air-fryer
• Cookie dough scoop

INGREDIENTS OF VEG MANCHURIAN

• For Veg dumplings : We use finely chopped or grated veggies. Typically cabbage and carrots are used along with green onions, green chili and red bell pepper. You can also use cauliflower. Some grated ginger, salt and pepper to season the dumplings. I do not over spice the dumpling since Manchurian sauce is intensely flavorful. To make the mixture, I use thin poha which helps it get crispy and spongy. Alternatively, you can also use Panko style bread crumbs which are airy and crispy. Some rice flour helps bind the mixture together.
• For Manchurian Sauce / Gravy : I use toasted sesame oil to make the Manchurian sauce. Dark Soy sauce ( or liquid coconut amino), rice vinegar, chili sauce, tomato ketchup, minced ginger and garlic are all aromatics. Thinly sliced red onion, stalk of celery, red bell pepper and green onions add nice flavors and bits of crunch. A rice flour helps thicken the sauce. Brown sugar adds slight sweet notes. Black pepper adds the extra spice kick.

Please check the taste before adding the salt to the preparation. The sauces often have ample amount of sodium in them so adjust according to your taste.

APPETIZER PARTY IDEAS AND PARING SUGGESTIONS

Vegetable Manchurian is one of my favorite dish to serve along with Kachi Dabeli , Paneer Tacos and Cheesy Potato Poppers for heavy appetizer platter during parties.

It’s one of the popular and most requested item for potlucks too.

You can pair it with Chili Garlic Noodles and Curry Fried Rice for a off- beat Rockstar Indo-Chinese party menu.

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