Gobi / Paneer Manchuria

If it is the weekend, you got to treat yourself with something extra special. Manchuria is the one for you. Once you taste it, you will crave for more and you will make it again and again. This recipe serves 6 people.

Ingredients:
1 large red bell pepper - cut into strips (optional)
1/2 medium onion - sliced length wise (optional)
1/2 pound paneer - cut into 1 inch by 1/2  inch paneer pieces
1 small head cauliflower, around 16 florets
oil for deep frying (I used canola oil)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, for garnish

for sauce:
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons oil (canola or olive)(1 teaspoon if you not using red bell peppers and onion)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vine vinegar
3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon chili powder (optional, adjust to your spice level)
4 cloves garlic - sliced
1/4 teaspoon Ajinomoto (you can find it in any chinese, vietnamese or thai grocery store, this is optional)

for batter:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup corn flour
water

Method:
Mix all the ingredients under the batter. The batter shouldn't be too thick or too thin. You are looking for something of pan cake batter consistency. Coat the cauliflower and paneer with the batter, let any extra batter to drip off (we just need light coating, else it will be too doughy) and deep fry them on medium high heat until they turn golden brown. Take them onto a paper towel to remove any excess oil and keep them aside.

In a separate pan on medium high heat, add oil and saute onion for 4 minutes, or until the onions just starts to turn translucent. Add red bell peppers and saute for another couple of minutes (or just until the way you want the peppers to be). Add garlic, saute for another minute until fragrant. Add ketchup, soy sauce, chili powder, rice vine vinegar, ajinamoto, water and stir well. Bring to a boil and let it reduce a bit, or just until the sauce is enough to coat all the fried pieces. Add the paneer cauliflowers pieces to the sauce. Combine well, check on the seasoning, and add some salt if needed. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy.

Tips and More:

• Corn flour  is a must in this recipe to achieve crunchy texture to the paneer and cauliflower pieces.
• You can make paneer manchuria alone or gobi manchuria alone instead of mixing both.
• You can make the same recipe with baby corn. Try green bell peppers instead of red.
• Add some green onions for more flavor.