I had to take a short break from blogging for personal reasons but not a day passed by without me missing writing posts. Needless to say, I took a long time to write this post and decided to post this recipe because it is healthier version of the regular Gobi Manchurian. Many foodies and bloggers hate people like us who modify the original recipes trying to make them healthier and guilt-free. They think we change the taste of authentic dishes and make them less desirable. If you are both health freak and a foodie like me, you will definitely understand the reason why the world started the word "Guilt-free". :D Nevertheless, I have other reasons for modifying the authentic dishes one of them being; creating a guilt free version of an authentic recipe without changing the taste, the level of satisfaction it gives and making it healthier, is a tough challenge. Who does not love challenges? ;)
The chef who inspired me most recently is Teresa Cutter from The Healthy Chef series. Also, one of the greatest chef's of all time Roger Vergé says "A recipe is not meant to be followed exactly — it is a canvas on which you can embroider". Anyone can follow the measurements of Ingredients and steps of a dish and prepare it. I believe that as long as the dish you have modified is as good as the original (or better!!), you can play around with ingredients. Who knows, you may even create dishes of your own and name it yourself! /:) Anyway, this recipe is not modified too much except that the battered Gobis are baked to crisp instead of deep frying and I have garnished with coriander leaves instead of Spring onions only because I could not find them in the market. :) The recipe is very simple and tastes just like the one you enjoy it as an evening snack on the streets of Bangalore and as a starter at pricey restaurants anywhere in India.
| Nutritional Information (Approx) (per serving) | |||
| Energy | 145 | Calories | |
| Fat | 7 | % | |
| Carbohydrates | 20 | % | |
| Dietary Fiber | 4.3 | % | |
| Sodium | 230 | mg | |
| Vitamin A | 11.2 | % | |
| Vitamin C | 11.3 | % | |
| Calcium | 21.9 | % | |
| Iron | 8.1 | % | |
| Protein | 3.9 | Grams | |
| Sugar | 6.6 | Grams | |
| Ingredients | |
| Cauliflower | 1 medium |
| Corn flour(for batter) | 1/4 cup |
| Wheat flour or All purpose flour | 3/4 cup |
| Baking powder | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Salt | to taste |
| Garam masala (optional) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Chilli powder | 1/2 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon |
| Ginger garlic paste | 1 teaspoon |
| Water | as required |
| Soy sauce | 2 tablespoons |
| Tomato sauce | 2 tablespoons |
| Chilli sauce | 1 tablespoon |
| Sugar | 1 teaspoon |
| Corn flour (for sauce) | 1 & 1/2 teaspoons |
| Oil | 2 teaspoons |
| Onion chopped | 1 small |
| Cilantro or Spring onion | to garnish |
- Cut the cauliflower into bite sized pieces. Blanch them in salt water for 5-6 minutes.
- Mix Corn flour, wheat flour, Baking powder, salt, Garam masala, chilli powder, half of ginger garlic paste and water to make a thick batter.
- Coat all the florets in the batter and transfer it to a baking plate lined with baking sheet.
- Bake the florets in a Preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or till the florets get evenly browned. (Make sure to flip them halfway through baking).
- Meanwhile, mix together soy sauce, tomato sauce, chilli sauce, sugar, and salt.
- Toss the florets to the middle of the oven for few minutes to make them crispier.
- To thicken sauce, mix corn flour with 1/4 cup of water and make sure no lumps are formed.
- In a pan, heat oil and add chopped onion. Once the onion looks translucent, add the remaining ginger garlic paste.
- Add the sauce mixture and corn flour mixture and mix well. Check for salt more and add if needed.
- Bring the mixture to boil under low flame. Cook till the sauce is thick and remove from heat.
- Add the baked florets to the sauce, toss them well. Garnish with chopped spring onion or cilantro and serve hot.
- You can deep fry the florets instead of baking them.
- I have garnished with cilantro since Spring onions are not available here. Do garnish with spring onions if you can get your hands on them.
- Be careful while adding Soy sauce and add little quantity since they change the color of the dish.
- Skip either chilli sauce in sauce or chilli powder in batter if you desire less spicy dish.
- Make sure the cauliflower florets are blanched well.
