Veg Manchurian With Gravy

This veg manchurian recipe features crispy minced vegetable dumplings coated in a thick & velvety sweet, peppery spicy & tangy manchurian sauce. A crowd-pleasing side, it pairs wonderfully with indian fried rice or hakka noodles!

If there was one dish I overindulged in during my college years, it was manchurian—chicken manchurian, cauliflower manchurian, noodles in manchurian sauce —you name it, and I was all in. 

My love for this ever-popular dish truly took root during college days. At home, mom rarely made it—because in India, lets face it, homemade Indo-Chinese rarely lives up to the magic of the street-side stuff.

I started cooking it after moving to the States, when restaurant versions here just didn’t cut it. Slowly, I began developing recipes from memory, chasing those familiar flavors in my trusty wok.

These days, I often make this lipsmacking veg manchurian after a trip to the store just to gather fresh veggies, but honestly, it’s also the perfect recipe for cleaning out your fridge. From broccoli to mushrooms, most vegetables work beautifully in it!

While the recipe is fairly straightforward, it does involve a few steps. From prepping and deep-frying vegetables dumplings to cooking the sauce, it takes about 40–45 minutes start to finish. After making it dozens of times over the past decade, here’s everything I’ve learned along the way.

My Secrets to the Perfect Manchurian Sauce

• Indo-Chinese dishes come together super fast over high heat, so make sure all your ingredients are chopped, measured, and ready before you start cooking the sauce. If you are using condiments straight from containers, keep those measuring spoons nearby. If you stop to prep or measure, chances are that you will overcook the aromatics in wok.
• I’ll probably never tire of saying this that Indo-Chinese sauces taste best when made with condiments formulated specifically for the cuisine. Ching’s Secret is truly amazing! Of course, there are substitutes, and I’ve noted a few that delivered similar flavors during my recipe testing.
• Always start by making the sauce first. The reason’s pretty simple — you want your dumplings to stay nice and crispy when you serve them. The longer they sit, they are losing that perfect texture. It might sound like common sense, but honestly, I only figured it out after a bunch of not-so-great results!
• We’re not fans of overly sweet or tomato-heavy Indo-Chinese dishes. We need a sauce that’s sweet, spicy and tangy all at the same time. Don't go overboard on tomatoes.
• Vary the cornstarch slurry quantity depending on how thick you want the sauce. Rest of the recipe will remain the same.

My Tried and True Tricks for Perfect Veg Dumplings

• Indian-style Chinese dishes typically rely on a familiar mix of vegetables such as bell peppers, carrots, cabbage, and green beans. In the vegetable mixture for dumplings, I also like to include a bit of cauliflower for extra flavor and texture, though you can skip if you prefer. Just avoid high water content vegetables, as they can affect the texture of the dumplings.
• The goal is to use as little flour as possible when making the vegetable dumplings. This way they stay light and the flavor of the vegetables shines through. Look at the pictures to see how you can still see all the vegetables once I shape them. Watery vegetables require more flour or cornstarch to bind, which can mask their taste and make the texture heavier.
• Honestly, deep-frying the dumplings gives the best texture and taste. I haven't tested air frying or baking these dumplings. We enjoy them once in a while in the traditional form.
• Don’t wait too long after mixing! Once you’ve added salt and combined everything, go straight to shaping and frying. If the mixture sits around, the veggies will start releasing water and turn it into a soggy mess

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Dark Soy Sauce - Is a key player, as it adds more than just saltiness. It brings depth, a touch of sweetness, and that signature dark, glossy color you often see in street-style Indo-Chinese dishes. Regular soy sauce will not give same results unfortunately.
• Tomato Sauce - I use canned tomato sauce. Sub with ketchup if you want a sweetish taste.
• Green Chili Sauce - If you cannot find it, bump up the quanity of green chillies and vinegar slightly.

How To Make Indo Chinese Vegetable Manchurian

The Prep Work

• Add roughly chopped vegetables one by one(very important! because different vegetables process different way) to your food processor (it’s the quickest & easiest way). I prefer to finely chop the green beans and fine grate the carrots by hand though. Place the vegetables in a large bowl as you go. Give them a light handed mix and let stand.
• Chop all the aromatics needed for making the sauce. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with cold water and let stand.
• Measure out all the condiments in small bowls or take the bottles out from the fridge or cabinets. Keep near.

Prepare The Manchurian Sauce

• In a wok, heat up the oil on high. Add chopped onion, spring onion white parts, cilantro stems, ginger & garlic and green chillies. Stir fry on high heat for 30-40 seconds or until you see the vegetables deepen in color and look glossy.
• Next add soy sauce, red chilli & green chilli sauce, ketchup, black pepper, salt and sugar. Stir fry again on high heat till the sauce is bubbling.

• Add water and bring to a slow simmer. Pour the cornstarch slurry gradually and stir to make sure no lumps form.
• Reduce the heat to low and let everything simmer for another 2-4 minutes till the sauce starts to thicken. The sauce should be nicely pourable.
• Switch off the stove, taste & adjust the salt in the sauce at this stage. Add the vinegar and mix everything well.Proceed to make the vegetable dumplings.

Make The Vegetable Dumplings & Mix

• To the vegetable mixture, add chopped scallion white parts, cilantro, ginger garlic and green chillies. Mix together.
• Sprinkle the flour and cornstarch. Add the black pepper powder and salt.
• Mix gently without squeezing the mixture.If the mixture feels too dry, add about a tablespoon of water. Ideally, you shouldn’t need to, as the vegetables will release moisture due to salt.

• Place 2 to 3 inches of oil in a frying pot to heat up over medium-high heat.
• Shape the mixture into small lime-sized balls using your hands. Immediately proceed to deep fry.
• Carefully add the balls to the hot oil. Make sure the oil is not too hot, or the inside of the balls will remain raw. If the oil is too cold, the balls may break apart or scatter.
• Fry the balls, turning them on all sides, until they are golden to dark brown and evenly cooked on all sides. Drain on a paper towel.
• Warm up the Manchurian sauce that was prepared earlier. Pour two-thirds of the warm sauce into a serving bowl.
• Arrange the warm deep-fried vegetable dumplings over the sauce in a single layer.
• Pour the remaining sauce over the dumplings. Garnish with chopped scallion green parts or cilantro. Serve immediately!

If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment, give it a rating, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @sinfullyspicy or #sinfullyspicy. I absolutely love seeing your delicious recreations!