Veg Kulchara ,Veg Manchurian balls(Gravy) & Sarsaparilla(Nannari) Sherbet!!

Veg Kulchara was introduced to me by my friends during college days.Here, in a restaurant they serve this delicious chinese starter which is irresistable.Most of us love chinese food esp the manchurians.Kulchara is kinda manchurian that has lots of cashews and its drizzled with butter.Can you imagine how tasty it could be?Though I had this dish many times in restaurant,I never thought of recreating it at home.When I saw the theme for Lets go Nuts event for this month-'Cashew Nuts'..I  determined to make this Kulchara..Non-vegeterians can try chicken and fish Kulchara too.

Veg Manchurian Balls in gravy is very popular and it pairs very well with Noodles/Fried rice.We had with plain boiled rice.I have used Caramel for sweetening the gravy instead of sugar.This not only gives a nice color but also enhances the flavor.

Veg Kulchara :

You will need :

For Kulchara

1 cup grated cabbage

1 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup onion chopped 

1/2 tsp Ginger -Garlic paste

2 Tbsp Maida

2 Tbsp Corn flour

1 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Cashew Nuts,chopped

Oil for frying

For the sauce

 

1/2 tsp Ginger -Garlic paste

1 Tbsp Onion,Chopped

1 tbsp caramel(See note below to make caramel)

1 tsp chilli sauce

1 tsp soya sauce

1/2 tsp Vinegar

1 tsp corn flour 

A pinch of Aji-no-moto

Salt

1/2 tsp red chilly flakes

For garnish :

1 tbsp chopped Cashews

1 tbsp butter

chopped spring onions

NOTE :

For making caramel, add 2 tbsp of Sugar and 1/2 Tbsp of lime juice in a skillet.Keep in med heat until the sugar gets melted completely.Leave in low heat without stirring until you get a good amber color.

Remove the skillet from heat and pour 1/4 cup of water immediately (Be careful as it splatters! )

Caramel

Chop cashew nuts finely..

Mix together the ingredients of 'For Kulchara' together except cashew nuts.Do not add water,the water from the grated cabbage/carrot itself is enough to bind the mixture.

Make small  balls from this mixture and place them in a plate.

Heat oil for deep frying..Coat each kulchara balls with the chopped cashews .Make sure that all the cashew bits are adhereing to the kulchara balls.

Gently drop 2 or 3 kulcharas at a time,depending on the size of the skillet.And fry them in med heat until golden brown.

Do not fry them in high heat or else the inside of the kulchara will not get cooked properly.

In a pan,heat 1 tsp oil and fry onion,ginger garlic paste,and red chilly flakes..Add all the sauces,salt,aji-no-moto,vinegar.Let it bubble for 30-40 seconds.Add caramel ,corn flour mixed in 1 tbsp of water.Let it simmer for a min.Check for salt,sweetness or spicyiness.Add whatever sauce you want according to your taste.

The sauce is ready.Coat the fried kulchara balls in this sauce.Pour remaining sauce over the Kulcharas.

Fry 1 tbsp of chopped cashews in  butter. Sprinkle this roasted cashews over the kulchara .Pour the remaining butter  over the kulchara.Garnish with spring onions.

Sending this to Lets go nuts with Cashew nuts event guest hosted by Poornima Nair and intiated by Aquadaze.

Veg Manchurain in gravy :

The recipe is same as the kulchara except the use of cashews.

Only the measurements for preparing the sauce/gravy varies here.

For Manchurian balls :

1 cup grated cabbage

1 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup onion chopped 

1/2 tsp Ginger -Garlic paste

2 Tbsp Maida

2 Tbsp Corn flour

1 tsp Salt

Oil for frying

For the sauce/gravy :

1 tsp Ginger -Garlic paste

1 Onion,Chopped

1/2 cup capsicum,cut into strips

2 tbsp caramel

2 tsp chilli sauce

2 tsp soya sauce

1 tsp Vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp corn flour 

1 cup water

A  pinch of Aji-no-moto

Salt

1 tsp red chilly flakes

Mix all ingredients of manchurian balls and make a dough.Shape into uniformly sized balls and deep fry them in oil.

For gravy,heat a tsp of oil.Fry onion and capsicum for a 1 min or so.Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 30 secs.Add the sauces,vinegar,salt,aji-no-moto,red chilly flakes.Let it bubble in low heat for a 40 secs.Add the caramel and corn flour mixed in water.Let it simmer for 1/2 min or until the gravy appears glossy.Add the manchurian balls to the gravy.Garnish with spirng onions and serve.

Sarasaparilla/Nannari Sherbet :

'Nannari' Sherbet is a refreshing drink sold in carts during summer season in India.Nannari is a root which has the medicinal property of protecting the body from common summer aliments.It is a natural coolant and it  purifies blood,prevents stone formation in kidneys,controls tonsillitis and solve acidity and constipation problems.

Nannari root

Source :itrcenvis.nic

Nannari Syrup

The Nannari Syrup is easily available in India.So if you have the syrup in hand the drink can be easily prepared. 

You will need :

1/4 cup Nannari Syrup

Juice of one small lemon

A pinch of salt

2 glasses of water

Ice cubes

Mix all the above and check for sweetness.Add sugar if its not sweet enough.

Sip and enjoy the summer!

Sending this to Refreshing Drinks event for Summer hosted by Anu of Chandrabaga

I tried out the following recipes this week,

Asha's Bell pepper Korma - Bell peppers are my fav! And a rich korma with it is mind blowing.I wanted to try it immediately after I saw it at her blog.But I can't find the colorful Bell peppers in my town.So finally I made with the regular green ones.It was superb!We had with rotis .I also had this as a sauce for pasta.. The almond gravy with bell pepper flavor goes very well with pasta!Thank you very much!.

Priya of Sourahstrian Kitchen's Peanut Ladoos- This is the easiest ladoo recipe I have ever came across.I love peanut ladoos but making them at home is a real complicated thing.But this peanut ladoo is not only easy to make but also to eat.I would call it 'Melting-in-mouth' Ladoo.Instead of grinding them coarse and I powdered them finely.But there is no compromise in taste.I enjoyed it.Thank you very much!

Food Fanatic's Arbi fry -I love arbi but we always make only one recipe with it.And that is 'Arbi podimass' .Her Arbi fry looks crispy and yum.So I wanna try it.Yesterday ,we made this as a side dish for Rasam Rice.I boiled the arbi to peel the skins and it got mushy.By mistake I added spices and then baked it instead of baking first .But it was nice..The arbi got a nice curst on outside and mushy inside..I can't stop eating them..Finally me and my sis end up fighting for this yummy Arbi fry.Thanks a lot for the recipe,FF! 

Prathiba , Priya, Adlak and Shama shared with me this lovely award..Thank you,buddies :) 

Thats a sweet gesture!

I'm passing it to all my blogging buddies...I love all your blogs.All of you are so sweet and are really talented chefs.Kindly accpet this award,friends..

Now for the rules:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs (Only if you like).
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blog.

Asha,Food Fanatic,Priya of Easy n tasty recipes,Vishali,Mangala bhat,Varsha,Cham,Deesha,Sriharivatsan,Uma,SuperChef,Lavanya,Divya Vikram,Indhu,Priya Sriram,

Srikars,Soma,Sia,Trupti,Sanghi,Suparna,Pooja,Jayasree,Raks Kitchen,Rekha,Akal,Usha Nandhini,Vrinda,Simran,Gayatri,Mahimaa,Ann,Rachel,Lisa,Pavithra,Ramya Vijayakumar,Kitchen flavours,Ranjani,Nithiya Praveen,Notyet01,n33ma,Aparna,Sharmilee,Swapna,Archy,Viki,Aruna,Vibaas,Sathya Sankar,Madhuram,Malar,Poornima Nair,Laavanya,Lavi,Nazarina,Anu Sriram,Aquadaze

Have a nice weekend!

Vegetable Hakka Noodles and Soya Manchurian !

The Hakka noodles was sitting on the cupboard for quite a long time.I can't make the whole pack just for myself & my sister.But today,I had my cousins at our home.So I got a good reason to make use of it.I made vegetable noodles and to accompany that 'Soya Manchurian ' was prepared for dinner.This soya manchurian is a great way to include soya in our diet.One can't find out easily that they are Soya chunks.One big advantage of chinese food is, we can  prepare it in a short span of time.Just in half an hour to 45 mins you can make both the veg noodles & manchurain and set the table...

For the Vegetable Hakka noodles..

You will need:

1 pkt Hakka noodles

1/4 cup of onion

1/4 cup of  carrot

1/4 cup of capsicum

1/4 cup cabbage

1/4 cup baby corn

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1/2 tsp soya sauce

1/2 tsp chilly sauce

1 tsp tomato sauce

1/4 tsp aji-no-moto

salt

oil ,2 tsps

First start by chopping the vegetables ..

I chopped onion,  carrot, capsicum, cabbage, baby corn..

Grab the soya sauce,tomato sauce,chilli sauce ,ginger-garlic paste ,salt and aji-no-moto..Keep them ready on your kitchen counter..

Bring generous water to boil..add a tsp of oil and drop the noodles..Just cook for  2-3 mins until the strands are all loosened up.Drain and tranfer on a plate and set aside..

In a big frying pan or wok,heat 2 tsp of sesame oil(use any refined oil,if you dont have),add the vegetables and fry for 1 min in high flame.Add a tsp of ginger -garlic paste ,1 tsp of soya sauce,1 tsp of chilli sauce,and 1 tbsp of tomato sauce..

Add required salt and 1/2 tsp of aji-no-moto and check the taste.Add whatever sauce is required.Stir fry for 1-2 mins.Remember the veggies must be half done only.Add the noodles.Stir well and serve.

 Garnish with chopped spring onions,and serve.

For the Soya Manchurian:

You will need:

1 cup Soya nuggets/chunks

1 big onion

1 capsicum

2 tbsp of Corn flour

1 tsp of Chilly powder

1/2 tsp +1/4 tsp of  ginger-garlic paste

1/2 tsp +1/4 tsp tsp soya sauce

1/2 tsp chilly sauce

1 tsp tomato sauce

1/4 tsp aji-no-moto

salt

oil

Wash and boil 1 cup of soya chunks for 10 mins.Wash 2 times in cold water and squeese the excess water.

Add 1/2 tsp of ginger -garlic paste,2 tbsp of corn flour,1 tsp of chilli powder,1/4 tsp of soya sauce to the soya chunks,a pinch of salt.And coat well evenly on the chunks..Let it marinate for 5-10 mins..

By the time,roughly chop one onion and capsicum..

Heat oil for deepfrying,and fry the soya chunks until they are golden brown.

In another pan,heat 1 tsp of oil,add onions and capsicum.Fry for 1 min.Add 1/4 tsp ginger-garlic paste,soya sauce ,chilly sauce and tomato sauce.add salt and stir fry for 2 to 3 mins.Add salt as per taste.Remember there is some amount of salt in the sauces we add.(NOTE:if you don't have chilly sauce,you can use chopped chilly)

Add the fried soya chunks ,mix weel and turn off..

Have a nice day!

Vegetable Hakka Noodles and Soya Manchurian !

The Hakka noodles was sitting on the cupboard for quite a long time.I can't make the whole pack just for myself & my sister.But today,I had my cousins at our home.So I got a good reason to make use of it.I made vegetable noodles and to accompany that 'Soya Manchurian ' was prepared for dinner.This soya manchurian is a great way to include soya in our diet.One can't find out easily that they are Soya chunks.One big advantage of chinese food is, we can  prepare it in a short span of time.Just in half an hour to 45 mins you can make both the veg noodles & manchurain and set the table...

For the Vegetable Hakka noodles..

You will need:

1 pkt Hakka noodles

1/4 cup of onion

1/4 cup of  carrot

1/4 cup of capsicum

1/4 cup cabbage

1/4 cup baby corn

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1/2 tsp soya sauce

1/2 tsp chilly sauce

1 tsp tomato sauce

1/4 tsp aji-no-moto

salt

oil ,2 tsps

First start by chopping the vegetables ..

I chopped onion,  carrot, capsicum, cabbage, baby corn..

Grab the soya sauce,tomato sauce,chilli sauce ,ginger-garlic paste ,salt and aji-no-moto..Keep them ready on your kitchen counter..

Bring generous water to boil..add a tsp of oil and drop the noodles..Just cook for  2-3 mins until the strands are all loosened up.Drain and tranfer on a plate and set aside..

In a big frying pan or wok,heat 2 tsp of sesame oil(use any refined oil,if you dont have),add the vegetables and fry for 1 min in high flame.Add a tsp of ginger -garlic paste ,1 tsp of soya sauce,1 tsp of chilli sauce,and 1 tbsp of tomato sauce..

Add required salt and 1/2 tsp of aji-no-moto and check the taste.Add whatever sauce is required.Stir fry for 1-2 mins.Remember the veggies must be half done only.Add the noodles.Stir well and serve.

 Garnish with chopped spring onions,and serve.

For the Soya Manchurian:

You will need:

1 cup Soya nuggets/chunks

1 big onion

1 capsicum

2 tbsp of Corn flour

1 tsp of Chilly powder

1/2 tsp +1/4 tsp of  ginger-garlic paste

1/2 tsp +1/4 tsp tsp soya sauce

1/2 tsp chilly sauce

1 tsp tomato sauce

1/4 tsp aji-no-moto

salt

oil

Wash and boil 1 cup of soya chunks for 10 mins.Wash 2 times in cold water and squeese the excess water.

Add 1/2 tsp of ginger -garlic paste,2 tbsp of corn flour,1 tsp of chilli powder,1/4 tsp of soya sauce to the soya chunks,a pinch of salt.And coat well evenly on the chunks..Let it marinate for 5-10 mins..

By the time,roughly chop one onion and capsicum..

Heat oil for deepfrying,and fry the soya chunks until they are golden brown.

In another pan,heat 1 tsp of oil,add onions and capsicum.Fry for 1 min.Add 1/4 tsp ginger-garlic paste,soya sauce ,chilly sauce and tomato sauce.add salt and stir fry for 2 to 3 mins.Add salt as per taste.Remember there is some amount of salt in the sauces we add.(NOTE:if you don't have chilly sauce,you can use chopped chilly)

Add the fried soya chunks ,mix weel and turn off..

Have a nice day!

Gobi manchurian~My all time favourite!

Is there anybody out there who dont love manchurians?
There is hardly any fast-food restaurants that dont have this dish in their menu card!
This Indo-Chinese dish has won the hearts of many people that it became an inevitable item on parties..
We have a restaurant here in Chidambaram where all the youths flock in to enjoy the gobi manchurians they make.Although it tastes good,I feel that they are too unhygienic.
So I decided to post the recipe here.You can make them at home and have them as much as you want!

I have divided the recipe in two parts to follow easily..



Part 1:
You will need:

1 small cauliflower( separted into small florets ,washed and boiled for a couple of mins)
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1/2 cup corn flour
1/2 cup maida
1 teaspoon chilli powder
2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
2 small onions/scallions crushed
Oil for deep frying
salt to taste


Make the batter by mixing maida,corn flour,crushed onion,garlic-ginger paste,chilli powder,soy sauce and salt in a ribbon-flow consistency..



Before dipping the florets in the batter make sure that the florets are thoroughly drained..



Heat the oil to smoking point and deep fry them till golden brown and drain excess oil..

Part 2:




You will need:

1/2 cup capsicum -cubed
1/2 cup onion-cubed
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
2 green chillie-chopped( or 1 teaspoon green chilli sauce)
2-3 teaspoon tomato sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon corn flour
salt to taste
oil




Toss the capsicum and onion in a teaspoon of oil for a min..




Add the ginger-garlic paste,chillies and soy sauce and fry for a min..



Add the tomato sauce and stir well..If you want more gravy add 2-3 teaspoon of water and 1/2 teaspoon of corn flour to it and allow it to bubble for a min..
But I made it semi-dry version and so I didnt used corn flour..



Add the fried florets and toss well and remove from fire immediately.



Enjoy!!