Veggie Delight Manchurian

For the batter:
In a bowl, add the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, ginger, salt, red chili powder, pepper, garam masala and water to make into a semi-thick batter. The batter has to be a semi-thick so that it sticks nicely to the vegetables. Into this batter, add 1 tablespoon of oil and mix well. Adding a teaspoon of oil helps in making the vegetable fritters crispy and crunchy.

For the fritters:
Now, in a deep pan/kadhai, take some oil for deep-frying and heat over medium heat until oil is hot. You can test the oil by adding 1 drop of the batter into it and see if the batter starts to fry instantly. If it does, you are ready. If not, heat for a bit longer.

Take 1 type of vegetable at a time. First dip it in the batter until coated then put it into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Remove it from the oil using a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil. Repeat to make the rest of the batter coated vegetables and tofu chunks.

Once all the fritters are done, heat a wok or pan over medium-high heat and pour in 2 teaspoons of oil. Once the oil is medium hot, add in the green chilies, ginger and garlic and saute for a minute or two. Now add the white portions of the spring onions and the bell peppers. Saute for 1 minute.

In a separate bowl, mix the vinegar, soy sauce, tomato ketchup/tomato puree, tamarind paste, cornstarch and salt. Mix well. Add this into the pan.

Once the gravy starts to thicken, reduce flame and add the fritters and mix gently. Depending on the required consistency of the gravy, add a bit of water into the gravy before you add the fritters. Fritters are not required to be cooked, you just want to coat them with the sauce. Otherwise they will lose the crunch/crisp factor. Saute on high flame for half a minute. remove from flame. Serve immediately.

Garnish with green portion of the spring onions and paprika. Serve with rice or noodles.