Spicy Roti Noodles Stir Fry Recipe | Vegan Indo-Chinese Recipe with Leftover Roti

Learn how to make Spicy Roti Noodle Stir Fry ~ Indo-Chinese style leftover roti noodles stir fried with rainbow coloured vegetables and sauces

When the Chinese introduced their cuisine into India, little did they would have expected to see that the ever-adapting Indian would re-invent some of their most time-tested recipes to suit the sub-continental palate. Indo-Chinese cuisine is believed to have originated with the Chinese migrants who settled in one of the metropolitan cities of India, Calcutta or currently known as Kolkata. India has one Chinatown, Tangra in Calcutta and the Chinese have been living there for more than a century. It is believed that over a century the food is adapted to suit local ingredients and adjusting the flavours to reflect the local palate. So, my friends, in simple words Indo-Chinese cuisine is just an adaptation of Chinese seasonings and cooking techniques to Indian taste and in my opinion one of the best cultural remix.

Ingredients for Spicy Roti Noodles Stir Fry

Popularly known as Indo-Chinese food, it is one of the most popular street foods in India sold on roadside in a small wooden push carts. You can never miss the irresistible smell of frying garlic, onions and chillies which will grab your attention even from 500 meters distance and you will be drawn to these carts with sudden hunger pangs. Price-wise the food is dirt cheap for a plate of very filling and utterly delicious Indo-Chinese food. If you are worried about eating from roadside carts/stalls due to hygiene, then fret not as most of the small and big restaurant in India has Indo-Chinese food on their menu and even star hotels have their own take on Indo-Chinese food. But in my opinion the best Indo-Chinese food I have ever tasted are from these roadside stalls which are not just tasty and cheap but real fun to eat. But there is no denying fact that homemade ones are much healthier as they are loaded with rainbow coloured vegetables, with less oil and with no artificial flavourings.

Gobi Manchurian with Gravy Recipe | Indo-Chinese Gobi Manchurian Recipe

Learn how to make Gobi Manchurian with Gravy ~ Indo-Chinese recipe of deep fried cauliflower fritters in sweet and spicy vegetable gravy

Did you know that there are food trends, quite similar to fashion trends? Yes, it’s true! While the year 2013 saw everyone go crazy about kale with kale chips, salads, stir fries, smoothies and what nots, the humble cauliflower is set to rule this year as it being crowned as the super food of 2014! If anything to go by the buzz and the hype that kale created last year, then we might braze ourselves for some unusual and unique cauliflower recipes to flood in the food blog and food magazine world!

Cauliflower for Gobi Manchurian with Gravy

Vegetable Hakka Noodles Recipe | Indo-Chinese Veg Hakka Noodles Recipe

Learn how to make Vegetable Hakka Noodles ~ Indo-Chinese recipe of stir fried vegetable and noodles with assorted sauces

As my fingers tap danced on the laptop’s keyboard to shape my thoughts into words, my eyes wandered out of the window to admire the tall trees swaying at the cool evening breeze. They stood tall like a proud soldiers as the green leaves on branch ruffle and sway when caressed by the evening breeze. And then I noticed something...

Mushroom in Garlic Sauce Recipe | Indo-Chinese Recipe for Mushroom in Creamy Garlic Gravy

Learn how to make Mushrooms in Garlic Sauce ~ Quick and simple Indo-Chinese recipe for mushrooms cooked in spicy garlic gravy

You know that last 5-10 minutes of time just before you close your eyes and go to dreamland or dreamless sleep at night after you finish reading the book and then turn off all the lights? Yes, the same moments where you are alone with your thoughts… Most of my thoughts these days revolve around Lil Dumpling and his antics, about DH and his love, about my family and their care and I feel blessed to have them in my life. Sometimes I think about the most basic things like planning menus for the next day or thinking about the things to do at work or mentally prepare the notes for the meetings on next day. And then there are times when my thoughts wander off to my past, the days spent with my parents, siblings and friends; like a movie roll changing colours, characters and scenes from one minute to the next…

Veg Manchurian or Vegetable Manchurian Recipe

Veg Manchurian

Nature is beautiful. Nature is inspiring…. And sometimes, it can be deceitful!

Don’t take it wrong, as my intentions are not bad… It’s just an observation from my end when I actually saw that little, delicate crocus buds blooming in our garden. Yes, Crocus blooms in mid-Jan! Who would have thunk?!

Veg Schezwan Fried Rice Recipe | Indo-Chinese or Chindise Delight!

This is probably my last post on Monsoon Spice…. Well, what I meant was it is this year’s last post… I am not giving up blogging, yet. My passion for cooking, clicking and blogging is still burning as bright as the day one! After being away from blogging for more than a year, I resumed my blogging soon after Lil Dumpling turned a year old. From posting one post per week, this blog has been thriving and going strong with three posts a week!!! I think it’s time I slowed down a bit and smelled the roses, literally!

Hot & Sour Vegetable Soup Recipe | Hot & Sour Veg and Tofu Soup

Hot and Sour Vegetable Soup

This has to be the shortest autumn here in my neck of wood. We enjoyed long, sunny and unbelievably warm summer this year. Just when the leaves turned to gorgeous shades of yellow, red and orange, the gushing wind and heavy downpour undressed the trees and now they stand almost naked with few leaves hanging there for their dear life. With dropping temperature and cold wind blowing at high speeds, UK is officially ready to welcome winter. Brrrr….

Restaurant Style Gobi 65 Recipe: Deep Fried 'Sin'

Restaurant Style Gobi 65

When the blue sky turned dark, white puffy clouds become grey with heavy rain clouds, tweeting birds on tress flew back to their nests, people on streets wearing sunglasses and t-shirts removed their rain coats and umbrellas, I went and sat on my favourite window seat gazing at the heavy rain drops flirting openly with tree leaves, and kissing beautiful flowers in our garden. The book I was reading with much enthusiasm and interest was left lying next to me on the floor, completely forgotten and abandoned, with in a minute as I admired the rain drops hitting the bay window and elegantly sliding down and then gently kissing the flowers planted on window box. 

Mushroom Manchurian: Indo-Chinese Delight!

Mushroom Manchurian, my entry for Click Spring/Autumn

After 4 days of holiday, I am back at work today. Last few days have been wonderful in my neck of woods. Well, it was more than wonderful and in fact, it was glorious when it comes to weather! I know I did mention about not to get too obsessed with weather in my last post but some things can’t be helped!!!

Cultural Remix: Tofu & Veg Fried Rice with Vegetables in Sweet & Sour Sauce

Tofu & Veg Fried Rice with Vegetables in Sweet & Sour Sauce

When the Chinese introduced their cuisine into India, little did they would have expected to see that the ever-adapting Indian would re-invent some of their most time-tested recipes to suit the sub-continental palate. Yes, I am talking of Indo-Chinese food. I can see the surprised look at my non-Indian blogger friends. What the heck is Indo-Chinese cuisine? Well my friends first let me give you a brief history lesson on Indo-Chinese food which is one of the most favoured type of cuisine in India.

Indo-Chinese cuisine is believed to have originated with the Chinese migrants who settled in one of the metropolitan cities of India, Calcutta or currently known as Kolkata. India has one Chinatown, Tangra in Calcutta and the Chinese have been living there for more than a century. It is believed that over a century the food is adapted to suit local ingredients and adjusting the flavours to reflect the local palate. So my friends, in simple words Indo-Chinese cuisine are adaptation of Chinese seasonings and cooking techniques to Indian taste and in my opinion one of the best cultural remix.

Indo-Chinese food sells like one hot potato in every nook and corner of any city and towns. Don’t be surprised to see small wooden push carts painted with funny looking dragons with fire coming out of their mouth or the bamboo trees selling Indo-Chinese food. You can never miss the irresistible smell of cooking garlic, onions and chillies which will grab your attention even from 500 meters distance and you will be drawn to these carts with sudden hunger pangs. Price-wise the food is dirt cheap for a plate of very filling and utterly delicious Indo-Chinese food. If you are backing away from eating this fusion food at roadside carts due to hygiene concern then fret not. Most of the small and big restaurant in India has Indo-Chinese food on their menu and even star hotels have their share. But in my opinion the best Indo-Chinese food I have ever tasted are from these roadside stalls which are not just tasty and cheap but real fun to eat.

And the best part is it is really quick and easy to cook. Now you really don’t have to make a trip to India just to eat this delicacy;) It requires very few ingredients and almost all these ingredients can be found in any grocery store or supermarkets. Indo-Chinese food is a bachelor friendly recipe as its super easy and super quick and super tasty. Today I am sharing two of my favourite Indo-Chinese food; Tofu & Vegetable Fried Rice with Vegetables in Sweet and Sour Sauce. Packed with colourful vegetables, these recipes are very easy to make as they are simply stir fried for few mins. This way they not just retain their crunch but also their nutrition. As you can see, you can use any type of vegetables of your choice and there is no way you can go wrong with these recipes. Off these two dishes go to DK’s AWED-Chinese and Mansi’s Healthy Cooking events. Mansi, you can’t deny the fact that these are really healthy ones. Well, look at the number of vegetables used and the way they are cooked ;) This is also my entry for WBB-Summer Feast hosted by me where I have used many Summer vegetables and it serves as the wonderful weekend brunch.

Tofu & Veg Fried Rice

Print This Recipe

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Tofu & Veg Fried Rice
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 3-5

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Ingredients:
1 small Onion, chopped into bite size pieces
½ tbsp Garlic, finely chopped (adjust acc to preference)
1 tsp Ginger, finely chopped
¼ cup Spring Onion
½ cup Bean Sprouts (Optional)
2 Green Chillies, slit
1 cup firm Tofu, drained and cut into bite size pieces
2-2½ cups Mixed Vegetables of your choice, cut into match stick pieces
(I used Red, Green & Orange Bell Peppers, Button Mushrooms, Carrot, Baby Corn, Sweet Corn & Green Peas)
4-5 cups Cooked Rice, cooled completely and grains separated (any long grain rice is fine, I usually use left over basmati or frozen rice pack we get here)
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
¼ tsp Sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tbsp Oil, preferably Sesame Oil
Salt and White Pepper to taste

Vegetables used in Tofu & Veg Fried Rice

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp of Oil in a wok on medium to high heat. When hot add tofu and brown them from all sides. This way you have firm tofu which will not get crushing during frying process. Drain them and keep them aside. If not using Tofu you can omit this step.
Now heat another tbsp of oil at medium to high flame and add finely chopped garlic and ginger. Stir for around 15 seconds until fragrant. Add chopped onions and slit green chilli and sauté it for a minute or two till onions turns translucent.
Turn the heat to high and mix in vegetables, one type at a time, in order of what takes longest to cook. Add Soya sauce and sugar to bring out the flavour and keep sautéing for around 3-4 mins until the vegetables are half a way cooked but still retain their crunch.
Add cooked, cooled rice, salt and pepper to taste and tofu pieces and sauté it for a minute or two till each rice grain is heated through.

Sprinkle spring onions greens & bean sprouts before serving hot with Vegetable Sweet and Sour Sauce or Veg Balls in Garlic Sauce and enjoy.

Tofu & Veg Fried Rice

Colourful vegetables are stir fried and then cooked in thick sauce of garlic, red chilli paste and soya sauce with a hint of sweetness from brown sugar and pineapple pieces. This delicious mixed Vegetables in Sweet and Sour Sauce is sure to win your and your loved ones hearts. Serve it with simple Fried Rice or Noodles to make one delicious meal.

Vegetables in Sweet & Sour Sauce

Print This Recipe

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Vegetables in Sweet & Sour Sauce
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 4-6

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Ingredients:
4-6 cups Mixed Vegetables of your choice, chopped into bite size pieces
(I used Red, Green & Orange Bell Peppers, Carrots, Sugar Snaps, Mushrooms, Sweet Corn, Baby Corn & Green Peas)
1 cup Bean Sprouts
¼ cup Pineapple, cut into bite sized pieces (optional, but recommended)
½ cup Spring Onion Greens, finely chopped
1 medium Red Onion, chopped into bite size pieces
½ tbsp Garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp Ginger, finely chopped
1 Green Chilli, finely chopped (Optional)
2-3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup (adjust acc to taste)
2 tbsp Soya Sauce (adjust acc to taste)
1 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce (Optional)
½ tbsp Red Chilli Paste (adjust acc to taste)
1½-2 tbsp Corn Flour, mixed with ¼ cup of water to make lump free paste
½-1 tbsp Brown Sugar (adjust acc to taste)
4-6 cups Water (adjust)
1 tbsp Lime Juice
1 tbsp Oil, preferably Sesame Oil
Salt and White Pepper to taste

Vegetables used for Vegetables in Sweet & Sour Sauce

Method:

Heat oil in a wok at medium to high flame and when hot add chopped ginger and garlic. Sauté it for 15 seconds till fragrant and then add finely chopped green chilli and red onion and sauté it for a minute till onion turns translucent.
Increase the heat to high and start adding vegetables, one type at a time, in order of what takes longest to cook. Sauté it on high flame continuously for 3-4 mins till they are half a way cooked through. Mix in tomato ketchup, Soya sauce, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar and red chilli paste. Keep stirring for another 30 seconds or so.
Now add water till all the vegetables are just cover. Mix in pineapple pieces, salt and pepper to taste and cook for a minute or so. Slowly add corn flour paste to the pot, stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed. Keep stirring the sauce till it starts to thicken and reduce the heat to medium. Once the sauce is thick enough, switch off the flame and gently mixes in lime juice, bean sprouts and half of spring onion greens.
Serve this delicious Vegetable in Sweet and Sour Sauce garnished with remaining spring onion greens with Vegetable Fried Rice and enjoy.

Vegetables in Sweet & Sour Sauce

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Note:

Other Indo-Chinese fusion recipes blogged so far

• Veg Spring Rolls
  
• Gobi Manchurian
• Baby Corn Manchurian
• Veg Fried Rice
• Veg Balls in Garlic Sauce
• Crispy Stuffed Mushrooms

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Reminder: WBB-Summer Feast

For this edition of WBB, your challenge is to cook anything with summer fruits and vegetables. Yes, the theme is WBB-Summer Feast. Go to your town/city’s Farmer’s Market and pick fresh season’s produce and make your favourite breakfast or brunch and join in the Summer Feast.

Deadline: 31st July, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry, Perm Link of original recipe along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

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Crispy Stuffed Mushroom Cups

One question always pops in mind when I cook Chinese cuisine. What's the difference between Chinese food cooked in India and Chinese food cooked in China? Is it the food, method, ingredients or the seasoning? Well… We know the answer. Surprisingly everything :) I prefer Chinese food cooked in Indian way. Blame it on the taste bud we have. It is almost impossible for me to like bland, almost spice less food. That’s why even when I cook Chinese food at home I call it my Indo-Chinese cuisine. I make lot of changes to suit our palette.

Crispy Stuffed Mushroom Cups

I was some what shocked when my Chinese colleague told me there is “No deep frying” in Chinese cuisine. Oh yes, you’ll never find a deep fryer in a real Chinese kitchen. Besides the health factor, deep frying saturates the food with oil, strips it of its individuality. What really goes on in Chinese culinary is stir fried, boiled or steamed. Now I am not a person who follows rules;) No deep frying means no Manchurians which we both love. So I guess I better stick to my Indo-Chinese culinary adventure for some more time and enjoy what it has got to offer:)

Crispy Stuffed Mushroom Cups

Here is the recipe for making crispy mushroom cups which is actually stuffed mushrooms with vegetables blended with sweet, spicy and tangy sauces. I got this recipe from Tarla Dalal’s website and made some alterations according to my preference. I made a big mistake of frying them in open kadai which was indeed a big blunder. Because of moist blanched mushrooms and sauces, it was bit difficult to fry as oil started splashing around. The electric fryer, which came to my rescue, is the best one for frying these. So if you don’t have electric fryer, be careful while frying these stuffed mushrooms. You can also make thick coating of corn flour paste which will help to bind these stuffed mushrooms.

Crispy Stuffed Mushroom Cups

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Crispy Stuffed Mushrooms
Prep Time: 10-15 mins
Cooking time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-5

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Ingredients:
1 pack Mushrooms(Choose Medium Mushrooms)
Oil for deep frying
For Stuffing:
2 cloves Garlic, very finely chopped
2 stalks Spring Onion, very finely chopped
½ Green Pepper, very finely chopped
½ Red Pepper, very finely chopped
1 small Carrot, grated
3-4 French Beans, very finely chopped
¼ cup Cabbage, shredded or grated
1 tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tbsp Chilli Sauce
1 tbsp Tomato Sauce/Ketchup
½ tbsp Rice Vinegar
½ tsp Ajinomoto (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste
For Batter:
¼ cup Maida
½ cup Corn Flour
1 tsp Chilli Powder
Salt to taste
Bread Crumbs

Crispy Stuffed Mushroom Cups

Method:
Place mushrooms in boiling water and leave them there for 2-3 minutes.
Pat dry and remove their stems. Squeeze out excess water and keep them aside.
In a mean while, heat about 1 tbsp of oil in wok and add chopped garlic.
Sauté it for few seconds and then add spring onions, very finely chopped capsicum/peppers, carrot, beans, cabbage and ajinomoto.
Sauté them for 1 minute and add soya sauce, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup, rice vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
Mix well and remove from fire to cool.
Stuff this mixture in each mushrooms and pin up two mushrooms with tooth pick so that the filling doesn’t spill out.
Prepare thick batter of corn flour, maida, chilli powder and salt with enough water. Make sure that you get the consistency of thick dosa batter.
Dip each pinned up mushrooms in this batter so that they are coated evenly.
Roll them over bread crumbs and deep fry in electric fryer till they turn golden brown.
Serve immediately with any dipping/sauces of your choice.
These can be served as appetizers or as a side dish with Shezwan Rice/Noodles(Will post the recipe soon) and enjoy.

Crispy Stuffed Mushroom Cups served with Shezwan Noodles

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Did You Know?
Macao and Woosung, founded by Chinese immigrant Norman Asing in 1849 is the first recorded Chinese restaurant in the U.S.
When KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) first translated its advertising slogan "finger lickin' good" into Chinese, it came out as "eat your fingers off."
MSG has very little flavor of its own, but it 'improves' or enhances the flavor of other foods it is used with.
Some individuals seem to be sensitive to MSG, and exhibit what is known as 'Chinese Restaurant Syndrome' (because of its use in Asian cooking). The symptoms include headaches, chest pains, facial pressure, burning sensations, and sweating. The FDA continues to list it as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe), but all foods containing MSG must state so on the label.
Although it is true that Ancient Chinese warlords would send messages hidden inside cakes, fortune cookies are not Chinese, they were invented in Los Angeles around 1920.
(Source: www.foodreference.com)

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Crispy Stuffed Mushroom Cups

Veg Balls in Garlic Sauce

Love Thy Neighbour... And their food;)

The unique tang of fresh ginger combined with the pungent flavor of Garlic in Chinese food is some thing I love. It is not just pleasant to one’s tongue abut also to one's the eyes, nose and imagination. For me best Chinese food is the one which has color, aroma and unique fragrance. The aesthetic presentation of food itself is an art and I’m still learning to master this unique food style. Today I am posting my favorite side dish Veg Balls in Garlic Sauce. This is my favorite side dish which goes very well with veg noodles or steam cooked rice. Well, this is my own recipe which I shaped to match my taste.
Check the recipe of Veg Fried Rice.

Veg Balls in Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:
For Veg Balls:
¼ cup Carrots
¼ cup Cabbage
¼ cup Beans
¼ cup Mushrooms
½ cup Fresh Bread Crumbs
2 tbsp Corn Flour
¼ tsp Ajinomoto
¾ tsp White Pepper Powder
1 tbsp Soya Sauce
Salt to Taste
Oil for deep frying

Veg Balls in Garlic Sauce

For Garlic Sauce:
6-7 Cloves of Garlic, chopped finely
3 spring Onions, chopped finely
3-4 Green Chillies, de-seeded and chopped finely
½ tsp Ajinomoto (Optional)
1 tsp Sugar
¼ cup Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
2 tsp White Pepper Powder
1½ tbsp Corn flour
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Oil

Veg Balls in Garlic Sauce served with Veg Fried Rice

Method:
For Veg Balls:
Cut the vegetables into very small pieces.
Heat oil in wok and stir fry the vegetables with ajinomoto for 2-3 minutes.
Turn of the gas and keep it aside to cool.
To these vegetables add salt, soya sauce, pepper powder, bread crumbs, corn flour and mix well. Add water only if required.
Make small lime sized balls and deep fry in oil till they turn golden brown.
Drain them in paper towel and keep them aside.

Veg Balls in Garlic Sauce

For Garlic Sauce:
Heat oil in wok and add finely chopped garlic, spring onion, green chillies and ajinomoto and fry for 2-3 minutes.
To this add tomato sauce, soya sauce, salt, sugar, pepper powder and enough water.
Add water to corn flour and make thin paste and add this into wok slowly.
Keep stirring the sauce till it thickens. Usually it takes 5-7 minutes.
Dip veg balls into the hot garlic sauce just before serving.
Serve this hot with veg noodles or veg fried rice and enjoy!

Hot Pot of Veg Balls in Garlic Sauce

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Some Facts about Garlic:
Garlic was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, chewed by Greek Olympian athletes and thought to be essential for keeping vampires at bay! But it is also good for zapping bacteria, keeping your heart healthy, warding off coughs and colds.

Baby Corn Manchurian

Have I mentioned that I'm a lover of Indo-Chinese Food? Oh yes, I am and so is my better half when it comes to Manchurian:) Although its a uses Chinese ingredients, Manchurian is an Indian creation and has become part and parcel of many fast food joints in India. Even in five star hotels it's served with glitz and blitz. It has shaped into Indian istyle to match the taste of mass audience.
For me its a comfort food. Although I dont prefer deep fried food and try to avoid cooking them as much as possible, manchurian always managed to change my mind. Combined with my love for manchurian and little persuasion from my hubby(which was unnecessary;) I made Baby Corn Manchurian which I actually brought to make Baby Corn Masala... And it turned out just yummmyyyyyyyy....

Baby Corn Manchurian

Ingredients:
10-12 Baby Corns
3-4 tbsp Flour/maida
1 tbsp Cornflour
1 tsp Dry Red Chilli powder (Adjust acc to taste)
1 inch Ginger, chopped finely
3-4 flakes Garlic, chopped finely
3-4 spring onions, diced
1 small Green Capsicum/Bell pepper,diced
2-3 Green chillies, chopped (Adjust acc to taste)
3 tbsp Tomato Sauce/Ketchup
1 tbsp Soya Sauce
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves,finely chopped
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste

Crisp 'n Crunchy Baby Corn Manchurian

Method:
In a pan take little oil and fry chopped garlic, chillies and ginger.
To this add Capsicum and saute it for 1-2 minutes.
Add Spring Onions, Coriander leaves,tomato sauce and soyasauce(if you want it to be more spicier add chilli sauce)
Cut Baby Corns length wise and keep aside.
Make a little thick batter with maida, cornflour, chilli powder, salt with water.
Coat the baby corn with the batter and then deep fry at medium flame till they turns golden brown.
Drain them in paper towel to remove excess oil.
Add the fried babycorns with the sauce you have prepared and mix well.
Garnish them with chopped coriander leaves and greens of spring onion and serve hot.

Baby Corn Manchurian

Final Verdict:
Baby Corn Manchurian turned out much better than my expectation. It was crisp, crunchy, saucy, spicy and delicious...Mama mia... Me n my hubby felt that we should have brought another pack of baby corns:( May be next time we will:)

Veg Spring Rolls

I'm a big fan of Spring Rolls. Spring rolls are the best appetizers/snacks (sometimes it’s a main course) for us. I love them for their simple, uncomplicated look and great taste. If you have spring roll wrappers tucked in your freezer then it’s a child’s play to make them. You can use just about anything you’d like as a filling for spring rolls. Vegetables should be either lightly steamed or sauteed and sliced into thin slivers. If you’re using noodles, I find it works best to break them in half before cooking so they’re not too long. Fresh herbs are wonderful to use in spring rolls as well. Be sure to make a dipping sauce to serve along with your spring rolls. Well I dont have to say that they disappeared from plates quckly:)

Veg Spring Rolls

Ingredients:
2-3 Mushrooms, thinly sliced
4-5 Green Beans, finely chopped
2 tbsp Green Peas
1/4 cup Cabbage, finely chopped
1 small Carrot, grated
1 small Capsicum/Bell Peppers, finely chopped
1/4 cup Bean Sprouts
2 tbsp Spring Onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp Ginger, grated
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp Pepper Powder (Adjuest acc to taste)
2 tsp Tomato Sauce
2 tsp Hot Chilli Sauce
2 tsp Soya Sauce
Salt to taste
1-2 tbsps Corn Flour
Few Spring Roll Wrappers

Delicious Veg Spring Rolls

Method:
Heat a tbsp of oil in a wok to sizzling hot. Add finely chopped ginger and garlic.
Immediately add chopped bell peppers, green beans, mushrooms and carrot. Saute it at high flame for about 30 seconds.
Now add chopped cabbage, spring onion and bean sprouts and add all sauces, salt and pepper and saute it on high heat for a minute or two. Make sure that the vegetables remain crisp and crunchy.
Prepare thick Corn Flour Paste adding little water and keep it aside.
Place a tablespoon of the filling across the end of a wrapper, leaving a border of 1 inch on each side.
Start rolling up the wrapper and when you get to 3/4 of the way , fold over the edges to enclose the filling.
Brush the remaining wrapper with a Corn Flour Paste and seal the edges.
Repeat this process with all the wrappers and refrigerate these rolls till needed.
Heat the oil in frying pan and deep fry the spring rolls, a few at a time, until golden and cooked through.
Drain on kitchen towel and keep warm whilst you fry the rest of the rolls. Serve immediately with a dipping sauce.

Now coming to Dipping Sauce. I make this basic dipping sauce which is quick to make and perfect to serve with spring rolls or to use as a sauce for stir-fries.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Water
1 tbsp Corn Starch
2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
2 cloves Garlic, minced and crushed
1 tbsp Sugar

Veg Spring Rolls

Method:
Combine all ingredients in small saucepan and simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring, until sugar dissolves and corn starch is well mixed.
Cool before serving.

Gobi Manchurian

In every small or big cities and towns in India you will find Chinese fast food centers present in its every nook and corner. I’m not sure when and where it became so popular but people even today are still hooked to manchurians, be it chicken, mushroom, gobi or even Indian version of Paneer manchurian. Most of the times I remember going to restaurants for dinner Gobi Manchurian used to be my favorite dish for starters. First time I tried cooking it when I was in my early teens and till now I’m not bored of it. Thanks to my hubby who is as big foodie (or bigger) as me and its one among his vast section of favourites.

Gobi Manchurian

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Gobi Manchurian
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 4-6

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Ingredients:
Small head of Cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tbsp Coriander leaves, finely chopped
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste

For Batter:
1 cup Refined flour/maida
2 tbsp Cornflour
1 tsp dry Red Chilli Powder (adjust acc to taste)
1/2 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
Salt to taste

For Sauce:
4-5 Spring Onions, thinly sliced (Keep greens sepated from white)
1 cup Capsicum/Bell pepper, diced(any colour)
1 inch Ginger, chopped finely or grated
3-4 large cloves Garlic, chopped finely
2-3 Green chillies, finely chopped
4 tbsp Tomato Sauce (I used Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Ketchup)
1 tbsp Soya Sauce
1-2 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce (Optional)

Gobi Manchurian

Method:
Preparing the Base Sauce:
In a pan take little oil and fry chopped garlic and chillies for a minute over mdeium heat.
To this add whites of spring onions, ginger and capsicum and saute till onions turn translucent, about 2-3 mins.
Add tomato sauce, sweet chilli sauce and soyasauce(if you want it to be more spicier add chilli sauce)and stir well. Switch off the flame and keep it aside.

Preparing Batter and Gobi for Deep Frying:
Wash the cauliflower florets in water with a little salt dissolved in it.
Make a little thick batter with cornflour and all purpose flour dissolved in water. Mix in red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste and salt to taste.
Coat the florets with the batter and then deep fry at medium flame till they turns golden brown.
Drain them in paper towel to remove excess oil.
Add these fried cauliflower florets with the sauce you have prepared just before serving and mix well.
Garnish them with chopped coriander leaves and greens of spring onion and serve hot.

Gobi Manchurian

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Notes:

Same recipe can be used to make paneer and mushroom manchurian.
By adding little more of cornflour mixed in water you can make more gravy with gobi manchurian and serve it as a side dish with chinese fried rice.

Veg Fried Rice

There are many ways of cooking fried rice. Me n K usually like ours simple and with lots of greens in it. For me food not only should tastes good but it should also look inviting. I love fried rice because of its presenatation:), thats will colourful veggies which look like precious stones. Red pepper loooks like ruby, carrots like coral, green peas and spring onion like sparkling emeralds... They are the feast to one's eyes... The method I cook veg fried rice takes less than 15 minutes. Its a quick recipe when you are short of time or feeling bit lazy and want to eat some good food too:)

Bowl of Veg Fried Rice

Ingredients:
2 cups Long grained rice
3 tbsp Oil
2 Capsicums/Peppers (I have used half each of green, red, yellow and orange)
100 gms Beans Finely Chopped
2 Carrot Finely Chopped
1/4 cup of green peas
100 gms Cabbage Finely Chopped
2 Spring Onions Finely Chopped
2-3 Green Chilies cut lenghtwise
1 tsp Ginger Chopped Finely
1 tsp Garlic Finely Chopped
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
3 tbsp chilli Dippping Sauce/tomato sauce
Salt & pepper to taste

Veg Fried Rice

Method:
Pick, wash and soak the rice in enough water for 10-15 minutes and drain.
Boil water, add rice and little salt.
Cook uncovered on low heat till rice is tender.
Take care not to overcook the rice. Each grain of rice should be separate.
When rice is done, drain and add some cold water and drain again using a large seive and set aside.
Heat oil in a kadhai/large pan and add chopped garlic and ginger.
Then add all the chopped vegetables and stir fry.
Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Take care that vegetables are not overdone, they should be crisp.
Mix salt and pepper to taste.
Add the cooked rice and mix well. Now mix the soya sauce and chilli sauce to it.
Cook the chinese fried rice for 2-3 minutes and serve hot.

Bowl of Crystals

Variations:
Try useing different vegetables.