Manchurian Cholay Chaat

Origin of Manchurian Dish

The word "Manchurian" means native or inhabitant of Manchuria, but the dish is basically a creation of Chinese restaurants in India, and bears little resemblance to traditional Manchu cuisine or Chinese cuisine. It is said to have been invented in 1975 by Nelson Wang, a cook at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai, when a customer asked him to create a new dish, different from what was available on the menu. Wang described his invention process as starting from the basic ingredients of an Indian dish, namely chopped garlic, ginger, and green chilis, but next, instead of adding garam masala, he put in soy sauce, followed by cornstarch and the chicken itself. A popular vegetarian variant replaces chicken with cauliflower and is commonly known as Gobhi Manchurian. Other vegetarian variants include mushroom, baby corn, veggie ball Manchurian.

Manchurian is a class of Indian Chinese dishes made by roughly chopping and deep-frying the main ingredient like chicken, cauliflower, prawn, fish, mutton, or cheese and then sautéeing it in a sauce flavored with soy sauce. Manchurian is the result of the adaptation of Chinese cooking and seasoning techniques to suit Indian tastes and has become a staple of Indian Chinese cuisine.

There are two different variants of Manchurian, dry and gravy. Both variants are prepared by using common ingredients like corn flour, maida flour, spring onion, bell peppers, soy sauce, chili sauce, minced garlic, ground pepper, etc., and has a typical garnish of spring onion. Some recipes call for use of monosodium glutamate (MSG) to increase the taste profile, though there are those who avoid it due to health concerns. Its taste can vary from mildly spicy to hot and fiery based on the recipe and personal preference.

This dish became very popular and is used all over the world, majority of people take it as a Chinese dish, through the only Chinese link is its inventor. Choley or Chickpeas are a very common and household as well as street food item in Pakistan and India, mostly used as a snack, and there are a lot of variations in Chickpea dishes, in our county we find, Murgh Choley, Anda Scholey, Paya Choley, Kathiawari Choley, Choley Chaat, etc.

Manchurian Choley is not my invention as I did hear about its existence in Karachi but had no chance of getting or tasting it. Suddenly I got an urge to have something a bit uncommon for the evening and decided to prepare my own version of Manchurian Choley. This is how this dish got hold of my home as everybody loved it. I deliberately made it a bit spicier than what I heard about it, also increased a little more sugar with Soy Sauce, Chili Sauce, Tomato Ketchup, Crushed Red Chili, Chat Masala, crushed Black Pepper. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of Sesame Oil and it really gave this dish a great aroma. The main attraction apart from its great taste is its garnishing, after mixing vegetables and cornflour to thicken its sauce, I garnished it with Ketchup, Green Chili Sauce, Chat Papri, and Sev, it gave it a beautiful and appetizing appearance and attraction.

I always believe in trying different angles and different spices in what I cook or bake as I don't believe in following only the path which you've been given by someone or have read in culinary books, I always think in terms of the pioneers of world-famous dishes which definitely have got popularity due to their uniqueness! Of course, uniqueness comes only when you try something different and avoid following the tradition. A Society is nothing if t has no respect for its traditions and I also believe in it but at the same time, I allow myself a little liberty of making and trying slight changes in old ways and to see how it comes off. The result of 99 percent out of 100 has been astonishing for me as the changes have always been appreciated and adopted by others as well.

Hope my speech has little to do with what we are going to experiment with today. Let us start preparing our Manchurian Choley with the name of ALLAH.

EQUATION:

• Time for soaking the Chickpeas                 whole Night
• Time for boiling the Chickpeas                   One hour
• Time for making the Manchurian Sauce     15 minutes
• Time for Assembling                                   10 Minutes
• Yield:                                                           5-6 Servings
• Expenses:                                                   Rupees One hundred only

THINGS WE REQUIRE:

1.  2 Cups boiled chickpeas (I used Black)
2.  1 Cup boiled Potatoes, cut into cubes
3.  2-3 Green chilies
4.  1 Large Onion, cut into small cubes
5.  2 medium Tomatoes cut into small cubes
6.  2 medium Capsicums also cut into small cubes
7.  Salt to taste
8.  1 Tablespoon Chat Masala
9.  1 Teaspoon Red Chili flakes
10.  Prepared Manchurian Sauce 
11.  Chat Papri as required individually
12.  Sev for Garnishing
13.  Tomato Ketchup for Garnishing
14.  Green Chile Sauce for Garnishing
15.  1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil for sprinkling
16.  2 Tablespoons Cornflour with a cup of water or as required by the situation to thicken the sauce 

INGREDIENTS FOR MANCHURIAN SAUCE:

1.  1 Tablespoon Oil
2.  1 Tablespoon each of Ginger and Garlic Paste
3.  1/Cup Tomato Ketchup
4.  2 Tablespoons Chili Sauce
5.  2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
6.  2 Tablespoons sugar
7.  Salt to taste
8.  1 Teaspoon Crushed Black Pepper
9.  2 Tablespoons Red Chili Flakes
10.  2 Tablespoons Chat Masala
11.  1 Tablespoon Khatai Masala (Raw Mango Powder)
12.  1/2 to One Cup Water or as required.

Method:

• Boil separately the Chickpeas and the potatoes.
• Cut the boiled potatoes into small cubes
• Cut the Onion, Capsicum, and Tomatoes into small cubes and set them aside.
• Crush the Chat papri into small pieces for garnishing, also set aside.

Manchurian Sauce:

• Heat Oil and fry Ginger Garlic Paste till golden
• Add all the spices given as ingredients one after the other and continue sauteing in between till all ingredients are thoroughly mixed together and taken the shape of a sauce.
• Add Water as per your requirement and cook till boils.
• Mix Water and Cornflour together in a small bowl
• Lower the heat and pour in the cornflour and water paste slowly in the sauce mixture, continue sauteing all the time.
• Shut off the flame when the desired thickness o the sauce is achieved.
• Put in the boiled Chickpeas and mix it together with the sauce, add in the vegetables, and mix.
• Take out in a serving dish and garnish with small broken Chat papri, then Tomato Ketchup and Green Chili Sauce and finally the Sev.
• Serve hot.

I am sure this Manchurian Choley Chat will be a permanent addition to your culinary list of dishes and a hit with the guests and friends. You can increase or decrease the quantity of different spices according to your taste as there is no restriction on changing anything, keep trying and keep experimenting without any FEAR OF FAILURE.

Thanks, 

thine eternally,

NOVICE