You may or may not be familiar with the term “Indo-Chinese,” a genre of food found very commonly on the streets of India and loved dearly by most people of Indian origin. Vegetable Manchurian is one of the most popular dishes found at Indo-Chinese restaurants here in the US. This dish incorporates deep fried balls made of various vegetables which are them simmered in a sweet, spicy and tangy gravy. When traditionally made, this is a very time consuming dish but thanks to a few hacks and the Instant Pot, we’ll have you eating vegetable Manchurian in no time at all!
VEGETABLE MANCHURIAN w/ STORE BOUGHT VEGGIE BALLS
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Cook time
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You may or may not be familiar with the term “Indo-Chinese,” a genre of food found very commonly on the streets of India and loved dearly by most people of Indian origin. Vegetable Manchurian is one of the most popular dishes found at Indo-Chinese restaurants here in the US. This dish incorporates deep fried balls made of various vegetables which are them simmered in a sweet, spicy and tangy gravy. When traditionally made, this is a very time consuming dish but thanks to a few hacks and the Instant Pot, we’ll have you eating vegetable Manchurian in no time at all!
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- Instant pot
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon sambal
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1.5 cups water + 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons green onions/scallions for garnish
- Vegetarian meatballs (we used Trader Joe’s)
Instructions
- Turn on the Instant Pot to SAUTE mode
- Wait until the display reads “HOT”
- Add the oil to the pot
- Add the onions, ginger and garlic
- Allow to saute for 2 minutes
- Add in the sauces (soy, vinegar, sweet chili, ketchup, sambal)
- Stir well to incorporate all ingredients
- Add water
- Add the veggie meatballs * see variation below for homemade balls
- Stir well to incorporate all ingredients
- Close and lock the lid on the Instant Pot
- Turn the vent to sealing to prevent steam from escaping
- Press CANCEL on the Instant Pot
- Press MANUAL on the Instant Pot
- Set timer to 4 minutes
- Once the timer goes off, manually release the pressure by turning the vent on top of the lid
- The silver prong will drop back into the lid once the pressure has released
- Press CANCEL on the Instant Pot
- Carefully open the lid
- In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to form a smooth slurry
- Turn on the Instant Pot to SAUTE mode
- Add the cornstarch to the manchurian gravy in the Instant Pot
- Mix the cornstarch well into the gravy to incorporate
- Allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes until the gravy thickens
- Press CANCEL on the Instant Pot
- Serve in a bowl over rice or noodles and garnish with green onions
- Enjoy!
Notes
Serving suggestion
This soup can be served with your favorite noodles, white rice or brown rice.
Instant Pot White Rice Recipe
Instant Pot Brown Rice Recipe
Instant Pot Fried Rice Recipe
Variations
You can vary the flavors of the gravy by adding or omitting the sauces/spices we have used. You can make it spicier, sweeter or saltier by adjusting the sauces/spices.
You can also add diced bell peppers to the gravy right before pressure cooking.
NO ONION/NO GARLIC VARIATION
You can make the gravy without the onions and garlic. You can use ginger and use bell peppers in the gravy in place of onions.
Use a chili sauce which does not have garlic in it.
VEGAN VARIATION
Use our homemade manchurian balls recipe to make this dish vegan.
This soup can be served with your favorite noodles, white rice or brown rice.
Instant Pot White Rice Recipe
Instant Pot Brown Rice Recipe
Instant Pot Fried Rice Recipe
Variations
You can vary the flavors of the gravy by adding or omitting the sauces/spices we have used. You can make it spicier, sweeter or saltier by adjusting the sauces/spices.
You can also add diced bell peppers to the gravy right before pressure cooking.
NO ONION/NO GARLIC VARIATION
You can make the gravy without the onions and garlic. You can use ginger and use bell peppers in the gravy in place of onions.
Use a chili sauce which does not have garlic in it.
VEGAN VARIATION
Use our homemade manchurian balls recipe to make this dish vegan.
NO FRY VEGGIE BALLS
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
If you’re feeling extra adventurous, give these from-scratch manchurian balls a try! We’ve found a way to make this favorite Indo-Chinese dish much healthier by not frying it. We’re using a paniyaram or appe pan to cook the manchurian balls in which saves us tons of fat and calories. It’s definitely worth trying!
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- Paniyaram/Appe Pan
- ½ cup finely chopped carrots
- ½ cup very finely chopped cauliflower
- ½ cup very finely chopped green cabbage
- ¼ cup very finely chopped bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons very finely chopped ginger
- 6 cloves finely very chopped garlic
- 4 tablespoons rice flour/cornstarch/all purpose flour (may need more)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sambal sauce (chili garlic sauce)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except for the oil in a large bowl
- The mixture should come together allowing you to roll small balls (1-2 inches diameter) out of it
- You may need to add extra flour or cornstarch if the balls are not forming
- Set aside the formed balls in a dish
- Heat the paniyaram pan by placing it on your stovetop on medium heat
- CAUTION: the pan will be very hot and you must use an oven mitt to handle it
- Place one small drop of oil in each circle of the pan
- Carefully drop the formed manchurian balls in each circle (you will have to repeat 2 or 3 times)
- Gently close the lid on the pan and allow the balls to cook for 3-4 mins
- Using the wooden stick (comes with pan) and a fork, flip the balls to cook the other side
- Gently close the lid on the pan and allow the balls to cook for 3-4 mins
- Remove the balls using a spoon
- You can now repeat these steps for the remaining manchurian balls
- You are now ready to make the Manchurian gravy
- Refer to Manchurian Gravy Recipe to create the sauce
- After adding in the sauces and water to the Instant Pot
- Close and lock the lid on the Instant Pot
- Turn the vent to sealing to prevent steam from escaping
- Press CANCEL on the Instant Pot
- Press MANUAL on the Instant Pot
- Set timer to 2 minutes
- Once the timer goes off, manually release the pressure by turning the vent on top of the lid
- The silver prong will drop back into the lid once the pressure has released
- Press CANCEL on the Instant Pot
- Carefully open the lid
- In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to form a smooth slurry
- Turn on the Instant Pot to SAUTE mode
- Add the cornstarch to the manchurian gravy in the Instant Pot
- Mix the cornstarch well into the gravy to incorporate
- Add in the homemade Manchurian Balls
- Allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes until the gravy thickens
- Press CANCEL on the Instant Pot
- Serve in a bowl over rice or noodles and garnish with green onions
