Vegetable Manchurian

I first learned how to make vegetable manchurian from my bhabhie (cousin's wife). I didn't make it for a few years and then wound up seeing another recipe from a famous Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor.  I took tips from my bhabhie and tips from chef SK and added a couple ingredients to come up with another version.  A couple changes I made were adding lal mirch (dry red chilli powder) and maida (all purpose flour) to the manchurian balls. I did experiment with corn flour (only because my I remember my dad adding corn flour to everything he fried), but it made the balls too tough and non-absorbent.  You can also add shredded beet to get a red color in the balls.  We Indians love color and spice in our foods. I also used vegetable broth and some soy sauce instead of a thick stir-fry sauce.  I felt the taste of the stir-fry sauce was a bit over-powering and VERY high in sodium.  Do me a favor, please.  Although I am pretty happy with my new tried and tested version, I would love for you to test this recipe in your kitchen and give me your feedback.  This will help me become a better cook.  The recipe is as follows:



Ingredients:

1 Bag of  3 Color Deli Coleslaw (a mix of purple cabbage, green cabbage and carrot and can be found in the produce section of your grocery store)
1 Serrano pepper
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 Cup cornstarch
2 Tsp lal mirch (dry red chilli powder)
Salt to taste
2 Cups vegetable broth
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Diced onion
1/2 bell pepper
2 Tbsp grated garlic
Oil for deep frying
Optional: Finely chopped green onion for garnishing

Special Tools: Electric Chopper

Directions:

1. Grind the coleslaw very finely (be sure not to turn it into a paste)
2. When you are grinding your last batch (since all of the coleslaw may not fit in all at once) add a chopped serrano pepper.
3. Empty the grinded coleslaw into a large bowl.
4. Remove 1/2 cup of the slaw for the sauce/gravy.
5. Add the lal mirch, 1/2 of the cornstarch, and salt. Massage the ingredients into the cabbage and mix well.
6. Cover the mix and place on the side while you prepare the sauce/gravy. This is done to give the cabbage time to release water.
7. In a saucepan heat 2 tbsp oil on medium heat.
8. Saute the garlic for just 10-15 seconds
9. Fry the 1/2 cup of coleslaw until golden brown.
10. Add the chopped onion and bell pepper and saute until soft.
11. Add soy sauce.
12. Add the broth.
13. In a small bowl mix some broth and the remaining cornstarch to create a thin paste and then add that to the broth. Mix well.
14. Set the sauce on a side burner to simmer covered while you prepare the balls.
15. Start to heat the oil to a medium heat. Overheating will cause the balls to be raw on the inside.
16. While the oil is pre-heating bring out the coleslaw mix. There should be enough water released from the cabbage to give the batter the right consistency.
17. Add the all purpose flour and mix well to create a thick and lumpy batter.
18. Using a spoon (or your hand if you are Indian) drop teaspoons of batter into the oil.  Only drop 2-3 a time because they will stick together and form one big ball if you aren't careful.
19. Your gravy/sauce should have thickened very nicely by now.  Add the balls and simmer for 10-15 more minutes so the balls can absorb some of the gravy.
20. Garnish with chopped green onion and serve hot with noodles or steamed rice.