Raw Jackfruit (Tender Kadgi) Manchurian.

"Raw Jackfruit (Tender Kadgi) Manchurian" ... Finally done; I had been wanting to give this Amchi twist to the Chinese Manchurian for sometime now, there was a small piece of kadgi still remaining in fridge, so without seconds thoughts of backing out tried this today giving it our own amchi makeover  ... Sure to taste great with fried rice but I had this with roti ........

** Manchurian with Fried Rice is one of the favourite Indo-chinese food people throng for in almost all restaurants. Nowadays I also see street side food sellers selling the same after later evening and people taking them packed away and relishing them at home. Manchurian's are just deep fried mixed vegetable or non-veg. balls cooked in a gravy made with mixed sauces and spices, actually a Chinese food staple. Frankly if all the ingredients are, available it can be prepared in a short time. I used to prepare this quite often 2 decades back as my hubby loves Manchurian. Somehow, the addition of heavy salted sauces and aji-no-moto always put me off as it is not good for health and in my case, it increased my edema problems. After a sting of health issue, which turned out to be nothing, I decided to stick to Konkani Saraswat food, which was safe and best on tummy. Though hubby kept cribbing that I did not prepare the North Indian and Chinese dishes any more, I just ignored it and brought home a parcel from my favourite restaurant to satisfy the taste buds if needed. 

** After starting my Blog and then the food group I kept getting query on these foods, specially paneer, chicken dishes and many others, which are hardly countable entries in the Blog. Well, I kept telling myself I will do it soon and post for sure, but I must confess it did take me a good 3 years to come to terms to start cooking Chinese dishes once again. I would like to confess here that I have not included the aji-no-moto which I am still reluctant about. I have adapted this Manchurian to suite my way of food preference and I must say that it tasted equally good. Food according to me should be pleasing to eyes on seeing, aromatic to nose of smelling and tasty on tongue while relishing. The three aspects are very important but the most important of all is the nutrition fact of the food, so always keep in mind these facts while you prepare a meal. Today’s Manchurian is prepared using tender raw jackfruit which I used instead of mixed vegetables as is usually done while the gravy part remains the same as that of the standard Manchurian dishes. This dish is sure to taste fantastic when served with fried rice, but I was running short of time, so I served it with plain roti and it was great in taste. Enjoy this one and keep watching this space for more tasty and simple recipes. 

** Here is my simple recipe for "Raw Jackfruit (Tender Kadgi) Manchurian" … My Style …

** Ingredients :

Raw Jackfruit / Kadgi / Halasina Kayi : 100-150 gms

Multigrain flour / Atta : ½ cup (approximately)

Red Chilly Powder : 1 tblsp

Cooking Soda : a pinch

Salt to taste 

Oil : 1 tblsp 

** Oil for deep frying. 

** For the Manchurian Sauce:

Oil : 3 tblsp

Garlic / Losun / Lehsun : 3 tblsp finely chopped.

Ginger / Adrak / Alle’ : 1 tblsp finely chopped.

Onion / Piyav / Kanda : 1 large or 2 medium finely chopped.

Green Chilly / Hirvi Mirchi / Tarni Mirsanga : 3-4 finely chopped.

Kashrmiri Red Chilly Powder : 1 tsp

Black Pepper Powder : 1 tsp

Tomato Ketchup : 3-4 tblsp 

Red Chilly Sauce : 2 tblsp

Soya Sauce : 2 tblsp

Vinegar : 1 tblsp

Cornflour : 2 tsp

Water : 2 cups

Salt to taste : I have not added.

Sugar : ¼ tsp (Optional) I have not added. 

** Cutting of Raw Jackfruit : In my locality we get the raw jackfruit all cleaned and cut into huge chunks while purchasing. However, if you don’t get it, just slice off the spiked skin portion of the jackfruit and the center pith and then cut them to pieces. See to it that you oil your hands and the knife as jackfruit is sticky and has a rubber like liquid oozing out while cutting the same. Cut them into pieces, wash well, and keep them ready aside. In all you will need about 150 gms of cut pieces.

** Apply oil both inside the cooker vessel and the inner side of the lid slightly before adding in the kadgi / Jackfruit pieces. As the rubberish stickness will not then be stuck to the cooker and will come out clean. Put the cut raw jackfruit pieces in a pressure cooker pan in a layer. Add in enough water say about an inch above the jackfruit pieces. Pressure cook to 1-2 whistle on medium heat then lower the heat and further cook for 5 minutes on low and then switch off and remove and keep aside. 

** It does not take much time when cooked in pressure cooker and usually 1-2 whistles are enough for it to be just about cooked. However, here we need to mash it up well for preparing into balls so I have cooked it for longer period. Let the pressure drop on its own. Once able to open the lid, do so, drain out excess water and allow to cool completely. Once it has mash it well with a weight or you can put it in a electric chopper and using pulse mode crush the same well. Remove into a bowl.

** For preparing the Manchurian balls : I have added on multi grain atta / flour for binding with the cooked crushed raw jackfruit as I fell short of plain wheat flour. Usually APF/Maida and Corn flour/Corn Starch in equal proportion ie 1:1 proportion, is added to the ingredients for binding in preparation of Manchurian balls. I have left that out as I neither wanted to use maida nor much of corn flour, you may do so if you prefer the same. 

** Add in the flour, salt to taste, red chilly powder, cooking soda and mix well, kneading it to a dough consistency. Do not add too much flour or they will turn up hard and will not remain spongy. Lastly add in the oil and mix well and make into equal sized medium sized balls. Keep them ready aside. 

** Heat plenty of oil in a thick bottomed kadai, when smoking hot lower the heat and wait for a few minutes, add in a pinch of the dough and it it sizzles and comes up, then it is considered the oil is of right temperature to fry the prepared balls. Add in a few at a time without overcrowding them in kadai and fry till evenly browned. Remove on an absorbent paper for excess oil to get drained. Prepare all and keep them ready aside. 

** For prparing the Manchurian Gravy : Finely chop onions, ginger, garlic, green chilly and keep it aside. Coarsely powder the pepper and keep it also ready aside. You can use a electric vegetable chopper for chopping of the ingredients like I did. You can also chop them all together too, like it did, it does not make a difference. Keep this ready. 

** Heat the oil in a thick bottomed kadai or a non-stick pan. When hot, lower the heat to medium and add in the chopped onions, ginger, garlic, green chilly and the coarsely powdered pepper and fry together till it turns translucent. Once they are done add in the kashmiri red chilly powder and fry for a few seconds, add in the pepper powder and all the three sauces ie tomato ketchup, red chilly sauce and soya sauce and mix well.

** Add in the two cups of water and bring to a boil on medium heat, once it comes to a full boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes, it will thicken a bit, if too thick you can add in more water. Add in the deep fried raw jackfruit balls and mix well. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes well. Check the salt and add only if necessary. I have not added sugar, but if you like to add it now and mix well. 

** Mix the corn flour in a bowl with about ¼ cup of room temperature water well. See to it that there are no lumps, add this to the curry and mix well and let cook for about 5-7 minutes, the curry will thicken and will give a glaze to the dish. Lastly add in the vinegar and mix well. Cook just for 2 minutes and remove from fire. Cover and keep it aside for the manchurian to soak in well and blend well with the curry and turn soft. You can garnish with some slightly sauteed spring onions, I did not have it at home, so left that out, but it does look appealing if added on.

** "Raw Jackfruit (Tender Kadgi) Manchurian" is done and ready to be served. Always serve Manchurian piping hot as it tastes best that way and when run cold is not very tasty. Again, any Manchurian dish tastes best when served with fried rice or the next best is naan or roti. I served it with soft roti/chapatti and it was simply awesome. Do try out my variation of Manchurian and yes, also do give me a feed back on the same. 

** This is my first post on Manchurian and I am very glad that I started cooking back Chinese dishes once again after a hiatus. You will be seeing many more dishes usually giving my own twists by adapting it to Konkani style of cooking which is what is most appreciated and loved in my home. I will soon be also posting the vegetable Manchurian for all those who would love to have it the original way too. Again, I would like to specify here that aji-no-moto only enhances the taste by a fraction, so you can safely leave it out without worrying about on the taste. 

** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible.

** I am happy to inform you that I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" which is over and year old, with about 19K strong members. It is a pleasure to inform that you will find in the group many more recipes posted by our expert members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" … Thank You ….