Schezwan Vegetable fried rice

If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you know that I love recipes that are quick and easy to make. This Schezwan fried rice ticks both boxes. In addition, it is also colorful and loaded with vegetables. The one thing that does take time is making the Schezwan sauce. If you don't want to do that, you can use any brand of store bought Schezwan sauce. I have used homemade sauce, which I usually make in large quantities whenever I have the time, and store in the refrigerator. The sauce recipe will be shared in a different post.

What  you need:
Rice - 1 cup, cooked and completely cooled
Oil - 2 tbsp.
Ginger - 1 inch piece, julienned
Garlic - 4 cloves, minced
Onion - 1 small, chopped into thin, long pieces
Celery - 1 stalk, chopped fine
Vegetables - 3/4 cup (I used a combination of cabbage, carrot, beans and peas)
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp.
Schezwan sauce - 1 tbsp, heaped (Don't be tempted to use more, as the sauce is quite spicy)
Salt - to taste
Spring onion greens - to garnish
In a large pan or wok, heat oil. Add ginger and garlic. Saute for a few seconds. Add onion and continue to saute. Stir in celery, followed by the vegetables. Saute on high heat for a few minutes. Add soy sauce and schezwan sauce and mix well. Add in the cooked, cooled rice and salt to taste and stir to ensure that the sauce and vegetables mix well with the rice. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens.
This can be served as is or with any Indo-Chinese curry of your choice.

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Fried Rice - Chinese style

Every city and town in India has its own version of Chinese food. Never mind that no person from China would recognize even half these dishes. I myself have tried several versions of 'Chinese' Fried rice. This is one version that I saw on a TV channel, recreated the same day and liked a lot.

What you need:
Carrot - 1, medium sized, chopped into thin long pieces
Capsicum/Bell pepper - 1, chopped into thin long pieces
Beans - 7-8, chopped into thin, long pieces
Leeks - 1/4 cup, chopped
Celery - 1/2 cup, chopped
Green chilli - 2 or 3 (adjust to taste)
Salt - to taste
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Spring onion - 1/4 cup, chopped
Onion - 1, chopped thin and long
Rice - 1 cup (I used a variety of rice called jeera rice)

Wash and soak the rice in plenty of water for 30 minutes. Drain and keep aside. Heat 2 tbsp of oil. Add onion and green chilli. Saute for 2 minutes and then add the leeks and celery. When the onions turn transparent, add capsicum, carrot, beans, soya sauce and salt. Stir well, cover and cook on a low flame. You do not have to add any water at this point as the vegetables in combination with soya sauce and salt will release water and cook beautifully. When the vegetables are cooked, remove from heat and keep aside. Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a pressure cooker. Saute the soaked rice along with some leeks, celery and spring onion. Add salt and water. The rice that I used requires two cups of water for every cup of rice. The amount of water to be used will depend on the quantity, quality and type of rice used. Cook until one whistle, reduce the flame and cook for another five minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool. Mix the cooked veggies and the rice well. The final step in putting the rice together might seem quite unnecessary, but it is essential to make sure that the flavours of the vegetables and the rice blend together well. In the final step, heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add some spring onion and the rice to this. Stir well until heated through. Enjoy!!! Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#14

Restaurant style gobi manchurian

Whether you call it Gobi manjoori or gopi manjurien, this is one dish that you'll be hard put to find in an authentic Chinese restaurant. In fact, I clearly remember the patronizing look that a waiter gave me at one of the popular Chinese restaurants here when I asked if they had this dish. He then went on to tell me that they only serve "authentic" Chinese food.
So, how did this Indo-Chinese fusion food that is unique to India originate? A google search yields several viewpoints on how this dish came into being. One site, though, hits the nail on the head when it says that this is one dish that is not South Indian, not North Indian and most certainly not Chinese. Be that as it may, there is no doubt about the popularity of this dish.
I usually follow Meena's recipe that I've talked about in this post, but when I saw a different way of making it in a recent TV show, I just had to try it out.

What you need:
Cauliflower - cut into small florets, 1 cup
Cabbage - 1/2 cup, shredded into long pieces
Onion - 1, chopped
Ginger - a small piece
Garlic - 4-5 cloves
Green chilli - 2 (adjust to taste)
Spring onions - a few, chopped (chop the leaves as well)
All purpose flour - 3/4 cup (I may have used a little more 'coz I just kept adding flour until I felt the consistency was right. So use your judgement)
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Salt
Soya sauce - 3 tbsp (use more if the batter is too dry)
Red chilli sauce - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Grind the ginger, garlic and chillies into a smooth paste.
Take the cabbage, cauliflower, spring onions and onions in a large, wide mouthed bowl. Add the ground paste to this. Add salt and let it rest for a few minutes. Now add the sauces and mix well. Add the flours little by little, mixing well until the flour is just moistened. The dough should not be very smooth like chapati dough.....it should be more like the batter that you make for pakodas. You will not need to add any water as the salted vegetables would have released some water and the sauces will also help to bind the flour. Keep this covered until you are ready to make manchurian.
Remember, the longer you let the mixture stand, the more pronounced the flavours will be and the tastier the manchurian. However, if you live in a very hot place, let it stand for an hour or two and then if needed, refrigerate until you are ready to make it.

To make manchurian:
Heat oil in a kadai. Take small portions of the batter and deep fry it in oil until well browned on both sides.
Garnish with spring onion leaves before serving.


Note :
It is very important that the flour should only just be well moistened.....it should not be watery. The vegetables will give out water while the batter rests and this will make it just the right consistency before frying.
While deep frying, keep the flame low so that both the inside and outside are evenly cooked.
This mixture can be refrigerated for up to two days.