This vegetable manchurian is one of my all-time favorite Indian street foods. The sauce is savory, spicy, tangy, and oh so delicious.

In particular, what I love about this version of vegetable manchurian is how fun it is to make. It can be a little tedious to shred all the vegetables, but it’s super fun to form them into these little vegetarian “meatballs.” And the end result is well worth the effort.

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Vegetable Manchurian “Meatball” Ingredients

You can use whatever veggies you like for these faux “meatballs” but just make sure they can hold their shape. For that reason, I highly recommend using cabbage and carrots. But, I predict something like zucchini or potatoes could work well here too.

For the flour, I haven’t tried making this recipe with anything besides all purpose flour. So I recommend sticking with that for this recipe. It acts as the perfect binding agent.

• Shredded cabbage
• Shredded carrots
• Salt
• Cornstarch
• All purpose flour
• Oil

Vegetable Manchurian “Meatball” Instructions

• To make your vegetable manchurian, place your shredded cabbage and carrots in a bowl and rub very well with salt.
• Set this mixture aside for 5 minutes and then scoop it into either a nut milk bag (I got mine on amazon) or in a muslin cloth, and squeeze out all of the excess liquid.
• Do not discard the excess liquid; we will use this later as a veggie broth substitute.
• Now add cornstarch and all purpose flour to your veggies and mix well with your hands. Form your vegetable manchurian balls with theses veggies, and coat them with oil before popping them into your air fryer at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

How Do You Make The Sauce for Vegetable Manchurian?

For my other manchurian recipes, I typically just add plain water to the sauce. However, since the veggies from these vegetable manchurian “meatballs” release so much water, it creates sort of an instant veggie broth that will add extra flavor to the sauce. So, there’s no need for that to go to waste.

• Yellow onions
• Green onions
• Garlic
• Soy
• Sriracha
• Ketchup
• Rice vinegar
• Kashmiri mirch (red chili powder)
• Smoked paprika
• Black pepper powder
• Salt
• Water
• Leftover veggie broth (from the vegetable manchurian “meatballs” we made earlier)
• Cornstarch
• Serrano chili

Sauce Process Breakdown

1. To create your sauce for this vegetable manchurian recipe, sauté your yellow onions in oil until translucent and then add in your green onions and garlic.
2. Continue cooking for about another minute, and then add in all of your sauces and spices and simmer for approximately 3 minutes on low heat.
3. Add in your cornstarch and mix well with the sauce, and then add your water and leftover veggie broth.
4. Add in your serrano chili (finely chopped). Note: feel free to sauté the chilies earlier in the recipe after you added the garlic! I tried this method this time for a change and I enjoyed the result, but both methods work well).
5. Simmer the mixture on low-medium heat for about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens well.
6. Add in your vegetable manchurian balls and cook for a couple of minutes in the sauce before serving.

Looking For More Recipes? Check These Out!

• Gobi Manchurian Recipe
• Aloo Tikki Chaat
• Masala Fries

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(1)

Vegetable Manchurian

Vegetarian "meatballs" served with a spicy, tangy, and rich sauce!

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Ingredients

Vegetable Manchurian "Meatballs"

• 2 c shredded cabbage
• 1/2 c shredded carrots
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp oil

Sauce

• 1 tbsp oil
• 3/4 c yellow onions
• 1/2 c green onions
• 2 tbsp garlic
• 2 tbsp soy
• 2 tbsp sriracha
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tbsp vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri mirch
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 c water
• 1/4 c leftover veggie broth
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 serrano chili

Instructions

Vegetable Manchurian "Meatballs"

• Place your shredded cabbage and carrots in a bowl and rub very well with salt.
• Set this mixture aside for 5 minutes and then scoop it into either a nut milk bag (I got mine on amazon) or in a muslin cloth, and squeeze out all of the excess liquid
• Do not discard the excess liquid; we will use this later as a veggie broth substitute.
• Now add cornstarch and all purpose flour to your veggies and mix well with your hands. Form balls with theses veggies, and coat them with oil before popping them into your air fryer at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Sauce

• Sauté your yellow onions in oil until translucent and then add in your green onions and garlic
• Continue cooking for about another minute, and then add in all of your sauces and spices and simmer for ~3 minutes on low heat.
• Add in your cornstarch and mix well with the sauce, and then add your water and leftover veggie broth.
• Add in your serrano chili (finely chopped). Note: feel free to sauté the chilies earlier in the recipe after you added the garlic! I tried this method this time for a change and I enjoyed the result, but both methods work well).
• Simmer the mixture on low-medium heat for about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens well.
• Add in your veg manchurian balls and cook for a couple of minutes in the sauce before serving.

Notes

To prevent your vegetable manchurian balls from falling apart, make sure to squeeze out any excess moisture. This is probably the most critical key step in this recipe. Failure to remove the excess moisture will cause your “meatballs” to disintegrate.