Mushroom Manchurian

Mushroom Manchurian	Ingredients: 15-20 Closed Cup Mushrooms, cleaned and quartered Oil for Deep Frying For Spicy Batter: 1 cup Maida/All Purpose Flour 2 tbsp Corn flour 1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste 1-2 tsp Red Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste) ½ tsp Black Pepper Powder (Optional) Salt to taste For Sweet and Sour Gravy: 4-5 Spring Onions, thinly sliced (Keep green part separate) 1 bulb or 6-8 large cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced 3-4 Green chillies, thinly sliced ½ inch Ginger, crushed and finely chopped 1 large Bell Pepper/Capsicum, cut into ½ inch squares ½ - ¾ cup Tomato Ketchup (Preferably Maggi Hot and Sweet Ketchup) 3 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce (Optional) 1-2 tbsp Soya Sauce ¼ tsp Ajinomoto or 1 tsp Maggi Seasoning (Optional) ½ tbsp Corn Flour dissolved in ½ cup of Water 1 tbsp Oil (Preferably Peanut or Sesame Oil or use Vegetable Oil) Salt to taste
Method: Take all the ingredients listed for spicy batter in a bowl and add about ¾ -1 cup of water. Mix well making sure there is no lump. This batter should be quite thick and should be of dosa batter consistency. So adjust the water and flour as and when needed. Keep it aside till needed. Next prepare sweet and sour sauce by heating a tbsp of oil in wok. Add thinly sliced garlic and sauté for a minute till it starts to turn light golden. Add white parts of spring onion, ginger, and green chillies and sauté on medium heat till onion turns light golden brown in colour, about 1-2 minutes. Mix in bell pepper pieces and stir fry for 2-3 minutes till its skin starts to wilt. Add in tomato ketchup, sweet chilli sauce, soya sauce, ajinomoto/maggi seasoning and mix well. Reduce the heat and add corn flour dissolved in water slowly. Keep stirring till the sauce starts to thicken. Adjust the seasonings and bring the sauce to gentle boil. Switch off, mix in spring onion greens and keep this gravy aside. Heat about 2-3 cups of oil in a pan for deep frying. Dip quartered Mushrooms into batter making sure it is coated well and then slowly add them one by one to heated oil. Deep fry these mushrooms in batches, on medium heat, till they turn golden and crisp, about 4-5 minutes per batch. Drain and place them on a plate lined with kitchen towel to absorb excess oil. Once you have deep fried all the mushrooms, separate them and add them to prepared sweet and sour sauce. Mix them well and serve them immediately, garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves or spring onion greens, as a starter or side dish with Fried Rice or Noodles and enjoy!