From the time I first tasted this dish, I fell in love with it. It is a Indo- Chinese delicacy that give you a crunchy texture and sweet and spicy taste with every bite. It just makes your mouth water even as you are eating it.
I have been wanting to try my hand at it for a long time. When I found the cleaned and cut lotus stem in could not resist. After reading about the nutrient information and the health benefits it has become a regular in my cooking.
Some facts:Lotus plant can be compared to a banana plant because almost all the parts of both the plant are edible. Lotus root is a very good source dietary fiber, excellent sources of vitamin C, and the crunchy, neutral yet delicate flavor of root lotus is because of its optimum electrolyte balance. (Source)
Here is my take on simple and quick Lotus root Manchurian:
Lotus Root Manchurian
Ingredients:
Washed and cut lotus root – 1 cup
Corn flour – 1-2 tbs
Salt to taste
Oil for shallow frying – 1 cup
For Gravy:
Tomato – 1 nos
Spring onions – 2 nos
Garlic clove – 1 nos
Tomato ketchup – 2 tbs
Soy sauce – 3-4 drops
Hot Chilli sauce – 2 -3 drops
Oil – 1-2 tbs
Salt to taste.
Method:
1. First clean and cut the lotus root in 1/4 inch pieces( I used pre-washed and pre-cut ones). In a bowl add the corn flower and salt and cut the cut roots well.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and drop these cornflour coated roots to light fry them. Do not over crisp them like chips. The fried roots still should have the original crunch texture on the inside with a crisp outside. Fry all the lotus root and set them aside.
For gravy:
1. In a same pan take out the excess oil and add the chopped spring onion ( Just the white part. Save the green for garnish) and garlic and saute for couple of minutes. Add the tomatos and salt and let it cook.
2. When the mix becomes soft add in the Tomato ketchup, soy sauce, hot chilli sauce and saute let it all combine for a couple of minutes.
Final mix
Now quickly in medium -high flame mix the fried lotus root with the gravy and coat the lotus root with gravy.
Garnish with the green part of the spring onions and serve hot. Its a very easy appetizer for any get together or can just make it on a weed as a quick snack.
This was really really good. I used some Laoganma Chili Fried in Oil instead of “hot chili sauce” and added some leek I had leftover instead of green onions. It turned out amazing, and it didn’t take long to make either.
I am thrilled to hear you liked this recipe. Leeks sound like a great substitute for Scallions. Thanks for trying this recipe and your feedback Jasmine.