Name: Chestnut Manchurian
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1½ tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with 2 tbsp water; 4 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch); 2 tbsp dark soy sauce; 1 red onion, cut into wedges and separated into petals; 6 garlic cloves, minced; 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips; 2-3 green chillies, sliced diagonally; ¼ tsp salt; 1 tsp light soy sauce; 1½ tbsp self-raising flour; 2 tbsp tomato purée (paste); ½ tsp salt; 350 g (12⅓ oz) cooked and peeled chestnuts (I use the handy vacuum-packed kind); ¼ tsp white pepper; ½ tsp MSG; 1 tsp sugar; 2 tbsp oil; Oil, for deep-frying; 2 tsp mirin (or any rice wine); 1 tsp distilled white vinegar

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
45 min

Appears in

Sanjana Feasts

By Sanjana Modha

Published 2024

About

Battered chestnuts in a hot and sour Indo-Chinese sauce. I love the sweetness and starchy texture of chestnuts alongside the sticky, fire-red Manchurian sauce. A simple cornflour (cornstarch) slurry creates a glossy, dynamite sauce that clings to each craggy chestnut. Use cooked, vacuum-packed chestnuts to save your fingers from the tedious job of peeling. And if chestnuts aren’t your thing, make this with button mushrooms, cauliflower florets, new potatoes or, in fact, any protein of your