Wednesday, April 23, 2008

SWEET AND SOUR VEGETABLES


I wonder how an authentic Chinese would respond to eating Chinese food in India?
hummmm!!! I guess he will enjoy the twist in taste too.
Welcome to the land where the authentic Chinese food got a tempering of the Indian taste and the result was "Indian Chinese". A cuisine that has grown in popularity all over India.

As for me, I have had an old connection with the cuisine. That is because I share my birthplace with that of the cuisine- Kolkatta (did not know this until I read about Indian Chinese in wikipedia).

Growing up, eating Hakka noodles, Manchurian, chilly chicken and a whole lot of other specialities, I ended up opening a small Chinese take away, in the market complex near our house, in Delhi.Its menu had all the famous "Indian Chinese dishes like, veg Manchurian, chilly chicken, chili paneer, momos, to name a few. The take away however had to shut down after I got married and came to the US.
After coming to the US, I have always craved for the taste of this cuisine. There are no places that I know of, that serve up all the favourites. So I end up recreating the flavours at home as far as possible.
Sweet and sour vegetable is the new addition to my list of Indian Chinese that I have tried recently.

I was quite surprised to actually find an entire article related to Indian Chinese on wikipedia. here is the link, if anyone would like to know more:


Here is the recipe.

You will need
Green bell peppers: 2
Potatoes: 3
Onions- 1
Carrot- 2-3
Cauliflower- 7-8 florets
Tomato- 3
Honey- 2 tsps
Chilli sauce- 1 tsp
Soy sauce- 1 tsp
Maggi hot and sweet tomato sauce- 2 tbsp (available in Indian store)
Wochestireshire sauce- 1/ 2 tsp
Salt- to taste
Pepper- 1/2 tsp
Red chilli flakes- 1/2 tsp
Sugar- 1/ 2 tsp
Garlic- 1 tsp
Oil- 1 tbsp
note: one can add any veggies. I just added the ones I had on hand. Zucchini, snow peas, broccoli etc. Can be added as well

You have to:

  1. Dice the vegetables, into cubes.
  2. Heat oil in a pan, saute garlic.
  3. Add the cubed onions. saute.
  4. Add the other vegetables, except the tomato.Add salt and saute.
  5. Cover and cook for 10- 15 mins.
  6. In a bowl, combine the honey, along with all the sauces, and the spices.
  7. Add very little water. Mix well.
  8. Add this sauce to the vegetables.Let it cook. mix well.
  9. Add the tomatoes and cook on high heat, till vegetables become tender.
  10. Check for seasoning. Here you will have to add a little bit of sugar, and spice if required.
  11. Turn off the heat once the gravy comes together.
  12. Garnish with cilantro.
  13. Serve with steamed rice, or noodles.

enjoy.....


9 comments:

Dhivya said...

wow!looks so yumm and colorful

Unknown said...

I love sweet and sour chicken..Nice that u made it with veggies

Cham said...

I love the sweet and sour taste, love ur veggie

Sagari said...

this would be a great treat for veggi lovers karuna

Anonymous said...

I told one of my chinese friends about Vegggie Manchurian and she looked at me like I was talking greek and latin. We love our indo-chinese food.

Divya said...

I miss our indo chineese food too. your recipe is yummy ..will try it soon

Uma said...

delicious.

Srivalli said...

karuna, you had a chinese outlet..awesome!..must've been so exciting right...guess if its allowed you can do that now too..that dish looks just so yummy!..I love all my versions of indo chinese...guess you can never take the Indian away from their spices!

Arundathi said...

love indian chinese and missed it so much in the US. Thankfully, in the Bay Area, because of the huge Indian population, couple of Indian Chinese places opened up.

I love being in Chennai now and being able to eat anytime! Thanks for the recipe - sounds delicious!