Baked Tofu Manchurian

Low Fat Tofu Manchurian


It came as a surprise to me when my husband said he does not like Manchurians. I did not know until my mom made it one night for me when I was pregnant and I noticed he was not having any. The last time I made soya Manchurians, I did take a chance because if he did not like it I might have had to bin some of it. Luckily he liked it and I decided to take a chance again this time with tofu though. I must admit that I was really sceptical about tofu. I had bought a pack of it when I was in the exploratory mood and until its best before date I was not quite sure what to do with it. I know it is called ‘tofu paneer’ but I always thought it was unfair to call it so as it was nowhere as nice as paneer. This pack of tofu made me change my mind. Unfortunately the pack did not say whether it was silken or firm but I can say that it was divine. It is called Cauldron Foods Tofu. When I was in the States on my own I used to make tofu dishes but they would be quite dry and I would finish them just for the sake of eating. Anyway, this dish was very good and best part of it is it is a low fat dish. A must try!

2 teaspoons corn flour
2 teaspoons flour (maida)
¼ teaspoon chilly powder
Salt to taste
1 cup tofu, cubed
1 medium onion, diced
½ pepper (green, red or yellow)
2 green chillies, slit
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
2 tablespoon soya sauce
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 inch ginger piece, cut to thin strips
Cooking oil

Combine the corn flour, flour, chilly powder and required salt and add water to make a ‘not so thick’ batter

Put some tofu cubes in the batter and gently mix them so that all sides get coated with the batter and place the cubes in a greased oven proof dish and repeat until you coat all the tofu cubes. I did not want a thick covering on my tofu so I made a rather thin batter. This helped me get a crisp outer and real soft texture inside the tofu.

Bake this in a preheated oven at 190degC for 30 minutes and just move the tofu cubes once or twice while it is baking. They will just start to brown and that should be adequate

In a wok, heat little oil and add onion, pepper, chillies, garlic and ginger. Cook until onions seem done and peppers become slightly soft but still have a bite

Add the ketchup and soya sauce and baked tofu cubes. You need not necessarily keep the flame on at this stage

Check for salt and add more if need be. Remember that soya sauce may have some salt so always check before adding.

Serve!

It is a great starter and also a great side dish for rotis or chapattis. If you do not have an oven, you can shallow fry in a tava on a slow flame.