The Idli Project
Idli Manchurian
Modern & Fusion

Idli Manchurian

also called Idly Manchurian

Quartered day-old idlis, deep-fried until crisp and tossed in a soy-chilli-vinegar sauce - Indo-Chinese, evening-street-food style.

Modern Indo-Chinese fusion

Image: Hebbar's Kitchen - Idli Manchurian · Blog photo

Indo-Chinese street food meets the breakfast leftovers tray. Quartered idlis are battered and deep-fried until crisp, then tossed in a soy-vinegar-chilli sauce with a quick stir-fry of onion, ginger, garlic and capsicum. The result eats like a kid-friendly version of gobi Manchurian - a little softer in the centre, a little tangier on the outside.

Almost always made from day-old refrigerated idlis: fresh ones disintegrate in the oil. Best as an evening starter or alongside vegetable fried rice for a fuller meal.

The Recipe

Yield · 3 servings

Effort profile

Soaknone
Fermentnone
Steamnone (uses leftover idlis)
Steps5

Each axis is scaled against the longest example in the archive.

Soak—Ferment—Steam—Steps5

Ingredients

To fry

  • 5 idlis, quartered
  • ½ cup maida (all-purpose flour)
  • ¼ cup corn flour
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp crushed black pepper
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • Salt to taste
  • Water as needed
  • Oil for deep-frying

Manchurian sauce

  • 2 tsp oil
  • ½ onion, finely chopped
  • 1 inch ginger, minced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ capsicum, cubed
  • ¼ cup tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp chilli sauce (optional)
  • 2 tsp vinegar
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 spring onion, chopped
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. 1.

    Whisk together maida, corn flour, salt, chilli powder, pepper and soy sauce; add water gradually to a dropping consistency.

  2. 2.

    Coat the idli pieces in batter and deep-fry to light golden and crispy. Drain.

  3. 3.

    In another pan, sauté onion, ginger and garlic until aromatic.

  4. 4.

    Add capsicum, then tomato sauce, chilli sauce, salt, vinegar and soy sauce. Simmer briefly.

  5. 5.

    Toss the fried idlis through the sauce to coat. Finish with spring onions.

Serve with

vegetable fried ricehakka noodlesor as an evening street-food snack on its own

Notes

Day-old refrigerated idlis fry without crumbling - the most important rule. Fresh idlis fall apart in the oil.

Adapted from hebbarskitchen.com.