Veg manchurian without cabbage recipe- a very popular Indo-Chinese snacks which is packed with flavour, It is garlicky, salty, spicy, sour at the same time.
It is basically fried veggies mini balls tossed and dunked in flavourful, aromatic manchurian gravy. It is mostly served with fried rice or chowmein.
My siblings are huge fan of manchurian they can have this in lunch as well as dinner and whenever they go to Indo-Chinese restaurant this is the one thing they order always.
This manchurian balls are made without cabbage, it’s not compulsory to always use cabbage in every Indo-Chinese food so I made it quite different as we have many other seasonal veggies options.
This gravy manchurian recipe taste just like restaurant and most of time we pair it with my mom style fried rice. It can be serve as an lunch, appetizer, birthday parties or in get together as well.
Give this recipe a shot and I m sure you’re going to make it again.
Quick Jump
- What you need to make veg manchurian
- Top tips
- How to make manchurian without cabbage
- FAQs
- Other recipes you might like
- Recipe card
What you need to make veg manchurian
Vegetables: cauliflower, carrots, ginger, garlic, green chilli, capsicum, onion.
Sauce: dark soy sauce, schezwan sauce can be substituted with chilli sauce, vinegar can be substituted with rice vinegar, tomato ketchup.
Spices: black pepper powder, salt.
Other: cornflour, all purpose flour, water, oil for frying.
Top tips
- Make sure that all the veggies are chopped finely or grated very finely. you can also choose the veggies of your choice.
- Squeeze all the water from the veggies so that it can easily form a shape and doesn’t crack while frying also don’t keep the shaped balls for long time as veggies will release water. so shape it and fry.
- To make it extra crispy you can also add a tablespoon of rice flour with cornflour and all purpose flour.
- You can also air fry the manchurian balls or you can also shallow fry it in appam pan.
- Don’t fry it at high flame as it will be cooked from outside but not from inside and you will get raw taste of flour. fry it at medium hot oil so that it is cooked from inside as well as outside.
- Don’t over fry the balls as you may end up burning the veggies and you will get burnt taste.
- The quantity of sauce or salt or pepper powder can be increased or decreased as per your taste.
- I have added lots of chopped garlic in the sauce and it does it work, it makes it extra flavourful. so add it and enjoy its flavour.
How to make manchurian without cabbage
Manchurian balls:
Grate cauliflower, carrots and ginger. finely chop onion, garlic and capsicum in the chopper or you can chop all the veggies finely in the chopper at once.
Squeeze all the water from the veggies. this step is very important, if the water is not squeezed manchurian balls will break while frying so don’t skip this step.
Add all the squeezed veggies to a plate or a mixing bowl then add cornflour, all purpose flour, salt and black pepper powder in it.
Mix it well make sure everything is combined well.
If your mixture is watery and you’re unable to shape it into a small ball then add little all purpose flour in it.
Shape the veggies mixture into small size balls, I made 26 balls from this mixture.
Deep fry the balls in the medium hot oil until golden brown and crispy. stir it gently and occasionally.
It needs to be fry at medium to high flame at beginning fry it at medium flame so that the veggies are cooked when it turns little golden then fry it at high flame to make it crispy but keep an eye on it so that you don’t burn it.
When fried, transfer it to a absorbent paper and keep it aside.

Manchurian gravy:
Now in a deep bottom pan or a wok heat oil then add finely chopped garlic and finely chopped ginger in it. saute it for few seconds at medium flame.
Stir fry diced capsicum and onion.
Furthermore, add soy sauce, schezwan sauce, tomato ketchup, vinegar, salt and black pepper powder. combine it nicely.
Add water in it and boil it at medium flame.
Meanwhile, mix cornflour in water then add the cornflour slurry in the gravy and mix it well.
Cook the gravy for another 3 to 4 minutes until it thickens. add manchurian balls in it.
Let it cook it for 1-2 minutes in the gravy so that balls becomes slightly soft and it is soaked up well in the gravy.
It’s ready to serve, serve it hot.
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FAQs
What are manchurian balls made of?
Manchurian balls are made up of finely chopped veggies in which corn flour and all purpose flour work as a binding agent so that veggies can be shaped into a ball.
Then it is deep fried in the hot oil until crispy and golden brown.
What to eat with manchurian?
Serve it with plain rice, fried rice, singapuri chowmein, hakka noodles or wai wai noodles.
Can I make dry version of this recipe?
Yes, all the step and ingredients will be same except water. after adding all the sauce, add cornflour slurry and mix it well then add fried manchurian balls and combine it well with sauce.
What other ingredients can I use to make manchurian balls?
Grated paneer, chopped beans, grated cabbage, spring onion or finely chopped soya chunk(soaked).
Can I make manchurian balls in advance?
No, I would not recommend you to make it in advance as all the veggies will leave water. so make the balls and fry it right away.
How to chop veggies for veg manchurian?
I have used grated to grate cauliflower, carrot and ginger and rest of the veggies like garlic, onion and capsicum are chopped in chopper.
For chopping I always use manual chopper which doesn’t require electricity, you just need to pull the string and it does it work. I have been using it since 1.5 years and I love it.
To make your work more easier you can use electric chopper or food processor as well. chop all the veggies at once, squeeze out all the water from it and go on with further steps.
How to make manchurian without onion and garlic?
If you don’t eat onion and garlic then skip these two ingredients but increase the amount of ginger and green chilli, to add extra freshness and flavour top it with chopped coriander leaves and toasted sesame seeds.
Other recipes you might like
Recipe card
Veg manchurian with gravy|manchurian balls without cabbage

Veg manchurian is very popular appetiser in India, it is rich in flavour. It has the perfect combination of Indian and Chinese flavour.
This recipe is gluten free, nut free and vegan.
Ingredients
Manchurian balls
- 250 grams cauliflower
- 1 medium size onion
- 1 medium size capsicum
- 3 carrots
- 1 green chilli
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 inch garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 2 tablespoon cornflour
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- Refined oil or canola oil for frying
Manchurian gravy
- 2 tablespoon refined oil or canola oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
- 3 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 medium size onion
- 1 medium size capsicum
- 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 2 tablespoon schezwan sauce
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 2 cup water
- 2 tablespoon cornflour
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
Manchurian balls
- Finely chop or grate 250 gram cauliflower, 3 carrots, 1/2 inch ginger, 6 cloves of garlic, 1 medium size onion and capsicum
- Squeeze all the water from the veggies. this step is very important, so don’t skip this step.
- Transfer the squeezed veggies to a plate or a mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoon cornflour, 2 tablespoon all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder in it.
- Mix it nicely so that everything is combined well. If your veggie mixture is watery and you’re unable to shape it into a small balls then add little all purpose flour in it.
- Shape the mixture into small balls.
- Deep fry manchurian balls in medium hot refined oil or canola oil. flip the balls gently and occasionally so that both the sides are cooked evenly.
- Fry it until golden brown and crispy.
- When fried, transfer it to a absorbent paper and manchurian balls are ready.
Gravy
- In a deep bottom pan or a wok Heat 2 tablespoon oil, 3 tablespoon finely chopped garlic and 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger in it. saute it for few seconds at medium flame.
- Then stir fry 1 medium size diced onion and capsicum.
- Now add 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon schezwan sauce, 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup, 1 teaspoon vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder. combine it nicely.
- Add 2 cup water in it and mix it well. boil it at medium flame.
- Meanwhile, make cornflour slurry- mix 2 tablespoon cornflour with 1/2 cup water. make sure there is no lumps present in the slurry.
- Add slurry to the gravy and boil it for another 3 to 4 minutes until it thickens. add manchurian balls in it.
- Let it cook it for 1-2 minutes in the gravy so that balls becomes slightly soft and it is soaked up well in the gravy.
- It’s ready to serve, enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure that all the veggies are chopped finely or grated very finely. you can also choose the veggies of your choice.
- Squeeze all the water from the veggies so that it can easily form a shape and doesn’t crack while frying also don’t keep the shaped balls for long time as veggies will release water. shape it and fry.
- To make it extra crispy you can also add a tablespoon of rice flour with cornflour and all purpose flour.
- You can also air fry the manchurian balls or you can also shallow fry it in appam pan.
- Don’t fry it at high flame as it will be cooked from outside but not from inside and you will get raw taste of flour. fry it at medium hot oil so that it is cooked from inside as well as outside.
- The quantity of sauce or salt or pepper powder can be increased or decreased as per your taste.
- I have added lots of chopped garlic in the sauce and it does it work, it makes it extra flavourful. so add it and enjoy its flavour.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
3Amount Per Serving: Calories: 131Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 544mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 2g
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Manchurian is my kid’s favorite and so I tried making it at home the very first time rather than buying it from the market. Believe me, turned out to be super delicious and they really liked it a lot.
Thanks a lot for your feedback. I am glad you liked it.❤️