While fusion food gained prominence with the rise of Tex-Mex (Texan-Mexican) cuisine, thanks to the Spaghetti Westerns films, in our day to day lives we come across many varieties of food that we take for granted as either foreign or authentic Indian. Foremost among these are the food we get at most Chinese restaurants. Indians
visiting China will not recognise most of the food and if you ask for a Chicken Manchurian there, you are in for trouble. Actually there is no such dish as a Manchurian and Chinese cooks in Tangra (the Chinatown in Kolkata) came up with it and other dishes like the Chilli Chicken to cater to the Indian palate.
Prawn Lemon Grass Pulao
This is a lovely delicate dish with nuances of Thai cuisine married to the pulao.
Ingredients
2 cups prawns
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic, crushed
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1/4 inch piece lemon grass, sliced
2 cups rice
1/2 tsp turmeric
1tsp lime juice
11/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Method
Marinate the prawns in turmeric, lime juice and ½ tsp salt for 15 minutes. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan and fry the onion, pepper, garlic and lemon grass till translucent. Add the prawns and lower heat and cook for 3 minutes. Now add the rice, salt and water, cover and cook till the rice is done.
Remove lemon grass and garnish with coriander leaves before serving.
Gobi Manchurian
Some Indian entrepreneurs have actually opened Indian-style Chinese restaurants in China to cater for the desi visitors there. The Gobi Manchurian is one such Indo-Chinese dish that was invented to please Indian vegetarians who did not want to miss out on the Chinese tastes.
Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
¾ cup flour
1 tbsp corn flour
2 tsp salt
1 green chilli, chopped
3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp oil
Method
In 2 ½ cups of water, add the flour, cornflour and salt to make a batter. Add a tbsp of ginger-garlic paste to the batter and mix.
Dip the cauliflower florets in the batter and deep fry till golden. Remove and keep aside.
Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and fry the onions till golden brown. Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chilli and fry for a minute.
Add soy sauce and tomato ketchup and cook for a minute before adding the fried cauliflower florets and chopped spring onions. Cook for another couple of minutes and make sure that the florets don’t break. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and serve with fried rice or noodles.