No matter which side of the Gobi Manchurian debate you take after Mapusa in Goa recently banned the Gobi Manchurian dish coated with hot and sour chutney, you have to admit that the Indo-Chinese cuisine has unobtrusively entered the country’s culinary profile in the form of its famous flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Using Indian vegetables and spices with Chinese sauces and thickening agents, Indo-Chinese fusion cuisine has its own local spin-offs such as ‘Chingbi’ and ‘Idli Manchurian’ which may mean nothing to the purist, but are delicious nonetheless.
“Indo-Chinese food is versatile, as its base stems from two different cuisines and the question of authenticity never arises. Chinese or Manchurian cuisine varies from Delhi to the South and from Kolkata to the West. Places or vendors are free to experiment on Indo-Chinese food, as long as their eaters find a reason to come back to them,” says Chef Peter Tseng, culinary director of Pricol Gourmet, which has restaurants in Chennai, Kochi, Pune, Delhi. Runs a restaurant. Coimbatore under multiple brands including Soya Soi, Savya Rasa, Delish and Epicure – Bespoke Catering.
A classic is born
Now living in Chennai, Peter was born into a Hakka family (“similar to Hakka noodles,” he reminds us), and grew up in Kolkata, one of the first places to host Chinese traders and settlers in India during the British Raj.
Gobi Manchurian is a vegetarian version of Chicken Manchurian, said to be invented in the 1970s by Nelson Wang, a Mumbai-based Indian restaurateur of Chinese origin. It’s a classic of the fusion genre, says Peter. “It is a perfect marriage of the holy trinity of Indian aromatic garlic, ginger and onion with the flavor of fresh green chillies and soy sauce.”
Chef Pooja Sen, head of operations, Salt & Pepper Consulting Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, says that even though Manchurian is ubiquitous in India today, it has an older cousin, known as ‘Calcutta Chinese’. She also runs Madam Hakka, a cloud kitchen that serves Calcutta Chinese food, under the auspices of Salt & Pepper.
“Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) is the birthplace of Indian Chinese food. Indian Chinese restaurants in Calcutta’s two Chinatowns, Tiretta Bazaar and Tangra, showcased the cuisine of immigrants at the time. Indian Chinese food has its own distinct flavor such as Szechuan sauce (Indian spelling of Szechuan), which uses dried red chillies as a substitute for Sichuan peppercorns, in addition to Manchurian-style cooking, where meat and vegetables are marinated Cooked and fried in soy-based sauces with classic Indian ingredients like garlic, ginger and green chillies,” she says.
Hakka Chinese cuisine, Indian Chinese cuisine, Indo-Chinese cuisine Gobi Manchurian. ISTOCK IMAGE | Photo Credit: Jiangang Wang
Veg Manchurian with Gravy – Indo-Chinese dish Gobi Manchurian, a popular food from India made from cauliflower florets and other vegetables. ISTOCK IMAGE | Photo Courtesy: Arundhati Sathe
neutral value
To draw attention to this culinary heritage, Pooja, originally from West Bengal, is organizing ‘Un-Manchurian’, a five-course tasting menu dinner that explores Kolkata-centric cuisine, in collaboration with The Epicurious Table at Salt & Pepper Kitchen, Bengaluru, on March 2 and 3.
Recalling her favorite restaurants in the West Bengal capital, she says, “I grew up eating the thick slush of chicken asparagus soup at the Mandarin, and of course the chili garlic pepper chicken at Kim Ling. Manchurian wasn’t that popular when I was growing up. But Kolkata food is inseparable from Indian Chinese, and even today I associate it most with home comfort food.” The ‘un-Manchurian’ menu will feature dishes including Tiretti Bazaar Mutton Dumplings, Pan-Fried Cantonese Chicken Noodles and Pepper Fried Rice, among others.
What accounts for the popularity of Indo-Chinese food despite the presence of a vibrant indigenous street food culture in the country? “Indo-Chinese food is considered to be quick and easy to prepare and does not involve fancy ingredients,” says Peter. “It is still popular in the form of Chow Mein, Manchurian, Manchow Soup, Singara Chow and Kolkata Style Chilli Chicken, largely due to its availability in street food shops and pocket-friendly prices.”
Gobi Manchurian by Chef Pooja Sen | Photo Credit: Metro Desk
from home kitchen
Traditional Chinese dishes have also survived in the homes of immigrant families. “I have never been to China. The only China we know is Kolkata,” says Peter Chen, a Chinese resident of Chennai whose family roots are from Hubei province, where the cooking style is easy on strong spices and relies mainly on steaming or baking ingredients.
Chinese New Year is an important time for expatriates to gather at home, especially for New Year’s Eve banquets, Chen says. “We cook at least 10 special dishes on this day. Customary items include thinly sliced pork marinated with soy sauce, salt and pepper, steamed with finely chopped vegetables like cabbage and carrots. Semolina is added over it as a binding agent. Then we have a whole boiled fish, which we should not cut while preparing to ensure prosperity in the New Year,” he says.
Both Peter and Pooja consider Kolkata-style chilli chicken as their favorite because of its spicy flavour. Chef Peter says there is scope for adaptation even among the older generation. “At home, my mother uses Indian chicken masala and locally available ‘betki’ fish for steaming when making chicken wontons,” he says.
