One of the best restaurants that I never miss every time I visit India, is Mainland China. I simply love their twists on the indo chinese version of gravies and sides. Every time I have been to this restaurant, I have come out supremely satisfied. The consistency of their preparations amazes me, so does the “to die” for Vegetable Momos dumplings served steaming hot in little cane baskets, with a side of their secret Black Pepper Sauce, swimming in pools of sesame oil redolent with the aroma of pepper, garlic, soy sauce and everything else nice…One of the most constant order that I would place would be the “Seasonal Vegetables and Broccolli in Chinese Parsley Sauce”. At that time, I never knew chinese parsley was our cilantro…which would explain why I loved it so much. This is my version of the recreation of the  original, and I must say, a very good one.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Carrots Sliced in to diagonally oval strips.

1 cup thinly shredded cabbage.

1 Zucchinni sliced in to thin semi circles.

1 Pound of Fresh baby Corn sliced long.

3 leaves of Romanie Lettuce Chopped.

1 Cup Chopped Cremini/Button Mushrooms.

1 Spring Onion – Seperate the White roots and the green portion. Chop the green portions finely.

Salt to taste.

1 Tsp Pepper Powder.

To Puree for the Sauce Base:

1 Stick of Ginger at least 2″ long.

5 Green Chillies.

1 Bunch of fresh Chinese Parsley (Corriander/ Cilantro).

White portion of the spring onion.

1 Tsp Soy Sauce.

Dash of water.

PREPARATION:

• Puree all the ingredients for the Sauce base, specified to a smooth paste. Set  aside.
• Chop all the vegetables and keep ready.
• In a wide mouthed kadai, add 2  tsp of sesame oil and allow to heat up.
• Add all the chopped veggies, salt and pepper and saute for a few minutes. The idea is to retain the crunchiness of  the vegetables and not cook them till they turn mushy.
• In 2-3 minutes, add the ground paste and mix it in well.
• Add 2 cups of water to allow it to cook well.

• Stir carefully so as not to break the veggies. Add more salt if needed.
• When the gravy loses its raw flavours, its time to turn down the stove. This took roughly 8-10 minutes.
• Garnish with finely chopped spring onion and serve with Restaurant Style  Indo Chinese fried Rice.