Gobi Manchurian, the cheap-but-tasty snack that can work wonders for any tired palate, has been banned in Mapusa, a town in North Goa, recently. The town’s municipal council passed this order after a councillor alleged that the fiery red dish, a favourite in Goa’s village fairs, was made from synthetic colours, sauces of dubious quality, and, it was also alleged, reetha powder, a detergent!
Gobi Manchurian is very popular in the melas of Goa. Usually, soya sauce is used to prepare this dish. But for street vendors, this sauce is relatively costly, which is why they use an inexpensive red colour. That makes the dish unhealthy
- Ramesh Thapa, Goa-based restaurant owner
I don’t see a ban as a viable option. There should be adequate regulations to ensure that the quality of the dish is not compromised, and people are still able to enjoy it
– Sunit Sharma, Goa-based chef
ORIGIN OF THE DISH
Gobi Manchurian is a close cousin of the Chicken Manchurian that is reported to have been invented in the 1970s by Nelson Wang, the well-known Chinese chef from Mumbai, while he was working at the Cricket Club of India. It gets its name and unique taste from the red Manchurian sauce used to make it.
It sooner became popular across the country—both in restaurants as well as on streets. Indian chefs also carried this delicacy in other countries they ventured in. “I introduced Gobi Manchurian in a restaurant when I worked in Congo, and it became popular there too. Indians and as well as the natives enjoyed gobi manchurian, but the real problem arises with the colour. Chinese food doesn’t have such dark colours. And if one still wants to use colours, there are options like the beetroot, turmeric, which can add a bit of colour and still be healthy”, says Radheshyam Mishra, Mumbai-based chef.
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