mushroom manchurian gravy

INGREDIENTS:
for frying mushrooms:
•200 to 250 gms mushrooms
•¾ cup whole wheat flour
•2 tbsp corn starch
•1 tsp ginger garlic paste
•½ tsp black pepper
•½ tsp soy sauce
•¾ cup water + 2 tbsp water
•4 tbsp oil
for the gravy:
•1 small to medium capsicum
•1 medium onion
•5 to 6 garlic, finely chopped
•½ inch ginger, finely chopped
•1 or 2 green chilies, finely chopped
•1 tsp finely chopped celery
•2 tbsp tomato ketchup
•1 to 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
•½ tsp rice vinegar
•¼ tsp black pepper
•¼ tsp sugar
•2 tbsp corn starch + 3 tbsp water
•1.25 cups water, 275 ml
•salt as required
•a few chopped celery
INSTRUCTIONS:
preparing the fried mushrooms:
1.prep the veggies first. rinse and slice 200 to 250 grams mushrooms thickly. if the mushrooms are small, you can just halve them. dice 1 medium onion and 1 small to medium bell pepper (red or green or yellow) into ½ inch squares. finely chop ½ inch ginger, 5 to 6 garlic cloves, 1 to 2 green chilies and 1 small stem of celery. keep the chopped veggies aside.
2.in another bowl, take ¾ cup whole wheat flour or all purpose flour (about 90 gms), 2 tbsp corn starch, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, ½ tsp black pepper and ½ tsp soy sauce. please note, if you use whole wheat flour, you will get a wheatish taste.
3.add ¾ cup water + 2 tbsp water. depending on the quality of flour, you can also add water as required. whisk to a thick to medium consistency flowing batter.
4.heat 4 tbsp oil in a pan or kadai. you can also deep fry, but here i have used less oil and pan fried. hence these are not overall crisp like the deep fried ones. they just have some crispness.
5.dip the mushroom slices in the batter and evenly coat them with the batter.
6.gently place the batter coated mushrooms in the medium hot oil.
7.the quantity of mushrooms to be added depends on the size of the pan. once one side of the mushrooms are cooked and become a light golden, turn over and fry the other side.
8.flip a couple of times and fry till the mushrooms are evenly golden. a time will come when water from the mushrooms will start spluttering in the oil. let this be and continue to fry. as if you stop here, the mushrooms will be not be cooked completely.
9.drain the pan fried mushrooms on kitchen paper towels. fry all the mushrooms this way and keep aside.
preparing the sauce:
1.in the same pan, without adding any extra oil, add the chopped ginger, garlic and green chilies first. stir and saute on a low flame for about half a minute.
2.then add the diced onions, bell peppers and celery. stir.
3.increase the flame to a high and stir fry the veggies till the onions and bell pepper start getting lightly browned or shrinking from the edges. keep on stirring while cooking them. about 2 to 3 minutes on a high flame.
4.reduce the flame to medium and then add 1 to 1.5 tbsp soy sauce (you can add soy sauce as per your taste), add 2 tbsp tomato ketchup & ¼ tsp black pepper or as required. stir very well.
5.now add 1.25 cups water, 275 ml and stir again.
6.season with salt. do keep a check on the salt as soy sauce & tomato ketchup already have salt in them.
7.add ¼ tsp sugar. again sugar can be added as per your taste or you can skip it altogether.
8.stir and allow the sauce to simmer on a medium flame.
9.prepare a smooth paste in a bowl or cup with 2 tbsp corn starch & 3 tbsp water.
10.add this corn starch paste to the simmering sauce.
11.stir briskly and let the sauce thicken. simmer for about 2 minutes.
12.then add the pan fried mushrooms and stir.
13.lastly add ½ tsp rice vinegar or regular vinegar. you can also add apple cider vinegar.
14.stir and switch off the flame.
15.serve mushroom manchurian gravy with veg fried rice, schezwan rice or plain steamed rice.