Desi food fans have long loved gobi manchurian. However, Goa’s Mapusa has declared a 'war' against this dish. The Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC), last month, banned gobi manchurian stalls in Shree Bodgeshwar Zatra. The ban was implemented because of the unhygienic conditions in which this dish is cooked, the use of artificial colours, and even the use of washing powder and questionable sauces, reported the Times of India (TOI).
MMC chairperson Priya Mishal told TOI, "The councillors opined that such vendors operate in unhygienic conditions and use synthetic colours for making gobi manchurian, and that is what has prompted us to ban the sale of this dish.” (Also Read: Street vendor making idli ice cream upsets foodies on Instagram, they demand ‘justice’)
A senior food safety officer at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said to TOI that some vendors may put good quality sauces on display, but still use the ones that are unsafe for consumption. “They keep the quality sauce on display but use substandard ones for the preparation of gobi manchurian. They use some kind of powder in the flour and cornstarch in the batter so that after deep frying, the cauliflower florets remain crispy for a long time,” the officer told TOI.
The officer believes that food vendors also use reetha, which is used for washing clothes. He added, "Have you wondered why you pay ₹70-100 for one plate in restaurants and ₹30-40 in ‘zatras’?" (Also Read: ‘Biryani chai’ recipe goes viral, you may have had it too)
{{/usCountry}}The officer believes that food vendors also use reetha, which is used for washing clothes. He added, "Have you wondered why you pay ₹70-100 for one plate in restaurants and ₹30-40 in ‘zatras’?" (Also Read: ‘Biryani chai’ recipe goes viral, you may have had it too)
{{/usCountry}}While the MMC is taking measures to crack down and stop the sale of gobi manchurian, the street vendors have displayed a different sentiment. They said that they received instructions to stop serving this dish because of a few vendors, but they also questioned why the municipality targeted all of them.
As per TOI, this isn't the first time that questions have been raised on gobi manchurian. In 2022, during the Vasco Saptah festival at the Shree Damodar temple, the FDA ordered the Mormugao Municipal Council to restrict the number of stalls serving this dish