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More Cauliflower you say. Well Cauliflower is the new Kale right now. So as well use the popularity right 🙂 And on top of that this is too delicious to not share!
The whole head of the cauliflower is blanched, then roasted drenched in a creamy Mughlai gravy, and served whole with some gravy on the side. It seems like a long recipe but it is fairly simple:). You can serve it as is sliced, or with the usual Indian food fix-ins of flat bread or rice, or over other cooked grains and greens. We ate it with Chapatis, Naan, filled up some sandwiches with the leftovers, added some to quinoa. It was a load of food to finish between the 2 of us.
The sauce is makhani style. Makhani means butter-y and the makhani/butter sauce you get restaurants usually has butter and cream. This sauce has coconut milk and cashews for the rich creamyness and the same spices and taste. You can add chopped veggies, roasted cauliflower florets, baked Tofu or Tempeh to the sauce. Make your restaurant style Tofu “Paneer” Makhani or Butter Seitan Chickun. Fenugreek Leaves or Kasuri methi can be found in Indian stores or online on amazon.
For a quicker cook time, chop the cauliflower into florets and blanch for 3-4 minutes, then cook in the blended sauce on stove top for 15 minutes. That will be Gobi Makhani.
Sure its not thanksgiving yet. but hey this can be the center piece for any party any-time. Blanch the cauliflower, make the sauce and store for a day or so, then bake and serve on the event day. You can use whatever spices you have on hand. The sauce will still be delicious.
Video!
You can carve this beautiful cauliflower any which way you want! More sauce served on the side. That sauce I tell you. Make it and add anything to it, but make it!
The creamy sauce is very rich and fatty with the full-fat coconut milk and cashews,(it is called Makhani-butter-y for a reason). You can make it lower fat by using a different non dairy milk and reducing the cashew flour. The sauce also stores very well. Make a larger quantity, Blend and store in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze in individual serving containers. thaw and use.
More Indian or Indian inspired main dishes here.
Steps:
Blanch the cauliflower. The cauliflower should be immersed in the water. The picture is for picture purposes:).
Place blanched cauliflower in baking dish.
Prepare the sauce. Cook onions, ginger, garlic till golden brown.
Add tomatoes, spices, salt and fenugreek leaves.
Cook until tomatoes are tender.
Blend tomato mixture with coconut milk and pour over cauliflower. keep some sauce to serve on the side later.
Bake until tender. Serve hot.
This week I leave you with this amazing Share your Dabba video.
This is a video about how wasted food is being used to feed the less fortunate. Share My Dabba/Tiffin/Lunchbox is an initiative to get food left uneaten in dabbas/tiffins to hungry street children in India, using just a Share sticker and the dabbawala(people who deliver the Tiffins) network. Please do watch.
This popular recipe is also my cookbook! Now available internationally!
Gobi Musallam - Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Creamy Makhani Sauce. Vegan Glutenfree Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cauliflower head , leaves and tough stem removed and washed
- Water to blanch
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, optional
Sauce/gravy:
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1/2 medium red onion chopped
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 5-6 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1 dry red chili or chili flakes to taste
- 3 medium tomatoes chopped
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 Tablespoon dried Fenugreek Leaves, kasuri methi
- 3/4 cup coconut milk, from can
- 1/4 cup ground cashew , or 1/3 cup soaked cashews
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon raw sugar , or 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Use enough water so all of the cauliflower can be immersed in it.
- Add salt, turmeric and chili and blanch/cook the whole cauliflower.
- Cover and cook for 4 minutes on each side(top and bottom. Flip after 4 minutes)
Sauce:
- In a pan, add oil and heat over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute until golden, 6-7 minutes
- Add ginger, garlic chili and saute for another 2 minutes.Add the spices and mix.
- Add tomatoes, salt, sugar, fenugreek leaves, mix and cook covered until tender. Mash the larger pieces. 8-10 minutes.
- Cool slightly, then blend with coconut milk and cashews into a smooth thick puree.Taste and adjust salt, spice.
Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F / 200ºc. Oil the baking dish if desired. Place the blanched cauliflower in a baking dish. Slowly drop the puree on top to cover the entire head of the cauliflower. Some sauce will fall on the side.
- Keep about a 1/3 of the sauce to serve on the side later.
- Bake in pre-heated 400 degrees F / 200ºc for 40-45 minutes till the cauliflower is dry to touch and sauce thickens a bit. Turn the dish around after 30 minutes.
- Heat the remaining sauce to just about a boil so it thickens and serve on the side.Serve hot with flat breads(Naan/Roti), or salads or quinoa.Chop and fill up wraps or a hoagie roll(to make gobi meatball sub).
Video
Notes
You can also stuff/pour some of the sauce into the florets by separating them and bake. Variations:
Gobi Makhani:
Cut up the cauliflower into florets and blanch in boiling water or roast in oven until half cooked.
Add blended sauce puree, 1/4 cup water and cauliflower florets into a pan and cook covered on low-medium heat, for 15-20 minutes or until sauce thickens to desired consistency.
Serve hot drizzled with cashew cream/coconut cream and a slice of earth balance on top.
You can also add baked Tofu or braised Tempeh or Seitan to the sauce. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just tried your recipe and it’s ABSOLUTLY delicous and a big hit with the kids.
We will definitly prepare this more often!
Probably the only thing i missed being vegan was butter chicken – this recipe has well and truly filled the void. It is incredible, i love it!
I have enjoyed your recipes ever since I discovered this site but this recipe is so so good that I have to comment and give thanks for your willingness to share. I’m sitting here in a lather of anticipation inhaling the gorgeous aroma wafting from my oven as this dish finishes up. I’ve already licked everything that touched that sauce ( blender blades are very dangerous but they hold onto so much yummy sauce). I can envision using this creamy gravy over so many roasted veggies. I added a cup of chickpeas to the roasting cauliflower and so will have a complete meal to put over brown rice. Thanks so much.
Awesome! I am so happy you like it so much!! Hope you keep making it again and again! Please be careful with the blender blades 🙂
Made this today and it’s really, really good!
The only thing I didn’t like was the cauliflower got a bit too soft for my taste with both blanching and roasting. Normally I just roast cauliflower (I debated just doing that this time but for some reason I actually followed the recipe the way it was written). I will definitely be making this again and skipping the blanching. And I’m going to pop that extra sauce in the freezer and see how it freezes because it would be awesome to have on hand. Thanks 🙂
great. you can break the cauliflower into florets and roast them and skip the blanching step. the blanching time depends on the size of the cauliflower. you can also roast for less time if the cauliflower gets tender quickly. roasting the entire head without blanching might lead to the center not getting cooked. But you can just roast the head as well. indian food is usually about well cooked and tender veggies. you can definitely change the recipe to preference. 🙂 glad that you tried it and liked the sauce!
Ah, good point! I didn’t think about the center not getting cooked if you didn’t blanch it. Mine broke into several pieces when I was taking it out of the water so it wasn’t a single big piece anymore. Made the sauce again and baked it on some homemade chikn seitan. Mmmmm! Makhani Chicken!
I made this last month, and it was really delicious. I had too much so I put some in the freezer. It defrosted perfectly and was just as good. Boyfriend thought it was really good but “too restaurant like.” As someone who likes white tablecloth Indian food, I took this as a compliment. 😀
awesome! you can tone down the creaminess with less cashews and use lighter non dairy milk. It is a restaurant style main dish to impress!:)
I’ve tried a bunch of Gobhi Mussalam recipes from various blogs and websites. This is by far the best one!! Thank you!!!