Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower/Tandoori Gobi V & GF

Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower/Tandoori Gobi V & GF -Whole cauliflower/gobi is marinated in Tandoori masala and some basic Indian spices to make a stunning centerpiece for your thanksgiving and Christmas table. This recipe is so easy and healthy that it should be made all year and not just during thanksgiving and Christmas. I make it pretty often for dinner, but I cut the cauliflower into florets and air fry the tandoori cauliflower pieces for an easy and healthy dinner. I use this same marinade for Tandoor Tofu, that I had shared long time back.

For a moist Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower/Tandoori Gobi I must emphasize that you must push the marinade into all the gaps, cracks, crannies and stems at the back of the cauliflower. This way the stalky part gets cooked well and is just as flavorful as the florets. Making an X cut on the stalk also helps to cook the stalk completely. Covering the cauliflower with aluminum foil tent will not dry it out yet make sure that the cauliflower is cooked all the way. if you want a more charred look on top, broil for few minutes after cauliflower is fully baked, though I did not broil.

Drizzling 1-2 tsps of oil on the cauliflower, every 15 minutes, browns it evenly and makes for a moist cauliflower. For vegan and whole 30 compliant cauliflower, use either vegan yogurt or omit the yogurt and increase the amount of of lemon juice to 2 tbsp. Also add 1 tbsp of water. I have used Shan Tandoori Masala. If you don’t want to make the marinade, use jarred tandoori ready marinades. Though I have never used the ready made jarred variety, it is a shortcut for those who do not have all the ingredients readily available.  I highly recommend using roasted gram flour/besan for all my Indian marinades. This helps the marinade to adhere better to the cauliflower, tofu, chicken, shrimp, paneer etc. I always roast about 2 cups and keep in my pantry. makes marination a snap. If you are wondering why we need to roast and not use raw gram flour/besan, that’s because gram flour/besan has a distinct flavor and when we roast it, that raw flavor goes away.

How to Roast gram flour/ besan-  In a frying pan put your gram flour and cook on medium low till the color changes to a few shades darker. We do not want to brown the besan. Stir frequently while roasting. Store in an air tight container in your pantry. Lasts 6-8 months.

I made some Tikka Masala Sauce to go with the Tandoori Gobi. The Tikka Masala sauce is vegan and gluten free and goes really well with the Tandoori Gobi. Serve the Tandoori Gobi with Tikka Masala sauce, cucumber raita, pickled onions and some of my two ingredient dough naan. This naan recipe is genius, you really only need 2 ingredients to make this naan and it needs no yeast or proofing!

Some other vegetarian recipes to try for thanksgiving and Christmas are-

Hash brown Casserole-5 ingredient recipe

Cabbage Corn Jalapeno and Cream Cheese Casserole

Pistachio Chocolate Eclair Dessert-No Bake Recipe

Eggless Blueberry Cobbler with only 5 ingredients

Jiffy Eggless Mexican Cornbread with Jalapeno and Cheese

Sweet and Spicy Cranberry Chutney with Indian Spices

Eggless Cheesecake-No Bake Recipe

Here is the written recipe followed by the step by step pictorial one-

Here is the step by step pictorial recipe-

Preheat oven to 350F

Remove the leaves and cut the stalk in such a way that the cauliflower when placed on a baking dish is stable

Using sharp knife, make an X on the stalk

Wash whole cauliflower and leave on colander to drain while we prepare our marinade

In a large glass bowl mix all the ingredients, except cauliflower

Use 2 tbsp of oil and save the remaining 2 tbsp oil for later

Rub the marinade well, specially making sure to push the marinade

into the stems and stalk at the back. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours minimum

Place the cauliflower on a greased 9 inch baking dish. Drizzle1-2 tsp of oil on top of the cauliflower

Make a tent/dome out of aluminum foil and loosely cover the baking dish and bake for 15 minutes

Every 15 minutes remove from oven, drizzle some oil and place the foil tent and bake again

After 1 hour, poke a skewer/ toothpick. It should go through without much resistance. Otherwise bake an additional 5-10 minutes

Transfer the Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower/Tandoori Gobi V & GF to a plate and garnish with cilantro leaves and pomegranate arils

Serve with tikka masala sauce drizzled on top or on the side. Serve with naan, onions and cucumber raita

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