Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower/Tandoori Gobi V & GF

Whole roasted 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.

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-

Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower/Gobi

Whole cauliflower/gobi is marinated in Tandoori masala and some basic Indian spices and baked to make a stunning centerpiece for your thanksgiving and Christmas table. Compliments guaranteed! This recipe is so easy and healthy that it shouldn't be made only during thanksgiving and Christmas but enjoyed all year.

5 from 3 votes

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Marinating time 2 hours

Course Appetizer, Dinner, Diwali Recipe, lunch, Main Course, Party Appetizer, Sides, Thanksgiving/Christmas Casserole, Vegetable, whole30 recipe
Cuisine Indian, Indian Fusion

Servings 6

Equipment

  • 1 Knife
  • 1 chopping board
  • 1 glass bowl
  • 1 9inch round baking dish
  • Aluminum foil

Ingredients

  

  • 1 head cauliflower medium sized
  • 3 tbsp yogurt use vegan yogurt for vegan option
  • 1 tbsp ginger minced
  • 1 tbsp garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp gramflour/besan roasted
  • 1 tsp tandoori masala
  • 1/2 tsp paprika/kashmiri lal mirch
  • 1/8 tsp garam masala
  • 1/8 tsp turmeric powder/haldi
  • 1/8 tsp green cardamom powder/elaichi powder
  • 1/8 tsp carom seed powder/ajwain
  • 4 tbsp oil, divided

Instructions

 

  • Preheat oven to 350F
  • Remove the leaves from the cauliflower, cut the stalk in such a way that the cauliflower when placed on the baking dish, remains stable for baking. Using sharp knife make an X on the stalk to make sure the cauliflower get cooked all the way.
  • Wash whole cauliflower well and leave on a colander to drain while we prepare the marinade. Pat dry.

Marinade

  • In a large glass bowl, mix all the ingredients, except cauliflower. Use 2 tbsp oil for marinating and save the remaining 2 tbsp oil for later
  • Rub the marinade all over the cauliflower, making sure to turn the cauliflower over and rub the marinade generously into the back stems and stalk. Use hands for even marination. Cover and set aside in refrigerator for 2 hours

Baking Instructions

  • Grease a round 9 inch cake pan and place the cauliflower in the center of the pan. Drizzle 1 tsp oil on top. Make a tent/dome out of aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Don't let the foil touch the cauliflower
  • Every 15 minutes, remove the cauliflower from the oven, drizzle a tsp of oil, loosely cover the cauliflower with aluminum foil and bake again.
  • After 1 hour, poke a skewer/toothpick into the center of the cauliflower, it should go through without too much resistance. Otherwise bake an extra 5-10 minutes
  • Transfer the cauliflower to a platter and serve with tikka masala sauce drizzled on top or served on the side. Garnish with chopped cilantro and pomegranate arils. Serve with nan, pickled onions and cucumber raita

Notes

Use a medium sized cauliflower. A very large cauliflower may not get cooked evenly. Use vegan yogurt or skip entirely for vegan cauliflower. If you omit the yogurt, increase the lemon juice to 2 tbsp to increase the acidity of the marinade. Do take the time to rub the marinade generously all over, specially the back, stalky part and stems of the cauliflower. Covering with the foil, ensures the cauliflower doesn’t burn or dry out, yet gets cooked. You can broil for just a few minutes after baking is complete, though I did not broil. 

Roasted gram flour is a must to help the marinade stick to the cauliflower. Otherwise the marinade will not stick to the cauliflower. 

To roast the gram flour- In a pan, put gram flour and roast on medium till the color changes. Stir frequently for even browning.

Keyword airfried tandoori gobi whole, thanksgiving centerpiece vegan, vegetarian thanksgiving, whole tandoori cauliflower baked, whole tandoori gobi baked
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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 cauliflower 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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6 Responses

  1. Kiran Tanwani

    5 stars
    That’s tests very good and baked flever with tikka is just awesome .Thanks Aanchal Gupta for sharing recipes with us.

    • Aanchal Gupta

      Thanks Kiran for sharing your feedback. So happy to hear that the taste was good and you enjoyed it with the tikka masala sauce

  2. Kiran Tanwani

    5 stars
    That’s tastes very good and baked flavour with tikka just awesome 👌. Thanks Aanchal Gupta for sharing recipes with us.

    • Aanchal Gupta

      Thanks Kiran for sharing your feedback. So happy to hear the taste was good and tasted awesome with the tikka masala sauce.

  3. Nishita

    5 stars
    Hey Aanchal
    Made roasted gobhi for yesterdays feast . It sure did fill up the spot for Turkey in my vegetarian spread. It turned out good . Thank you.

    • Aanchal Gupta

      Thanks Nishita for sharing your feedback. Glad to hear it turned out good. Yes it is the perfect dish for a vegetarian thanksgiving spread

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