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    Home » Recipes » Dinner

    Tandoori Cauliflower

    Published: Aug 31, 2021 · Modified: Mar 19, 2025 by Maria Doss · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Tandoori Cauliflower delivers all the flavors of tandoori chicken but made lighter, low carb and vegetarian friendly. It is incredibly tasty, easily made in oven or air fryer and delicious served as an appetizer or made into wraps for dinner. A must have recipe!

    Jump to Recipe

    It's spicy cauliflower day, which means a big platter of super flavorful tandoori roasted cauliflower served with a delicious herby mayo! It's tender with charred edges, spicy, tart and so so delicious served as an appetizer for parties or made into wraps or salads.

    What is tandoori cauliflower?

    Also known as tandoori gobi, it is a vegetarian version of the air fryer tandoori chicken or the tandoori chicken wings recipe. It is a great low carb alternative or if you are just looking into including more cauliflower into your diet. My favorite part of this recipe is that it can be made in both oven and air fryer.

    Main ingredients

    Cauliflower – A medium to large head of cauliflower, cut into about 1 and ½ inch florets.

    Yogurt – Plain yogurt

    Chickpea flour - Use besan instead

    Lemon juice - or use lime.

    Spices – Coriander and cayenne pepper powder

    Ginger & Garlic – Freshly grated or use ginger garlic paste

    Orange food color – It is used to give the tandoori gobi recipe the iconic deep orangish – red  color. This is purely optional. 

    ingredients needed for spicy cauliflower

    Method

    Toast Chickpea flour - Cook chickpea flour and vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat, for a minute or two or until toasted. Transfer to a bowl.

    Make tandoori gobi marinade - Mix the toasted chickpea flour-oil mixture, yogurt, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, coriander, cayenne, salt and food color, until mixed thoroughly.

    Marinade - Toss cauliflower florets with the marinade, until every part of the floret is coated with the mixture. Cover and set aside for 15 to 30 minutes.

    Cook - Broil in oven or air fry until cooked through and slightly charred.

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    Expert tips

    Chickpea flour or besan helps in giving a sealed coating to the cauliflower.

    Make sure to transfer all the chickpea flour and oil mixture to the bowl (a rubber spatula comes handy.

    If pressed for time, then you can cook right away.

    Food color - Orange food color is used to mimic the iconic orange colored tandoori chicken. But, it is purely optional.

    If using greek yogurt, then use ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons greek yogurt plus 2 tablespoons water.

    Use 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste instead of ginger and garlic.

    sheet pan with tandoori marinated cauliflower ready to be baked

    Serving suggestions

    Serve as an appetizer with the herby mayo or make into tandoori wraps, a tandoori cauliflower salad (simply replace the tandoori chicken with cauliflower in the tandoori chicken salad recipe) or with accompaniment to Indian rice dishes.

    air fryer basket with tandoori gobi
    rectangular platter with tandoori roasted cauliflower, garnished with cilantro

    platter with tandoori cauliflower and dipping sauce

    Tandoori Cauliflower

    Tandoori Cauliflower delivers all the flavors of tandoori chicken but lighter, low carb and vegetarian friendly. It is incredibly tasty, easily made in oven or air fryer and delicious served as an appetizer or made into wraps for dinner. A must have recipe!
    4.6 from 11 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dinner
    Cuisine: Indian
    Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 27 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 Servings
    Calories: 109kcal
    Author: Maria Doss

    Ingredients

    • 1 head cauliflower medium to large

    Marinade

    • 1 and ½ tablespoons chickpea flour or besan
    • 1 and ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
    • ½ cup plain yogurt
    • 1 tablespoon lime juice
    • 2 cloves garlic grated
    • ¼ inch piece ginger
    • 2 teaspoons coriander powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
    • 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
    • 1 or 2 pinches orange food color optional
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    Instructions

    • Cut cauliflower into 1 and ½ inch size florets and set aside.
    • Heat a small skillet over medium heat, add chickpea flour and vegetable oil, cook stirring continuously for about 1 minute or until it toasted. Remove from heat as soon as you see it beginning to change color. Transfer to a large bowl (make sure to remove all the flour and oil mixture).
    • Add all remaining marinade ingredients and stir well until thoroughly mixed. Stir in cauliflower florets and toss well, until the marinade is coated all around the florets. Let it marinade for 15 to 30 minutes.
    • Oven method - Position an oven rack about 6 inches from heat element and turn on broil.
      Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray, place cauliflower in a single layer (don't overcrowd, spread out them), spray again with a coating of non-stick spray.
      Place baking sheet in the oven (6-inches from heat element) and broil for 25 to 30 minutes, until slightly charred and cooked. Remove baking sheet from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. 
    • Air Fryer method - Pre heat air fryer to 400°F for 12 minutes.
      Place half the cauliflower in a single layer (spreading them out), spray a coating of non-stick cooking spray, cook for about 12 minutes, or until cooked. Remove cauliflower onto a plate. Repeat process with remaining cauliflower.

    Notes

    Chickpea flour or besan helps in giving a sealed coating to the cauliflower.
    Make sure to transfer all the chickpea flour and oil mixture to the bowl (a rubber spatula comes handy.
    If pressed for time, then you can cook right away.
    Food color – Orange food color is used to mimic the iconic orange colored tandoori chicken. But, it is purely optional.
    If using greek yogurt, then use ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons greek yogurt plus 2 tablespoons water.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1 Serving | Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 318mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g

    Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.

    Did you make this recipe?Mention @KitchenAtHoskins or tag #kitchenathoskins!

    Did you make this recipe? I’d love your feedback! Please let me know by leaving a comment or review below or snap a photo and share on Instagram.

    All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Please do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite in your own words and don’t forget to include a link back to the original recipe.

    Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Thank you for supporting kitchenathoskins.com.

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    4.64 from 11 votes (11 ratings without comment)

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    Hi, I'm Maria! I'm excited to share with you creative twists on classic Indian, American, and global dishes—perfect for easy family meals or unique dishes to impress guests!

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