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!
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.
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.
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.
Tandoori Cauliflower
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
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
Nutrition
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.
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