Tandoori Gobi/Cauliflower

‘Tandoori’ means cooking in tandoor – clay or metal oven that is used for baking or cooking. This is a very popular style of Indian cooking used mainly for starter recipes – tandoori aloo/potato, tandoori paneer/cottage cheese etc. Traditionally, all tandoori recipes use a secret tandoor masala , which is a blend of different dry spices. The food is marinated with the tandoori masala and then cooked in a tandoor giving it an earthy and smoky taste.

I did not have tandoori masala at home, so I checked the recipe online and prepared it. It was made in just 5 minutes, no need of dry roasting or anything, just mix all the ingredients and blend into smooth powder. The tandoori gobi turned out delicious. I served it with a basic onion-tomato gravy and roti, it was yum !! 😀 The same dish can also be served as a starter recipe, just skip the gravy and cut the cauliflower into florets after baking and it is ready to go as a starter.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower – 1 medium

Tandoori masala (Blend all the ingredients into smooth powder)

Garlic powder – 1 tsp

Ginger powder – 1 tsp

Pepper powder – 1 tsp

Cloves – 4

Cinnamon – ½ inch piece

Green cardamom/elaichi – 4

Grated nutmeg – ¼ tsp

Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp

Fenugreek seeds/menthulu – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds/jeera – 1 tsp

Mace/javitri – 2

For marination

Tandoori masala – 1 tbsp

Hung yogurt/thick curd – ¼ cup

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Red chili powder – 1 tsp, optional (I added for color)

Oil – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Procedure:

1. Bring about 5-6 cups of water to a boil, add salt to taste and then place the cauliflower in it. Let it cook till 80 percent done. Strain and place aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients under ‘for marination’ and apply this to the cauliflower.
3. Make sure to apply the marination between and under the florets as well. Refrigerate for atleast 30 minutes.
4. Place the marinated cauliflower on a greased baking tray/plate and also spray or brush oil all over the cauliflower.
5. Bake this in a pre-heated oven at 220°C for 20 minutes.
6. Remove and serve with any basic gravy of your choice. I served with onion-tomato masala and it was lip-smacking!!

Related Images: