Cauliflower (Gobi) Tikka Masala – Restaurant style

Cauliflower is a favorite in our home. Both me and my husband enjoy it with pretty much anything, either rotis or any rice. There are different styles and forms in which cauliflower can be cooked. In my blog, I have already shared recipes for Tandoori Cauliflower, Gobi 65 and Gobi Manchurian. 

Today, I am sharing a recipe that I personally order the most in restaurants – Gobi Tikka Masala. The same recipe works well for Baby corn, capsicum or paneer too. The process for tikka masala is slightly lengthy if you are preparing everything from scratch, but even then you can finish it off in 1.5 hours. You need marination, tandoori masala, almond-pista paste and of course the onion and tomato pastes for the gravy. But, if you have readymade tandoori masala, it gets little easier. I have another version of Tandoori masala in my blog too, do check it out.

Take some time to prepare this because restaurant-style dishes do need some time, right?? 🙂 🙂

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 1 hour Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Cauliflower florets – 1 cup

Bell peppers/capsicum – ½ cup, diced (I used green and red capsicum)

Onions – ¼ cup, diced

Almonds – 6

Pistachios – 6

Sesame seeds – 1 tsp

Tandoori masala powder:

Cumin powder – 1 tbsp

Garam masala powder – 1 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Red chili powder – 2 tsp

Dry fenugreek leaves/kasoori methi – 1 tsp

Grated nutmeg – a pinch, optional

Marination:

Thick curd/yogurt – ¼ cup

Tandoori masala powder – 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Dry fenugreek leaves/kasoori methi – 1 tbsp

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Gravy:

Onion paste – ½ cup

Tomato paste – ¼ cup

Ginger – 1 tsp (paste-form or finely chopped)

Fennel seed powder – ¼ tsp, optional

Cumin seeds/jeera – 1 tbsp

Tandoori masala powder – 2 tbsp

Red chili powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Garam masala powder – 1 tsp

Honey – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Coriander leaves – 1 tsp (finely chopped)

Oil – 2 tbsp

Preparations:

1. Soak almonds, pistachios and sesame seeds in ¼ cup water for 30 minutes. Then blend it into smooth paste. Set aside.
2. Blend all ingredients under ‘tandoori masala powder’ till you get a fine powder. Set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients under ‘marination’. Add the cauliflower, bell peppers and onions to this marinade and give a good mix. Cover and refrigerate for atleast 1 hour.

Procedure:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan/skillet and add the marinated vegetables on a medium-high heat. Cover and cook till the vegetables are almost cooked and they get charred or smoky lightly. Keep stirring in between and do not overcook them, they should still be crunchy. Set aside.
2. Into the same pan add remaining oil and cumin seeds. Fry for few seconds.
3. Add the onion paste and ginger. Fry till the onion is well cooked and the rawness disappears.
4. Then add the tomato paste and cook covered for 2 minutes.
5. Add the honey, fennel powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, coriander and cumin powders and give a good mix. Add ½ cup water and cook covered till it comes to a boil.
6. Add the prepared almond-pistachio paste and cook covered for another 5 minutes.
7. Then add the cooked vegetables, give a gentle mix, season with salt if required and remove from heat.
8. Serve hot topped with coriander leaves. It goes well with naan, roti, phulka or any rice item.

Note:

1. You may grill the veggies instead of cooking on stove-top. Cook them on medium-high heat so that they get the smokiness and the tandoor-like texture.
2. You may use cream instead of almond-pista paste.
3. You can skip the gravy and prepare a dry version of gobi tikka, goes well as a starter.

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