Truth be told, I swiped the base of this recipe from Whole Foods and made it a wholeeee lot better. Mine has an added boost of flavor and seasoning (salt!) which we all know Whole Foods cuisine to lack. Plus the addition of cumin seeds, garam masala, cumin powder and a squeeze of lemon to finish it off with a bit of brightness.
This Indian Curried Cauliflower is a great healthy side dish that can be assembled quickly on a weeknight while adding a burst of spice and warmth to your meal. It’s great paired grilled chicken or mixed in with some quinoa, beans and a dollop of yogurt on top to make the dish a full meal! Either way, it’s sure to please!
It’s also completely customizable and ingredients can be swapped in and out to fit your needs or what you have on hand. Here’s some of the few modifications I’ve made over the years —
- Swapping frozen cauliflower for fresh, simply defrost in the microwave before tossing with the spice mix
- Adding in potatoes to make it a heartier dish as a modern play on the traditional Indian Aloo Gobi
- Bringing sweet potatoes to the party in place of white for an extra dose of nutrients! Either’s great depending on what you have on hand or even a combination of both!
Indian Curried Cauliflower has been a longtime standby in our house. We make it quite often and is an all time favorite! In fact, M<3 and I love it so much, I gave our wedding cater my recipe and requested she add it to the menu at our Austin wedding – which of course had a sampling of Indian food as a nod to M<3’s culture.
Hope you enjoy and feel free to play around with different combinations to find the one that you love best!
Indian Curried Cauliflower
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Indian Curried Cauliflower is a hearty, warm side dish that's filled with spices!
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 3 cups
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower, washed, dried and cut into florets**
- ½ small red onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- ½ tablespoon fennel seed
- ½ tablespoon cumin seed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ - 1 tablespoon garam masala (depending on spice preference)
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ tablespoon grated ginger, preferably fresh
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- ½ cup frozen peas, defrosted
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- juice of half a lemon
Instructions
- Preheat over to 425* - if you have a convection oven with a Roast option, preheat on Roast to 425*
- Prepare a large baking pan by lightly coating it with olive oil (for easy clean up, cover with aluminum foil first, then lightly coat with olive oil)
- In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower florets and diced red onion
- Whisk together the melted coconut oil, spices, grated ginger and garlic
- Pour half of the oil and spice mixture over the cauliflower and onions and stir well
- Once combined, add the remaining oil and spice mixture, tossing to coat
- Pour cauliflower onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it evenly into a single layer
- Roast for 25 minutes, tossing every 10 until lightly golden
- Remove from oven, add in the peas, cilantro and drizzle on the lemon juice before serving.
Notes
**If you're using frozen cauliflower, simply microwave to defrost before adding to the oil & spice mixture. If you'd like to add in potatoes, simply dice the potatoes into half inch pieces. Cook the cauliflower and potato mixture for an additional 5-10 minutes until potatoes are cooked through.
