TANDOORI WHOLE GOBI in a Creamy Tomato-Onion Sauce

TANDOORI WHOLE GOBI in a creamy Tomato-Onion Sauce is a baked whole tandoori spiced cauliflower served over a bed of luscious, creamy and rich Tomato-onion-cashew gravy; a perfect way to celebrate this beautiful vegetable with some plain or flavored rice on the side or even with flat breads like rotis, naan, parathas etc.

This delicious, gourmet like curry is perfect as a show stopper at any gathering or party and can be made ahead of time (especially the gravy).

Come Thanksgiving Day in the US, every family tries to get together to celebrate thanks for everything in their life and share joy, happiness and food with family and friends!

I happened to be in the US this Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2020 and my son decided to make his traditional Thanksgiving Tandoori chicken (instead of turkey). For the vegetarians, we decided to make a vegetarian Tandoori Cauliflower or Gobi version instead!

Although these celebrations are enjoyed together in large gatherings, this year because of the Covid pandemic, everyone is trying to celebrate virtually, at least in our family. So it was going to be a virtual Thanksgiving dinner with us in San Diego and my elder son and his wife in Massachusetts via the medium of virtual, online platform, having a special meal together!

BAKED TANDOORI GOBI:

We love cauliflower or gobi in any dish, especially if it is baked or fried as pakoras/fritters or even in a stir fry or curry.

But for this special occasion, I decided to bake it whole, something I have been wanting to make for ages!

This is nothing but a whole cauliflower head, marinated in tandoori spiced paste for a few hours and baked until crispy tender and golden brown.

To make it a Thanksgiving kind of meal, I decided to serve it over a bed of Indian spiced thick, rich, luscious, spicy and lip smacking onion-tomato-cashew gravy.

This is my take on Gobi Mussalam (mussalam is "whole") a Mughlai cauliflower dish served with a creamy, buttery or makhani sauce!

HOW TO MAKE BAKED TANDOORI GOBI with GRAVY:

The first step is to marinate gobi or the whole cauliflower (leaves and the base thick stem removed) in a spicy yogurt mixture mixed with some spices. This marinade forms the base for any tandoori baked dish! I tweaked my Tandoori Gobi Tikka recipe to make the marinade for this dish.

This can be done at least 4 hours ahead or best marinated overnight!

Just mix thick yogurt with some spices: chili powder, coriander and cumin powder, garam masala powder, turmeric, black pepper powder, chaat masala powder (or lemon juice) and ginger and garlic pastes with salt to taste.

Rub this thoroughly all over the cauliflower (even under it) , place in a bowl, cover and let marinate a few hours or at up to 24 hours.

Take it out an hour or two before baking or starting the dish.

Bake in a hot oven until just cooked and still has a bite to it! This process may take 45 minutes to an hour depending upon the oven and the size of the cauliflower.

This is then served with a delicious gravy! Just saute onions, whole spices (cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin), ginger, garlic and tomatoes along with cashews (to add depth of flavor and richness) until soft and slightly cooked.

I added some additional tomato paste for a more robust taste. Just blend this mixture and tip into the pan again, add some water to adjust the consistency to make for a medium thick gravy and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, adjusting the seasonings.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Once both the elements (baked cauliflower and gravy) are ready, serve hot baked Tandoori Gobi over a bed of this gravy (you can drizzle some on top too), sprinkle freshly chopped cilantro or parsley and more roasted cashews if you like.

Slice or cut into wedges or chunks and enjoy with a side of simple jeera or cumin rice, any pulav or biryani or just plain rice.

Don't you just love those dark green specks of roasted and baked dried fenugreek leaves on top of that delicious bunch of cauliflower? Kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves add a lot of earthy, herby flavor to most curries or north Indian dishes, but if you cannot find them, feel free to leave them out.

We enjoyed this Thanksgiving with some delicious vegetable pulao made by my daughter-in-law!

Of course, there was baked tandoori chicken on a bed of vegetables along with another family favorite – Zesty Macaroni Salad to complete the meal!

Besides serving it with rice, you could also enjoy it with some naan, roti, paratha etc. which we are going to with leftovers!

I wish we could have enjoyed this in person with our elder son and daughter-in-law who I mentioned are in Massachusetts but it was such fun and so endearing to see them virtually and enjoy a joint meal albeit in our own homes, as it should be during this raging pandemic!

With a vaccine in sight, hope we get to enjoy the next Thanksgiving meal along with the whole family at the same dinner table!

We all enjoyed this baked tandoori gobi so much that it is going to be a fixture at all our Thanksgivings or even on other special occasions like Diwali, New Year, Christmas etc.!

So, do try and make this scrumptious and delicious cauliflower delight and enjoy with family and friends at your next party or gathering or even with your own family for now!

UPDATED DECEMBER 8 2020:

I made this gravy again and decided to stir in some soft paneer cubes (Indian cottage cheese) with some cooked green peas to go with our Chili Garlic Laccha Paratha with Piri Piri spice (sharing this recipe soon!).

We all ended up licking our fingers enjoying this one! So do make this gravy and stir in any vegetable you like or even some cooked chicken or meat!

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

If you love cauliflower, you will surely enjoy these favorites of mine too:

Happy Cooking and Eating!

Yum

TANDOORI WHOLE CAULIFLOWER in a Creamy Tomato-Onion Sauce

Prep Time: 8 hours

Cook Time: 1 hour

Serving Size: 6-8

Baked whole tandoori spiced cauliflower served over a bed of luscious, creamy and rich tomato-onion-cashew gravy best enjoyed with some rice or flat breads.

Ingredients

1 medium whole cauliflower; remove thick stems and leaves

FOR MARINATION:

½ cup thick yogurt
2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder (more for color)
1 tbsp dhania jeera powder (mix of coriander and cumin powder)
1 tsp chaat masala powder (or use lemon juice)
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ tsp crushed black pepper powder
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon grated fresh garlic
2 tablespoons kasoori methi/dried fenugreek leaves, crushed
Salt to taste (1 tsp pink salt or to taste)

FOR GRAVY:

3 cloves
1 large cinnamon stick
2 green cardamoms
1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
3 to 4 tbsp cooking oil
1 ½ cups chopped onions
1 green chili/jalapeno/Serrano pepper, sliced
2 tsp grated or minced ginger
2 tsp grated or minced garlic
Handful of cashews (for richness and texture)
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chili powder (Kashmiri red chili)
1/4 tsp haldi/turmeric powder
Dash of black pepper powder
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 to 3 tsp oil/ghee
1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder (or paprika powder; more for color than heat); optional
Dash of sugar/jaggery/brown sugar (to balance the flavors)
1 tsp garam masala powder

FOR GARNISH:

Chopped cilantro/coriander leaves/parsley
Few ghee/oil roasted cashew halves

Instructions

MARINATING THE GOBI:

Wash, drain, remove the leaves and thick stem from the bottom of the cauliflower.
Mix all these ingredients in a mixing bowl and adjust taste to your preference.
Coat the gobi with the above marinade thoroughly; all over including the bottom portion of the vegetable.
Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for at least 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
Remove from fridge 1 to 2 hours before baking.

TO BAKE THE TANDOORI GOBI:

Preheat oven to 425 F or 220 C
Bake gobi in a foil lined baking pan, uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour, basting with oil or melted ghee in between once or twice.
You can spoon any leftover marinade over the gobi.
Bake until the vegetable is just cooked; a knife inserted should slide through almost easily but not too much, like just cooked but still with a bite; start checking at 40 minutes.
Remove from oven.
Serve over a bed of hot tomato-onion-cashew gravy. You can drizzle the gobi with the gravy on top too. Slice wedges or cut into chunks and serve with gravy.

TO MAKE THE GRAVY:

In 2 tsp oil, fry the whole spices – cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and cumin seeds.
Sauté this for a few seconds and then add 1 large onion (about 1 ½ cups), chopped along with 1 jalapeno sliced.
Saute on medium heat until the onions are soft and start to brown.
Add grated ginger and garlic (2 tsp each) and fry again for a few seconds.
Add a handful of cashews and fry.
Tip in 2 medium tomatoes, chopped, sprinkle a bit of salt and cook again until the tomatoes are mushy slightly. If the spices start to burn, splash some water.
When the tomatoes are soft and cooked, add 1/3 cup tomato paste.
Mix well, cook until thoroughly mixed and then cool.
When cool, blend to a fine paste.
In the same pan, add 2 tsp oil and 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder. Immediately add the gravy mixture and the required amount of water to make a medium thick gravy.
Add salt to taste, some sugar (to balance the flavor) and bring to a simmer; let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.
Serve hot with tandoori baked cauliflower.
Just spoon or ladle hot gravy in a flat serving dish and place the baked gobi in the center. Drizzle more gravy (optional) on top and serve hot with plain rice, jeera rice, pulav, biryani etc.
This rich, Mughlai flavored gobi can be enjoyed with any Indian flat bread too like rotis, parathas, naan etc.
Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Notes

Adjust the amount of spices according to personal taste.

Bake time for the cauliflower depends upon the temperature of the oven and size of the cauliflower.

If you want to reduce the baking time, you can parboil the whole cauliflower before marinating and baking it.

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Step-wise Instructions to make Tandoori Whole Gobi with Creamy Tomato-onion-cashew Sauce:

PREPPING and MARINATING THE GOBI:

Wash, drain, remove the leaves and thick stem from the bottom of the cauliflower.

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl using a whisk or spoon; taste to your preference.

Coat the prepped gobi/cauliflower with the above marinade thoroughly; all over including the bottom portion of the vegetable.

Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for at least 6 to 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from fridge 1 to 2 hours before baking.

TO BAKE THE TANDOORI GOBI:

Preheat oven to 425 F or 200 C.

Transfer marinated gobi to a foil-line baking pan for easy cleanup!

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour, basting with oil or melted ghee in between once or twice.

You can spoon any leftover marinade over the gobi.

Bake until the vegetable is just cooked; a knife inserted should slide through almost easily but not too much, like just cooked but still with a bite; start checking at 40 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve over a bed of hot tomato-onion-cashew gravy. You can drizzle the gobi with the gravy on top too. Slice wedges or cut into chunks and serve with gravy.

MAKING THE GRAVY:

In 2 tsp oil, fry the whole spices – cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and cumin seeds.

Saute this for a few seconds and then add 1 large onion (about 1 ½ cups), chopped along with 1 jalapeno sliced.

Saute on medium heat until the onions are soft and start to brown.

Add grated ginger and garlic (2 tsp each) and fry again for a few seconds.

Add a handful of cashews, 2 teaspoons coriander powder, 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, a dash of black pepper powder, mix well and fry.

Tip in 2 medium tomatoes, chopped, sprinkle a bit of salt and cook again until the tomatoes are mushy slightly. If the spices start to burn, splash some water.

When the tomatoes are soft and cooked, add 1/3 cup tomato paste.

Mix well, add garam masala powder, cook until thoroughly mixed and then cool.

When cool, blend to a fine paste.

In the same pan, add 2 tsp oil and 1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder.

Immediately add the gravy mixture and the required amount of water to make a medium thick gravy.

Add salt to taste, some sugar (to balance the flavor) and bring to a simmer; let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.

Serve hot with tandoori baked cauliflower.

Just spoon or ladle hot gravy in a flat serving dish and place the baked gobi in the center. Drizzle more gravy (optional) on top and serve hot with plain rice, jeera rice, pulav, biryani etc.