Tandoori Gobi

Tandoori gobi makes for a healthy and tasty evening snack or appetizer. Cauliflower florets are marinated in yogurt and spices and roasted in an oven. Serve with ketchup or a zingy green chutney.

Here's another slightly spicy snack that you might like: chilli cheese toast.

If you like spicy vegetarian snacks, do try this tandoori gobi made in the oven. Normally, anything 'tandoori' is made in a tandoor, a clay oven. However, since we don't have access to a tandoor in our home kitchens, our regular oven does the work.

The result is not exactly the same as the tandoor, but at least that same chargrilled look can be achieved if you broil the cauliflower after roasting it. Even in a regular oven, the cauliflower is quite delicious as the marinade seeps into the crevices and lends it a deep, rich flavor.

Looking for more vegetarian snacks? Try this khaman dhokla or this paneer pepper fry. They will not disappoint. And if you're curious to check out more snacks and appetizers, go right ahead and see what else is there on the blog!

Ingredients

• Cauliflower - a medium-sized head, cut into small florets
• Thick yogurt - do not use vanilla flavored or sweetened yogurt for Indian recipes that call for yogurt. Use plain, natural, and preferably full fat yogurt for maximum taste.
• Chickpea flour (besan) - a fine yellow flour, it is easily available in Indian stores or in the international aisle of any supermarket. It gives a crispy texture and nutty flavor to the tandoori gobi.
• Ginger garlic paste - use store bought or make your own. It's so easy to make some! Put equal quantities of peeled ginger and garlic in a blender, add a few tablespoons water and whiz until you have a smooth paste. Use as required and store the excess in a clean glass bottle with a lid in the fridge.
• Lemon juice - freshly squeezed
• Cooking oil - any neutral oil will do
• Turmeric - good ol' turmeric for color and warmth
• Red chilli powder - use cayenne if you have it but reduce the quantity if you don't want very spicy cauliflower. Or use a mild variety of chilli powder called Kashmiri chilli. It adds colour without much heat.
• Garam masala - the most commonly used spice blend in Indian cooking.
• Cumin powder - make your own cumin powder if you don't have ground cumin. Dry roast a couple of teaspoons cumin seeds in a small frypan until the seeds change color slightly and become fragrant. Let the seeds cool down a bit and grind to a powder (as coarse or fine as you like it) in a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder.
• Chaat masala - this spice blend is available easily in Indian stores. It lends a lipsmacking piquancy to anything it's added to.
• Salt - everything tastes better with a little salt, right?

Instructions

Prep the cauliflower

• Cut the cauliflower into florets and wash under running tap water.
• Pour water in a pot and bring it to a roiling boil. Add the cauliflower florets and allow them to cook for 2 minutes.
• Take out the florets and keep them aside. You can do this in two ways: either take them out with the help of a slotted spoon or drain all the water from the pot in a colander and keep the cauliflower aside.

Make the batter

• Put all the batter ingredients (from the yogurt to the salt) in a bowl and whisk to make a thick and smooth batter.

Roast the cauliflower

• Brush the batter on the cauliflower florets or dip the florets in the batter and shake off the excess batter.
• Spray a baking tray with some cooking oil and place the cauliflower on the tray in a single layer.
• Roast in a preheated oven at 400 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
• In the end, switch the oven setting to broil and allow the cauli to remain in the oven for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the oven when the florets start getting brown spots on the top.

Top tips

• Don't let the cauliflower become too soft before roasting. Just cook it enough in the hot water so it's no longer raw. If you overcook it, it will become mushy upon being roasted.
• Broiling the cauliflower as the last step is not strictly necessary. You can do it to give the florets some interesting color and texture, but it will be completely cooked even before it is broiled.
• Serve the snack when it is still warm out of the oven.
• Sprinkle a little chopped cilantro or mint for a touch of green, and some extra lemon juice before serving.