Never thought I’d be cooking a whole cauliflower- but this year has given us weirder surprises so here we are! ??♀️?
I never use actual measurements for my masalas- it’s all based on estimates, which is pretty much how South Asian cooking is done at home. For your benefit, I will attempt to put approx. measurements below. If in doubt, start with a smaller amount and build it up. Remember to always taste as you go along! ??
Ingredients:
For the marinade:
- 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt
- red chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon
- lemon juice, 1.5 tablespoon (I like it tangy)
- salt, to taste
- cumin seed powder, 1/2 teaspoon
- coriander powder, 1/3 teaspoon
- turmeric powder, 1/3 teaspoon
Other ingredients:
- 1 whole cauliflower, prepped to cook
- thinly sliced ginger
- coriander for garnish
- Cooking oil suitable for high temperature
Method:
- In a bowl mix all the marinade ingredients. Taste, adjust the flavours if required and set aside.
- Pre-heat the oven to 160 C (fan)
- In salted boiling hot water, blanch the whole cauliflower for a minute.
- Remove from water, and cut the cauliflower in half. You can choose to keep the cauliflower whole so best to even out the bottom so it sits upright.
- Add a drizzle of oil in the dish so the bottom is coated. Pour the marinade over the cauliflower, ensuring it covers the whole flower and seeps through. Add lashings of oil on top. Less is more as you would need to top it up, as you check the cauliflower while it’s cooking.
- Leave to cook in the oven for 40-45 minutes. But do keep checking every 15 minutes. If the cauliflower looks too dry, add a light drizzle of oil.
- Once cooked, garnish with sliced ginger and chopped coriander. I would’ve added sliced green chillies too but my friend couldn’t handle extra heat ?. Plus she’s a vegetarian and gave her stamp of approval ?
