Cauliflower is by far the most cooked vegetable in our house. I roast it, steam it, fry it, mash it, pickle it, and even it eat it raw. I pretty much buy a cauliflower on every grocery store trip.
There are so many different ways to eat cauliflower, it’s a super versatile vegetable. Of all the ways to cook it, I think whole roasting it is by far the most visually stunning way to cook a cauliflower.
Bringing the whole cauliflower to the table on a pretty platter makes for an amazing centerpiece to a vegetarian meal. I especially love to slice into the cauliflower and see the creamy white inside in contrast to the crispy yellow exterior. Steve likes to slice it like a roast and I prefer to cut wedges. It’s delicious either way! And best of all, if you have the ingredients on hand, the prep takes just a few minutes.
We had some left overs the next day and we made the cauliflower into a taco filling and added a little cheddar cheese and hot sauce. Super good!
Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower with Cilantro Onion Chutney
Ingredients
For the Cauliflower
- 1 medium cauliflower
- ½ cup yogurt I use nonfat Greek style yogurt
- 3 garlic cloves grated
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp chili powder or to taste
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
For the Cilantro Onion Chutney
- 1 cup loosely packed cilantro roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup mint leaves or substute 1 tsp dried mint leaves
- ½ small red onion roughly chopped
- ½ cup yogurt
- ½ Serrano chili or to taste, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and dry the cauliflower and cut off the leaves and core.
- In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the cauliflower.
- Brush the yogurt mixture all over the cauliflower. Make sure to get into all the crevices and don’t neglect the underside.
- Set the cauliflower in a casserole dish or cookie sheet and then in the fridge to marinate for an hour or two. You can leave it in the fridge for up to eight hours if you want to prep earlier.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Transfer the cauliflower to the oven and bake for 45 to 60 minutes until a knife inserted into the middle goes in easily.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
For the Chutney
- Add all the ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Notes
If you’re short on time, it’s okay to skip the marinating. It’ll still taste good.
LOVE it! I have never tried whole roasting cauliflower before. This is worth a try!
Thanks Snehal. Do let me know if you make it! 🙂
I don’t make cauliflower very often but you’ve inspired me with this recipe. Your photos look phenomenal too!
Thank you, Barbara!
I admit that I have never cared a lot about cauliflower but you opened my eyes – how gorgeous to have it roasted like this as a whole! Looks gorgeous – and I’m sure it tastes wonderfully spicy. Thanks a lot for the inspiration!
Thanks Claudia. A tandoori marinade really transforms a plain old cauliflower. 🙂
I tried your recipe a few days ago, and we both thought that it was awesome. Won’t be the last time – this lovely vegetable roast is really a burner, both visually and in taste. Thanks a lot again for your recipe, Puja!
Hi Claudia,
Yay! So glad you like it! 🙂
Wow. That looks amazing. I love the vegetarian dishes you have on your blog. Always looking for ways to add more vegetables into my diet in a tasty way.
This looks awesome! I can’t wait to try it.
This looks absolutely delicious! I love the idea of slicing it table side for extra pizzaz!
Thanks Kim! It really makes for a fun centerpiece to a vegetarian meal. 🙂
This looks so delicious! I love cauliflower and cilantro!
I feel like I need to buy some cauliflower! it’s kind of one of those strange veggies that I hardly eat though… but this makes it very tempting! I hope they go on sale soon so that I have no excuse! 😉