Make Ahead

Indian Spiced Roasted Whole Cauliflower with Tomato, Ginger and Coriander

by:
October  7, 2010
5
2 Ratings
  • Serves 2 to 4 depending on if it's a side dish or entree
Author Notes

When I had my whole foods restaurant - Val 21 in San Francisco (what seems like an eternity ago), we would serve this as a vegan entree with a side of flavorful garbanzo beans and our fragrant brown rice. This is such a great play on flavor and texture. Incidentally, the ginger/coriander tomato sauce goes well with other foods too. —barr

Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
  • For Tomato Sauce
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
  • 2 cups diced tomatoes (Muir Glenn Fire Roasted is really good here)
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated stem Ginger
  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • For Cauliflower stuffing
  • 1 1/2 cups onion, diced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground stem ginger
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 Anaheim chilies, diced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander seeds
  • 2 tablespoons ground almonds or pistachios, plus more for garnishing
  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds, or 1 tsp. yellow, 1 tsp. brown
Directions
  1. To make the tomato sauce: Heat the oil in a non-reactive large saute pan.
  2. Add the onion and cook until soft.
  3. Add the cumin and stir occasionally for 1 minute.
  4. Add the freshly grated ginger and cook for another minute.
  5. Now add the tomatoes and the water.
  6. Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Cover and turn off heat.
  7. For cauliflower: Remove outer greens. Steam the whole cauliflower for 8 minutes. Allow to cool.
  8. To make stuffing: Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the oil and then the onions.
  9. Once onions are soft, add the chilies and the garlic. Add the ginger and coriander and mix well.
  10. Now add the almonds or pistachios and season with salt and pepper. Mixture should resemble a thick paste.
  11. Turn off heat and allow mixture to cool completely.
  12. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  13. Gently stuff the mixture into the seams of the cooled cauliflower florets. Spread the remaining stuffing over the top.
  14. Place cauliflower head into a shallow baking dish. If you have extra nuts, sprinkle them over the top and pour about 1 to 2 tlbs. of extra vegetable oil over the top.
  15. Bake the cauliflower for 25 minutes.
  16. To serve: Reheat the tomato sauce. Pour a little sauce on the bottom of a serving platter. Place cauliflower on top. Pour more sauce on top and garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and nuts. Cut into the cauliflower like a cake and serve with sauce on top.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

3 Reviews

savedbytheapron December 3, 2011
This was delicious! such a nice combination of flavors.
barr December 3, 2011
Thanks. I love it too, especially in the dead of winter when we are anticipating some new vegetables!
barr October 8, 2010
I forgot to write that the mustard seeds are added in step 9.