Coconut Cauliflower Curry
This creamy yet low carb Coconut cauliflower curry is a vegetarian delight. It is hearty yet comforting and full of flavor. It is a perfect dinner for a busy weeknight but fancy enough for a special occasion. It takes only around half an hour to put this dish on the table. Serve it with some freshly made basmati rice and roti or naan bread for dipping up the extra sauce.
Most of the spices in this recipe can be found at your local grocery store. If you can’t find garam masala then use a good quality curry powder which contains the usual Indian spices like coriander, cumin, cardamom, mace and cinnamon. If you like a hotter curry (this one is not), then feel free to add extra red chilies or red chili flakes to your liking. As I have said before I have one son who is not a fan of spice, so if he’s eating this, I make a mild version with red pepper flakes only and omit the redi chili entirely.
The recipe also calls for 2 cans of coconut milk. Feel free to use coconut milk or coconut cream, it’s really up to you. Also, if you like a less strong coconut flavor (just a hint) then I suggest using 1 can of coconut milk or cream and 1 can of evaporated milk (which still thickens nicely).
I usually serve this curry with naan or roti but you can use any flatbread you have on hand, and store bought is absolutely a must for a weeknight dinner.
Coconut Cauliflower Curry
Ingredients
For the Cauliflower
- 1 large cauliflower (2.5 lb)
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil *or butter if not making vegan
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp garam masala
For the Curry Sauce
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil *or butter if not making vegan
- 1 onion finely diced (or pureed with ginger and garlic) see note*
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced (or pureed as above)
- 1.5" piece Ginger, grated fine (or preed with above)
- 2 Tbsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika (not smoked)
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 Tbsp Tomato paste
- 2 cans coconut milk *or 1 can coconut milk + 1 can evaporated milk if you don't like strong coconut flavor
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt and pepper To taste
- 1 small red chili (or green) *optional for extra heat
- 1 tsp sugar *optional
Instructions
For the Cauliflower
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Break apart the cauliflower into florets on a sheet pan, then drizzle first amount of oil over top. Sprinkle with first amount of garam masala and 1 tsp salt and toss to coat
- place cauliflower in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes
- While the cauliflower is baking, start preparing the sauce
For the Curry Sauce
- Add 2T of vegetable oil or butter into a saucepan over medium-Hi heat
- To the vegetable oil or butter add the minced onion and cook for 3 minutes until soft. (If you are making a paste with the ginger, onion and garlic *see note, omit this step and just saute all 3 together). * if you don't make a puree then make sure the garlic is added last otherwise it may burn and get bitter.
- add the tomato paste and cook a further 2 minutes then add the rest of your spices. Cook them for a minute until they become fragrant. *if using fresh peppers (serrano or jalapeno, add them at this time)
- Add the coconut milk and stir. simmer for 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning (salt and pepper) add if needed as well a tsp of sugar can be added if you feel it needs it. Add the cooked cauliflower and simmer another 5 minutes until the sauce thickens a bit. Serve over rice with Naan
Notes
- I prefer to use my immersion blender and make a paste out of the onion, garlic and ginger, then cook as a paste in the hot oil/butter. If you do not want to do this,, then finely dice the onions, and mince the garlic and ginger, that’s absolutely fine. Just make sure you cook the onions first, then add ginger and finally garlic so it doesn’t burn and get bitter.
- You can also add fresh spinach, peas or a diced potato to bump up the veggies if you like, but it’s delicious as is with cauliflower only.
- If you add potato, add it to the sauce at the same time you add the cauliflower giving the small diced potatoes time to cook through. Alternatively you could par boil the diced potatoes and add them at the end.
- This is an easy weeknight curry recipe. Feel free to add extra spices if you like it hot (an extra tsp of red pepper flakes or extra red chili work well).