Cauliflower in any form is our favorite and one of our favorite recipe to make is the Gobi Butter Masala. This cauliflower subzi / curry works great with roti or rice.
We are in our last week of the month and the year. This year just flew by with lot of changes for me and my family. Hope the year ahead brings all of us peace and happiness in whatever we do. For the last week, I am doing one of my favorite themes in the blogging marathon, the bookmarked theme.
Being in the blogging field, I am always surrounded by recipes and food photographs. Over the period of time, I have bookmarked several (read uncountable) number of recipes and this is a theme, where I can showcase them.
We eat roti’s quite often in our house and hence a new subzi is always welcome. When I came across this recipe in PJ’s space, I was very intrigued by the name of the recipe.
I have always made paneer butter masala, but the same rich gravy with cauliflower was very interesting. We all like cauliflower in our house and hence I had no issues trying out the recipe right away.
How to cook the cauliflower?
The subzi is a great hit and we all love it. One thing I have learned over the period is pan frying or sautéing the cauliflower before adding it to the gravy helps keep its shape intact and not become mushy.
Earlier I always used to fear making cauliflower subzi because I always made it mushy and it was not very pleasant. Pan frying the cauliflower brings out the wonderful nutty flavor of the vegetable and also helps retain its shape.
If you are looking to try a Kurma kind of recipe with cauliflower, then give this Cauliflower Kurma a try.
I have followed the cauliflower subzi recipe almost exactly except I did not use cream and used low fat milk instead. I did not miss the cream in the recipe for the reason it had rich gravy with cashew nuts in it and did not add the poppy seed that was in the original recipe.
Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – 40 minutes
Difficulty level – easy
Recipe adapted from - Seduce Your Taste buds
Ingredients to make Gobi Butter Masala
- Cauliflower – 1 medium (florets removed)
- Green peas – ½ cup (I used frozen green peas)
- Red chili powder – 1 ½ tsp ( I used Kashmiri red chili powder)
- Garam Masala – 1 tsp
- Salt – to taste
- Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek) – 1 tsp
- Milk – 1 cup
- Butter / oil – 1 tbsp + 1tbsp
For the Masala
- Onion – 1 (chopped)
- Tomatoes – 3 (chopped)
- Garlic – 3 cloves
- Ginger – 1 inch piece
- Kasuri methi – 2 tsp
- Cashew nuts – 10
- Cloves – 4
- Cardamom – 2
- Cinnamon – 1 inch stick
- Butter / oil – 1 tsp
Procedure to make Gobhi Butter Masala
- Remove the florets from the cauliflower and clean them.
- In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp of butter or oil or a mix of both and add the florets. Sauté / pan fry the florets until they are evenly browned on all the sides. Make sure the pan is large enough to fit the florets in one layer. Do not crowd the pan as that might begin to steam the cauliflower and make it soft. If the pan is not large enough fry them in batches. This step ensures that the florets retain its shape when cooked in the gravy and also releases the natural nutty flavor of the vegetable. Remove the florets and keep it aside.
To make the masala
- In the same pan or a smaller one add 1 tsp of butter or oil and heat it. Now add the spices (cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon) and fry it for a minute. Then add the ginger, garlic, and onion and sauté it until the onions are golden brown. Add the tomato and cook until soft. Now add the cashews and the Kasuri methi and cook it for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool down. Transfer the whole thing to a blender jar and grind it until smooth.
- In the same large pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of butter/oil and add the ground masala paste. Add the red chili powder, garam masala and salt and mix well. Fry this paste for about 4-5 minutes or until the oil releases.
- Add the milk and about 1 cup of water and then cook it in low flame for about 5 minutes. Once the milk is added, do not heat it on high heat as the milk might curdle.
- Now add the roasted cauliflower and the green peas and check for the consistency of the gravy. If it is too thick then add more water.
- Cook it for about 8-10 minutes and then serve the Gobi Butter Masala hot with roti, paratha or rice.
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Gobi Butter Masala | Cauliflower In Creamy Gravy
Equipment
- saute pan
- spatula
Ingredients
- 1 medium Cauliflower Florets removed
- ½ cup Green peas I used frozen green peas
- 1 ½ tsp Red chili powder I used Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- to taste Salt
- 1 tsp Kasuri methi Dried fenugreek
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 tbsp Butter / oil
FOR THE MASALA –
- 1 Onion Chopped
- 3 Tomatoes Chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 inch piece Ginger
- 2 tsp Kasuri methi
- 10 Cashew nuts
- 2 Cardamom
- 1 inch stick Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Butter / oil
Instructions
- Remove the florets from the cauliflower and clean them.
- In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp of butter or oil or a mix of both and add the florets. Sauté / pan fry the florets until they are evenly browned on all the sides. Make sure the pan is large enough to fit the florets in one layer. Do not crowd the pan as that might begin to steam the cauliflower and make it soft. If the pan is not large enough fry them in batches. This step ensures that the florets retain their shape when cooked in the gravy and also releases the natural nutty flavor of the vegetable. Remove the florets and keep them aside.
TO MAKE THE MASALA –
- In the same pan or a smaller one add 1 tsp of butter or oil and heat it. Now add the spices (cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon) and fry it for a minute. Then add the ginger, garlic, and onion and sauté it until the onions are golden brown. Add the tomato and cook until soft. Now add the cashews and the Kasuri methi and cook it for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool down. Transfer the whole thing to a blender jar and grind it until smooth.
- In the same large pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of butter/oil and add the ground masala paste. Add the red chili powder, garam masala, and salt and mix well. Fry this paste for about 4-5 minutes or until the oil releases.
- Add the milk and about 1 cup of water and then cook it on low flame for about 5 minutes. Once the milk is added, do not heat it on high heat as the milk might curdle.
- Now add the roasted cauliflower and the green peas and check for the consistency of the gravy. If it is too thick then add more water.
- Cook it for about 8-10 minutes and then serve the Gobhi Butter Masala hot with roti, paratha, or rice.
PJ says
This is one of our favorites too Sandhya.So glad that you guys liked it.And thanks for the mention.