Cauliflower Kurma

5 from 19 votes

A flavorful Vegan Cauliflower Kurma made with Cauliflower florets and simple Indian spices. The aroma of this cauliflower curry will make you come back for more. It pairs really well with rice or Indian flatbread.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 155kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

1 large Cauliflower florets removed (about 4 cups)
1 large Onion thinly sliced
3 Tomatoes chopped
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon Dhania jeera powder
1 ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 teaspoon Garam masala
to taste Salt
3 tablespoon Oil 2 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon separated
to garnish Cilantro

To grind into a paste –

¼ cup Coconut grated
1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Poppy seeds
8 Cashews
2 Green chilies

Instructions

Soak the cashew nuts and the poppy seeds in warm water for about 10 minutes and then grind it into a paste along with other ingredients in the list. Keep it aside.
Clean the cauliflower and remove the florets. Heat water in a large pot and add salt to it. Add the prepared cauliflower florets to the boiling water and par boil it until it is fork tender. Make sure that it still has a crunch to it and not too mushy.
Drain the florets and then sauté them in 1 tablespoon of oil until light brown spots appears on them. Remove from the pan and keep it aside.
In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoon of oil and fry the cumin seeds. Add the onions and saute until golden brown. Then add the ginger garlic paste.
Add the dry spices; turmeric powder, red chili powder, Dhania jeera powder, garam masala and salt.
Fry for a minute more and add the chopped tomatoes.
Mix well and let it fry in medium heat until the tomatoes are mushy and the oil separates from the masala.
Add the ground coconut masala and let it cook on low to medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the sautéed cauliflower florets and mix well. Add water needed to adjust the consistency of the gravy and let it come to a boil.
Simmer for few minutes and then garnish the Cauliflower Kurma with cilantro. Serve with roti or rice.

Notes

Expert Tips and FAQ's

Par boil the cauliflower until it is just tender. Make sure that it keeps the shape intact and is just tender. Drain the florets and saute it in a pan until it starts to develop golden brown spots. Then keep them aside and proceed with the recipe. This step ensures that the cauliflower does not become mushy.
I use freshly grated coconut for the recipe. Frozen fresh coconut works very well. If you don't have either of those, use desiccated coconut, but make sure they are not sweetened.
The amount of red chili powder and green chilies are added to suit our spice level. You can decrease or increase them based on what you like. This kurma was medium spiced.
We can add green peas or any other vegetable as well along with cauliflower.

Nutrition