Ramblings of a retiree in France
One of my beloved’s favourite Indian dishes is butter chicken but could I make a vegan version that would satisfy us both, since neither butter nor chicken figure in my regime? Instead of chicken, I’ve used a whole roasted cauliflower and then made appropriate changes to the sauce to make the dish both vegan and plant-based. And, you know what? It’s delicious!
Whole roasted cauliflower
Sauce
1.Pre-heat oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas mark 5 (375°F/350°F fan). Carefully rinse the cauliflower, leaving the last few outer leaves.
2. Mix all the dry spices with oil and lemon juice, season with salt. Brush the cauliflower with the spiced oil mix.
3. Place the cauliflower in a cast iron pan or skillet, add 2 tbsp water to the bottom of the skillet and roast it covered for up to 20 minutes.
4. Uncover the cauliflower and baste the cauliflower with any oil and spice drippings from the bottom of the pan.
5. Roast the cauliflower for a further 20-30 minutes until it’s golden brown and tender in the core.
6. Begin the sauce whilst the cauliflower is roasting. Mince the garlic and ginger and peel and slice the onions thinly.
7. Heat the oil on a medium heat and sauté the onion, garlic and ginger with the garam masala, cumin, ground coriander and salt until the onion has softened. This is the point where you add the chili powder if you want it spicy.
8. Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
9. Using a stick blender, blend the sauce until smooth, add further seasonings to taste. Pour it into the pot with the cauliflower and let it heat through for another 5-7 minutes.
10. Serve the “butter chicken” with whole-grain basmati rice studded with raisins, chickpeas and pistachios, a few spicy pickles, a sprinkle of chopped coriander and a dollop of plant-based yoghurt.
1.I generally make much more sauce than I need so that I can freeze some for next time, and then I’ll have dinner ready in no time. Also, the flavours get better over time.
2. You can substitute cauliflower for broccoli (25% shorter cooking time) or root celery (25% longer cooking time) or romanesco (same cooking time).
3. You can substitute fresh tomatoes and tomato paste with a similar weight of canned tomatoes.
4. Feel free to make it even spicier with more chilli.
5. If you’d like the sauce to be creamier, add some plant-based oat cream or yoghurt to taste.
Sounds delicious! I’m eager to try it ☺️
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sheree, your butter cauliflower sounds delicious. I will have to try it. Bon appetite!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you and I hope you enjoy it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are welcome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks and sounds delicious.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It was!
LikeLiked by 1 person
If I hadn’t have just eaten I would have been craving it. Have chicken in the fridge to make mine 😋
LikeLiked by 2 people
😎
LikeLike
Wow! That is different and looks delicious.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It was yummy
LikeLike
Wow would never have thought of those substitutes, thanks for sharing 😊
LikeLiked by 3 people
My pleasure
LikeLike
Interesting concept Sheree 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds great😍😍
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: The Musette: vegan “butter” cauliflower — View from the Back | Ups Downs Family History
The Musette: vegan “butter” cauliflower
LikeLiked by 2 people
Looks good – would have to bin the onions and chili powder though
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m sure it’d be fine without those
LikeLiked by 2 people
Delicious!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was
LikeLiked by 1 person
😄😄
LikeLiked by 1 person
Im constantly learning more ways to make delicious cauliflower recipes and thanks to you, I’ve just found another!
LikeLiked by 2 people
It looks wonderful Sheree. We will try this soon!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you Lillie
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome
LikeLiked by 1 person
👋 this Is Derrick interesting top didn’t know you could do so much with cauliflower im vegan definitely will have to try interested in adapting a vegan diet give my link a click vegwar.com
LikeLiked by 2 people
There are loads of great recipes using cauliflower. I also use it as “rice” and mashed instead of potato.
LikeLike
Have you tried using wheat gluten? Suma have it in small bags as flour to be prepared. For unless you’re really allergic it’s so versitile, versitille, vursitile (oh no I’ve got into one of my ruddy spelling loops again) versatile “Woohoo!” I did it. Anyways, where was I? Oh yes, wheat gluten. I’m sure you can find a recipe on one of my blog posts. The thing I do these days is make a big batch, cut it up into small chunks and place them into zip freezer bags, flattened out so I can defrost the small amounts easily, ready to add to a recipe. I’ve several bags looking like pages of a book in the freezer just now and last night I just added them to some boiling water, brought to the boil and added gravy granules. 🍽 I served this so traditionally British, with plain boiled potatoes and carrots. 🥔🥕
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks I look into this. Is it usually called Seitan?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Seitan is when gluten it’s made into stuff me thinks. My niece does a seitan roast, it’s really good. ✅
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome. 💚
LikeLiked by 1 person