Tandoori Gobi

Like I have said in my earlier posts, we love spending time in our backyard and we love BBQing. I don't think vegetarians have limited options of BBQing. There are so many veggies or basically all veggies that can be marinated and grilled or pan seared or cooked over charcoal heat. BBQ or charcoal cooking imparts delicious smoky flavor to the food and veggies rather cook very quickly keeping the the food moist and tender.

Although I love all veggies grilled, cauliflower is one of my favorites. Cauliflower kababs, Buttered pan seared cauliflower, grilled cauliflower, oven cooked cauliflower, cauliflower with cheese...in any recipe cauliflower just tastes delicious!

Since the time we have finished with our DIY tandoor project... my husband and I are trying to come up with out of the box tandoor recipes. We all know that tandoor can be used for rotis, naans, flatbreads and kababs. But we want this charcoal oven to be used for more than just naans and kababs. Yes, tandoor is nothing but a traditional high temperature charcoal oven. People all over the world used tandoor or clay oven to make exotic recipes. So everything that can be done in a regular oven should be made in a tandoor. With few variations and adjustments we are getting to know our tandoor better and enjoying each and every moment with it.

I have cooked/baked whole cauliflower or Gobi in an oven before (click here for recipe), but now it was time to use a tandoor and cook cauliflower. The tricky part was to have cauliflower suspended inside tandoor so that it cooks and bakes over the charcoal heat without touching charcoal. I found a grilling basket and attached few metal wires on the sides so that I could suspend the basket using my grilling tripod. the entire construction did take some time but it worked just great. I was so happy with the outcome that now I am ready to try out lot more things to do in my Tandoor! Below are pictures of hanging basket construction.

Here is the recipe:
1 medium sized cauliflower
1+1/2 cup hung curd
1+1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. chili garlic paste or garlic chutney or my schezwan sauce
1 tbsp. garam masala powder
1 tbsp. kasoori methi
1/2 tbsp. red chili powder

Remove leaves and hard stalk from the cauliflower. Soak entire cauliflower head in salt water for 30 minutes. Wash and clean well by moving florets and check for any dirt in it. Clean well. Keep it aside.
In a bowl mix all other ingredients well. This is the tandoori marinade for our gobi/cauliflower
Coat cauliflower well with the marinade. Use spoon or finger to push marinade in between the florets. Cover cauliflower entirely and let it rest for 30 minutes. This is a great recipe if you are invited to a potluck BBQ party. Just take your marinated cauliflower and grill it at the party. I am sure host will be excited too.
You do not have to use a Tandoor for this recipe. Using the same recipe you can bake cauliflower in a 400 F oven for 30-45 minutes, or even use a regular charcoal grill basket covering top of the cauliflower with aluminum foil. You can also use a regular grill to bake tandoori marinated cauliflower at the highest temperature for 25 minutes or till done.
Serve with sprinkled chat masala, sliced onions, salad, and lime wedges.
Have some tandoori roti or naan ready to make some quick tandoori wraps.
Enjoy!

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Remove leaves and hard stalk from the cauliflower. Soak in salt water for 30 minutes. Wash and clean well by moving florets and check for any dirt in it. Clean well. Keep it aside.

In a bowl mix all other ingredients well. This is the tandoori marinate for our gobi/cauliflower

Coat cauliflower well with the marinade. Use spoon or finger to push marinade in between the florets. Cover cauliflower entirely and let it rest for 30 minutes.