Today’s recipe is so full of flavor with so little effort.
Jump to RecipeA less than 30 minutes recipe. It doesn’t require a lot of preparations or ingredients and comes together so easily.
Even if you are a very beginner in cooking you can pull this off very easily!
This super easy, ultra creamy, and heavily spiced vegan Indian Massala will be your new favorite weekday lunch! It’s very fridge friendly and the flavors hold up perfectly for up to 5 days, which make it perfect for meal preps!
My favorite way of enjoying this meal is with some naan bread or some cashew steamed rice ! It is a very healthy and light dish that you can enjoy also for dinner. I made this recipe 100% vegan to be lent friendly but you easily replace the coconut milk with any milk of your preference.
My husband is just anti-vegetables. I always try to come up with recipes to make him eat more veggies and this one was a successful attempt . If you have a stubborn family member that hates veggies like mine this is a perfect meal with some naan to make them eat those veggies, even with kids it is perfect because you can adjust the heat as you like by reducing or removing all the chili from it and control how spicy the dish can be!
So let us start with this super easy less; than 30 minutes and less than 10 ingredients recipe!
For more lent friendly vegan and vegetarian recipes you can check out my article here!
Cauliflower Vegan Massala
Ingredients
for the massala
- 2 tbsp garam massala spices mix (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika pepper
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes (see notes)
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp gloves powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 pods cardamom
- 1/2 tbsp fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
- 1 big onion cut into wedges
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger finely minced
- 2 tbsp grape seed oil
- 1 cup chickpeas, cooked and drained (see notes)
- 1 cup tomato puree (see notes)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/3 cup water
- 200 g coconut milk (1 can)
- 400 g cauliflower florets washed and cut into small florets
for the cashew rice :
- 1/4 cup cashew nuts roughly chopped
- 1/2 tbsp grape seed oil
- 1 cup basmati white rice
Instructions
for the massala
- slam the cardamom pods open with the side of a large knife.pop them in a skillet on medium heat with the fenugreek, coriander and mustard seeds.add all the remaining spices and roast until you began to smell the aromas.
- add the oil , onion , garlic and ginger and cook on medium heat until the onion are soft.
- add the cauliflower and saute for 5 minutes until the cauliflowers florets are all coated with the spices.
- add the chickpeas, tomato puree, tomato paste and water and combine all together.bring the pot to boil and lower the heat to the minimum , cover the pot and let it simmer for 15 minutes.if the water dry before the 15 minutes add little bit more not more than 1/2 cup , until the cauliflower started to soften but not over cooked that falls apart.
- turn off the heat and immediately poor over the coconut milk and mix it all together well. cover the pot and let it steam for 15 minutes covered with the heat off before serving.
for the cashew rice
- over medium heat heat the oil and a deep pan , add the cashew and sautee until they have a golden brown color. add the rice and mix it all together. and add 2 cups of hot water , season with salt when it start to boil, simmer to the lowest heat cover and cook for 12 minutes. after 12 minutes turn off the heat and let it steam covered for 10 min. remove the cover fluff it with a fork .
- serve the cauliflower massala with some warm rice aside and enjoy!
Notes
- garam masala is an Indian spices mix that you can find at any grocery store in Indian food section, but if you couldn’t find it just replace it with a mixture of (1/2 tsp. Turmeric, ½ tsp. cumin powder, 1 tsp. coriander powder, ½ tsp. Black pepper, ½ tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp. ginger powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder)
- if you don’t like spicy food at all you can substitute the red chili flakes with some sweet chili pepper or paprika, and you even make it more spicy by adding some more red chili flakes.
- if you don’t cook your chickpeas at home usually you can easily use a store bought can
- Tomato purée is a thick liquid made by cooking and straining tomatoes. The difference between tomato paste, tomato purée, and tomato sauce is consistency; tomato puree has a thicker consistency and a deeper flavour than sauce. The definitions of tomato purée vary from country to country.but what you are looking for whatever it is called in your country it is basically is puréed cooked tomatoes with a little salt.