Crispy Chilli Cauliflower Recipe

Chilli Cauliflower Restaurant Style

Let me show you how to make the popular Indo-Chinese dish, Chilli Cauliflower (also known as Chilli Gobhi or Gobhi Manchurian). This lip-smacking appetiser features crispy cauliflower florets tossed in a tangy, spicy sauce that will leave your taste buds craving more. Perfect for parties as a starter or even as a delicious vegetable dish, it’s easy to prepare and guaranteed to impress. Just follow my tips and instructions, and you could rustle up chilli cauliflower restaurant style at home for your family.

This dish with its hot, sweet, and tangy taste is a sure crowd-pleaser. I’ve made it medium spicy but you could make it even spicier. For another equally mouth-watering dish, do check out my Paneer Manchurian Recipe or my Mushroom Chilli Fry.

Ingredients

500g cauliflower
Boiling hot water + ½ tsp salt

Coating
3 tbsp cornflour
3 tbsp maida
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp crushed ginger
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground pepper

Sauce/gravy
3 tbsp oil
3-4 spring onions
1 med size onion chopped into large pieces
1 small green capsicum chopped into large pieces
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 ½ inches ginger
5 to 6 large cloves of garlic
2 tbsp red chilli sauce
3 to 4 tbsp tomato sauce
½ tbsp soya sauce
1 ½ tbsp vinegar
½ tsp ground pepper
½ tsp salt
Rinsing of coating bowl OR 1 tbsp cornflour + ½ cup water
Chopped coriander

Procedure

1. Wash and cut the cauliflower into florets of small to medium size.
2. Plunge these into boiling water along with ½ tsp salt and then cover the vessel and turn off the heat. After 2 minutes, drain the water away and set the florets aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. In a bowl, mix 3 tbsp maida, 3 tbsp cornflour, the crushed garlic, crushed ginger, chilli powder, ground pepper, and salt with a little water to make a medium thick batter.
4. Add in the cauliflower florets and mix them well with the batter. Add one more tbsp of cornflour and 1 tbsp of maida to the florets so they get well coated with the dry flour as well.
5. Add the florets, one at a time, to a wok or kadai with hot oil heating on a medium flame. Fry them for around 3 to 4 minutes. Remove them and let them drain on a kitchen paper towel. Let them cool completely.
6. In the meanwhile, start preparations for the sauce. Chop the onion into large pieces and separate them. Chop the capsicum into large pieces as well. Finally chop some garlic (2 tbsp) and ginger (1 tbsp). Finely chop the green chillies and the spring onions.
7. Re-fry the cauliflower florets in very hot oil for around 2 minutes till they’re crisp.
8. In a wok, heat 3 tbsp of oil. Fry the garlic, ginger and green chillies for a few seconds. Add the spring onion whites and half of the greens and sauté these. Then add in and sauté the chopped onion and capsicum.
9. Add the chilli sauce, tomato sauce, soya sauce, vinegar, and Add ½ tsp of salt and pepper. Stir everything well.
10. Make a thin slurry with 1 tbsp cornflour and add this to the sauce. Or rinse the bowl used for preparing the maida-cornflour batter with a little water and add this to the sauce as a thickener. Add around ½ cup water. Stir the sauce well as it thickens. Sample it and adjust its taste if necessary.
11. Turn off the heat. Add the re-fried cauliflower florets, give everything a stir and add the chopped coriander and the remaining spring onion greens and serve the chilli gobhi immediately.
Enjoy!