This vegan Indian cauliflower bhuna masala curry is secretly healthy, comforting, spicy and oh, so delicious. The masala is made with lots of onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, Indian spices and then mixed with spiced yoghurt marinated charred cauliflower chunks. YUM.
This vegan Indian Cauliflower curry is…
- comforting
- easy to make
- hearty, with a meat-like texture
- packed with SO much flavour
Ingredients for Cauliflower Bhuna Masala
- Cauliflower: one large head, torn into medium chunks.
- Onions: it’s the base of this curries masala. If you’re not a fan of spicy food you can reduce the amount of onions.
- Garlic & ginger: both need to be grated to achieve maxium flavour!
- Spices: there’s a mixture of powdered spices and whole spices. The whole spices are cumin seeds, cinnamon stick and cloves. The dried spices needed are ground turmeric, chilli powder, kashimi chilli powder, ground coriander, ground cumin, salt and black pepper!
- Vegan yoghurt: this will make the curry nice and creamy. It’ll also help reduce a little bit of the spice from the onions!
- Tomatoes: using tinned chopped tomatoes add a more vibrant colour to this curry and also saves us time.
- Herbs: fresh or dried bay leaves, dried methi leaves along with fresh coriander leaves to add a touch of green to this dish!
All about the cauliflower…
The cauliflower is the star of this curry and to make it look more like chicken chunks, I like to tear apart the cauliflower into medium, un-even sized chunks. I do this by using a knife to cut slits into the base of the cauliflower and then just tearing it apart to make it look more rugged. If you want you can also just chop the cauliflower into chunks!
Next, heat a pan with a little oil, add the cauliflower chunks with a pinch of salt. Cover pan with a lid and pan-roast the cauliflower for 15-20 minutes or until you see some charred marks. Tossing every 5-10 minutes.
While the cauliflower is cooking, mix together the vegan yoghurt, ground turmeric, black pepper and chilli powder. As soon as the cauliflower is cooked, toss with the yoghurt mixture. Set aside until needed.
Prepping the onions
I don’t know about you but one of the things I hate most about cooking is finely chopping onions, my eyes start to water, I then have to take a break because I can no longer see what I’m doing… oh and did I mention this curry has FOUR of them?!
Ok.. so, if you’ve got the same issue as me when it comes to chopping onions, don’t worry! Just roughly chop the onions into chunks, then add them into a food processor and pulse until they look finely chopped!
Making bhuna masala sauce…
Heat oil in the same pan, and start by tempering the whole spices. The cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cloves. Temper until fragrant. This should only take 30 ish seconds.
Add in the chopped onions and cook for 5-7 minutes or until slightly golden. Mix in the grated ginger and grated garlic. Cook for a few seconds. Add in the tinned chopped tomatoes, ground coriander, ground cumin and Kashmiri chilli powder. Cover pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for 15-20 minutes or until it forms a thick curry paste. You’ll need to check on the masala every 5 minutes or so to make sure it’s moist enough. When needed, add in a splash of water to loosen up the mixture.
Add in the cauliflower along with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is fork-tender.
Final touches…
Rub the dried methi in between your hands and into the curry. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
Remove from heat, and sprinkle curry with chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy warm!!!
What to serve with this vegan Bhuna Masala
- Naan: I personally prefer to have this spicy curry with thick store-bought naans! I get mine from my local Indian supermarket. You can also serve this curry with roti or even homemade naans.
- Rice: serve this veggie Bhuna Masala over some steamy warm rice!
- Onions: ok, hear me out…I know this curry already has loads of onions in the Masala, but there’s something about the combo of this curry with raw onions. TRUST ME.
- Yoghurt: to cool down all the spices serve with a generous dollop of vegan yoghurt.
More vegan recipes you’ll love…
@cookingwithparita vegan Indian cauliflower bhuna masala curry #veganindianfood #indiancurry #vegancurryrecipe #vegancurry #curryrecipe #veganrecipes #vegansoftiktok #foodtiktok #vegetariancurry #meatfreemondays #meatfreemeals ♬ Dil Ko Karrrar Aaya – Yasser Desai
Tried This Recipe?
After you give this vegan Indian cauliflower curry recipe a try, please leave it a star rating and review it below! I try my best to respond to you all. Oh, and don’t forget to tag me over on Instagram – I can’t wait to repost your images!!
Print Cauliflower Bhuna Masala
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 people 1x
Description
This vegan Indian cauliflower bhuna masala curry is secretly healthy, comforting, spicy and oh, so delicious.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp oil
- 1 large head of cauliflower (torn into medium chunks)
- 1 cup vegan yoghurt
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- salt + black pepper
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves
- 4 medium sized onions (*see notes)
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp grated garlic
- 1 cup tinned chopped tomatoes
- 2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder (*see notes)
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried methi
- 2–3 cups water (or more *see notes)
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves
Instructions
- Pan-roasting: Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large pan, add in the torn cauliflower with a spinkle of salt and cook on medium-high flame with the lid on for 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower is charred. Mixing often to prevent burning.
- Cauliflower marinade: Add vegan yoghurt, ground turmeric, chilli powder and black pepper into a bowl. Mix until well combined. Add in the charred cauliflower mix one more time. Set aside until needed.
- Bhuna Masala: In the same pan, heat 2 tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon stick. Cook for just under a minute or until fragrant. Mix in the finely chopped onions and cook until slightly golden. This will take around 5-7 minutes. Add in the garlic and ginger, cook for a few seconds. Add tinned tomatoes, ground coriander, ground cumin, salt and Kashmiri chilli powder. Mix to combine and cook on a low flame for 15-20 minutes. Mixing often. If you notice the masala sticking to the pan add in a splash of water to loosen up the mixture.
- Adding Cauliflower: Add in the marinated cauliflower, along with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes or until cauliflower is fork-tender. If needed add some more water. Rub the dried methi in between your hands and into the curry. Mix and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
- Final touches: Remove from heat, sprinkle with coriander leaves and enjoy warm!
Notes
Kashmiri chilli powder – please DO NOT substitute this for more chilli powder. It will make your curry extremely spicy. I highly recommend buying some Kashmiri chilli powder as I use it often in my recipes. You can use cayenne powder, although that might alter the flavour of this curry slightly.
Water- you’ll need to add a splash of water here and there whenever the curry becomes a little dry or if the masala ever starts sticking to the pan. The amount needed also depends on how thick or thin you want the gravy to be!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Calories: 180
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Happened to stumble across this recipe on Instagram. First attempt making Indian food and I’m so glad I found this! Just a totally all around amazing meal. I served it over jasmine rice. In the future I would probably only add one cup of water as I like it to be a little thicker. No worries, just turned heat up a little longer to evaporate some of water. And also, for you Americans like me, fresh coriander leaves is what we call cilantro! Found that out at my friendly Indian grocery store when the owner pointed with a smile and said, “you probably call it cilantro.” Will be making this again!
Hello Andy! I’m SO glad your first time cooking an Indian meal was a success! Thank you for your kind words, and for tagging me on Instagram with the images!! Parita xx
Love love love!!!
Hello Nat! I love seeing your name pop up on my recipe posts! I’m so glad you’re loving them!! Parita xx
Love this recipe!! Would I be able to freeze it?
Hey Kirsty! Hope you’re doing well. Yes, I don’t see why not. Parita xx