This roasted spicy cauliflower recipe celebrates all things wonderful about Indian cooking, but with a lovely, low-carb twist. Typically, there are quite a lot of calories in paratha, but these are a lighter, baked version. The cauliflower paratha are made using a rather delicious cauliflower dough that I recently discovered (thanks to the amazing Donna Hay) and which I spiked with little oniony pops of nigella seeds. They are then loaded up with yoghurt, just a touch of mango chutney and lots of roasted spicy cauliflower…heaven! If you keep the cauliflower paratha thin they should remain fairly flexible, so you can use them like an open wrap or of course, just tear them up and use to mop up all the goodness! They go brilliantly with a curry (like this one) and can be used as an alternative to a naan too.
This roast spicy cauliflower has absolutely rekindled my love of Indian food, so expect lots more healthy Indian vegetarian recipes on the blog very soon!
Serves 2 for lunch or 4 as part of a larger meal.
Ingredients Paratha 600g cauliflower florets 100g almond flour 40g parmesan 3 eggs, beaten 2 tsps nigella seeds Other ingredients 1 small red onion, ½ chopped ½ finely sliced ½ a lemon 1 large cauliflower, cut into florets (keep them equal size) 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp madras curry powder 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp fennel seeds 1.5 tbsp sunflower/vegetable oil 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1” piece of ginger, finely chopped 150g natural yoghurt 40g mango chutney A handful of fresh coriander
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F
In a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over the sliced onion and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly, sprinkle with a touch of salt and a squeeze of lemon and leave to pickle for 20 minutes then drain.
For the parathas, finely blitz cauliflower in a processor. In a bowl, combine with other base ingredients (except nigella) and mix until dough forms. Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof and lightly grease. Divide dough into quarters and add 2 quarters to each tray. Shape into thin circles approx. 15cm in diameter (1) and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove and keep warm.
In a roasting try, toss the remaining cauliflower in turmeric, curry powder and seeds, then the oil. Roast for 8 minutes. Remove tray and add garlic, ginger and chopped onion. Roast for 10 minutes. Top each paratha with 3 heaped tsps. of yoghurt and 2 small tsps. of mango chutney. Divide roasted cauliflower and spices between parathas. Sprinkle with coriander and pickled onions. Enjoy!
Useful Tips
(1) The dough is a little wet before cooking, so carefully spoon the mixture into two piles on each baking tray. Using either your hands or a spoon, flatten the mixture down into two circles about 15cm across. I tend to make the centre of my parathas slightly thinner and the edges a touch thicker, as the centre takes longer to cook through.
