North Indian barbecue ‘adraki’ cauliflower
- Portion size: Serves 4-6
- Prep time 25 min, plus overnight brining and marinating. Cook time 20 min
- Difficulty: easy
Get ready to taste the best vegetarian barbecue dish of your life. Chef Aktar Islam’s North Indian ‘adraki’ cauliflower is creamy yet complex, thanks to the hum of ginger and fresh spices and smoky char from the barbecue.
- Incredible flavours: “Adraki (ginger) should give you a clear hint at what this comforting cauliflower dish has as its flavour profile,” says Aktar. “Ginger appears in three forms: finely chopped, as a paste and as a powder. Cream, yogurt and cream cheese all carry the flavours of the ground spices, with cashew butter and ghee adding to the richness.”
- Make ahead: You need to start this the day before serving. The marinade can be made up to 24 hours ahead. You can also leave the florets in the marinade for up to 24 hours. If you’re short of time, you can skip the overnight brining of the cauliflower, but it does help to season it properly before it’s cooked and marinated.
Browse more delicious barbecue recipes, including Aktar’s short ribs and spiced lamb cutlets.
Join Extradelicious to unlock Cook Mode
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower
- 60ml mustard oil
- 100g greek-style yogurt
- 60g cream cheese
- 90g double cream
- 30g cashew butter
- 4 green bird’s eye chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp fennel seeds, roughly crushed
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1½ tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- ¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 20g coriander, finely chopped
- 5cm piece ginger, finely chopped
- Squeeze lemon juice
- Ghee, melted, to drizzle
For the seasoning mix
- 1 tbsp chaat masala (from large supermarkets and online)
- ½ tsp kashmiri chilli powder (see Know-how)
- 1 tbsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- ½ tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)
For dressing the cauliflower
- 100ml whipping cream
- 2 tbsp melted butter or ghee
- Handful coriander, finely chopped
Specialist kit
- Metal skewers (or wooden skewers soaked in water for 30 min)
- Barbecue
Join Extradelicious to unlock Cook Mode
Method
Day one
- Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and put the head in a large container or saucepan. Pour in enough water to cover the cauliflower, keeping an eye on how many litres of water you need (it should be around 2-3 litres, depending on the size of the container). Work out 5% of the total weight of water, then add this amount of salt (so for instance, 2 litres of water would require 100g salt). Leave the cauliflower submerged in the brine overnight in the fridge.
Day two
- Drain the cauliflower and leave to drip dry. While you wait, mix all the other ingredients for the cauliflower together (except the lemon juice and ghee) to make a marinade. Season to taste with salt and the lemon juice.
- Once the cauliflower is dry, put it in a large steamer or pan of boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes. It should be cooked but still firm. Leave until cool enough to handle, then break into large florets. Once cooled to room temperature, coat them in the marinade and set aside for at least an hour in the fridge.
- Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the seasoning mixture in a small bowl.
- To cook the cauliflower, skewer the florets through the thickest part. Cook over glowing coals, turning regularly and basting with ghee throughout. You want to crisp up and char the marinade, which can take up to 10 minutes (the cauliflower is already cooked so you only need to focus on how it looks on the outside).
- To serve, remove the skewers and pile up the florets in the centre of a bowl (as if you’re trying to put the cauliflower back together again). Drizzle with the cream and melted ghee, then sprinkle over the coriander and a generous pinch of the seasoning mix.
Nutrition
- 361kcals Calories
- 30g (13g saturated) Fat
- 0.1g Protein
- 15g (6.7g sugars) Carbs
- 3.4g Fibre
- 0.6g Salt
Leave a comment, question or tip