Anna's Curry Coconut Cauliflower — a plant-based Indian recipe by BOSH!
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Anna's Curry Coconut Cauliflower

This one is proper special. Anna's Curry Coconut Cauliflower is the kind of centrepiece dish that makes everyone at the table go quiet for a second before they start piling their plates. We love how the whole cauliflower gets coated in rich, fragrant coconut curry sauce and roasted until it's golden and tender with those little leaves going perfectly crispy. The flavours are bold and warming, and it looks absolutely stunning when you bring it to the table. If you've ever wanted a plant-based showstopper that's genuinely easy to pull off, make this tonight.

Cook: 60 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Ovenproof dish or pan (large enough to hold whole cauliflower)
  • Large pan (for simmering cauliflower)
  • Microplane or fine grater (for ginger)
  • Scissors
  • Small paring knife

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 600g potatoes
  • 1 large cauliflower - or 2 small ones
  • 4 green chillies
  • 4 garlic cloves - crushed
  • thumb-sized piece of ginger - peeled
  • 1 unwaxed lemon - halved
  • 1 x 400g can of coconut milk
  • fresh coriander
  • coconut yoghurt
  • crunchy almonds

Method

1

Preparing the cauliflower

  • Using a pair of scissors cut the large leaves and stalks away from the cauliflower. You can leave the little leaves close to the florets - they will go nice and crispy when roasted
  • Turn the cauliflower upside down and, using a small paring knife, carefully cut a hollow in the middle of the stalk, so that it cooks evenly
2

Cooking the cauliflower

  • Take a pan big enough to hold the cauliflower, half fill it with water from the kettle and bring it to the boil. Season the water with salt, then immerse the cauliflower and simmer for 6 minutes
  • Drain the water away, put the lid back on and leave the cauliflower to steam in the residual heat for a further 10 minutes
  • Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into 2cm pieces, leaving the skin on
3

For the spice mix

  • Take an ovenproof dish or pan (that can go on the hob as well) large enough to take the cauliflower
  • Spoon in the coconut oil, and grate the ginger into the oil
  • Finely chop the chillies, discarding the seeds if you wish, then add them to the pan
  • Add the garlic, then place over a medium heat and let the spices and aromatics cook for a few minutes, until fragrant
  • Stir in the mustard seeds and continue cooking until the garlic has softened, then add the turmeric and a big pinch of salt
4

For the curry

  • Pour the coconut milk into the spice mixture, stir well and season with a little black pepper
  • When the milk starts to bubble gently, turn off the heat, place the drained cauliflower in the dish, then baste it with the coconut-spice mixture
  • Throw the lemon halves into the side of the dish too, then scatter the potatoes around; they will sit in the coconut milk
5

Baking the cauliflower in the curry

  • Bake the cauliflower, basting it occasionally with the spiced sauce in the dish for 40-45 minutes. You want it to catch a little on top
  • To test if the cauliflower is cooked, insert a small sharp knife into the middle - it should be really tender and the potatoes and cauliflower should have soaked up most of the sauce

Time to serve

  • Once it’s perfect, take it out of the oven and transfer to a serving dish, then squeeze over the roasted lemons
  • Serve in the middle of the table, with little bowls of coconut yoghurt, almonds and coriander for sprinkling on top

Tips & Variations

  • Don't skip the hollow: Cutting a small hollow in the base of the stalk is what makes this work. Trust us on this one, it's the difference between a perfectly cooked cauliflower and a disappointingly raw centre.
  • Keep the little leaves on: Those small leaves close to the florets might look like they should come off but leave them on. They go deliciously crispy in the oven and add a lovely texture to every bite.
  • Make the sauce your own: We find this works really well with a spoonful of peanut butter stirred into the coconut curry sauce if you want to add a bit more richness and depth. Henry always sneaks one in.

Why This Works

The trick here is cutting that hollow in the base of the stalk before cooking. It sounds like a small thing but it means the heat gets right into the centre so the whole cauliflower cooks evenly, no raw middle, no overdone outside. Then the coconut curry sauce clings to every bit of it and just keeps building in flavour as it roasts. That combo of creamy coconut and warming spices is absolutely unbeatable.