Malabar Cauliflower Curry — a plant-based Indian recipe by BOSH!
Jump to recipeMore Indian recipes →More Dinner recipes →

Malabar Cauliflower Curry

This is one of those curries we keep coming back to, proper South Indian coastal flavours that feel a bit special without being complicated. The Malabar coast is known for its bold spicing and creamy sauces, and this recipe brings all of that to your kitchen in one brilliant pan. You get tender roasted cauliflower with slightly caramelised edges, sitting in a fragrant curry that's got heat, depth and a gorgeous richness from the coconut. It's the kind of dinner that makes your whole place smell incredible and has everyone asking what you're cooking. Make this tonight and you will not regret it.

Cook: 30 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 180°C
  • Large baking tray
  • Large skillet

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp groundnut oil
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 2 onions - finely sliced
  • 5cm piece of fresh ginger grated
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 chilli finely sliced
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 x 400g can of coconut milk
  • 1 small cauliflower - broken into small florets
  • 100g green beans - cut into 1 inch pieces
  • basmati rice
  • red chilli to serve

Method

1

Bake the cauliflower

  • Put the cauliflower florets on a baking tray and bake them for 20 minutes at 180°C
2

Begin cooking the curry

  • Warm the oil in a large skillet, add the mustard seeds and the curry leaves to the oil and stir them round until you've released the aromas
  • Add the onion to the pan and cook it until they start turning translucent
  • Add the ginger, garlic and chilli to the pan and stir everything round until the aromas have been released and there are bubbles forming around the ginger
  • Add the coriander and the turmeric to the pan and stir them into the pan
  • Add the coconut milk to the pan and stir it round until the coconut milk begins to bubble
3

Finish the sauce

  • Pour the chopped tomatoes into the pan and stir them in so they're well mixed with the rest of the sauce
  • Add the lemon juice, sugar and salt into the sauce and stir everything round
  • Pour the green beans into the pan and stir them into the sauce, let them simmer for 3-5 minutes so they start to soften
4

Finish and serve

  • Open the oven, grill the cauliflower florets for 3-5 minutes so they start to darken slightly
  • Take the florets out of the oven, pour them into the pan and fold them into the sauce
  • Serve the sauce over basmati rice, and garnish with coriander leaves and red chilli

Tips & Variations

  • Get your cauliflower golden: We find spacing the florets out on the baking tray makes a real difference. If they're too crowded they steam instead of roast and you lose those lovely caramelised bits. Give them room and they'll reward you.
  • Adjust the heat: If you're cooking for people who don't love spice, pull back on the chilli and add a little extra coconut milk instead. The curry leaves and mustard seeds already give you loads of flavour, so it'll still taste brilliant.
  • Add some greens: Ian loves wilting a big handful of spinach into the sauce right at the end. It bulks it out, adds colour, and makes it feel even more like a proper wholesome meal. Henry always adds a squeeze of lime too, just before serving, it lifts everything.

Why This Works

The trick here is baking the cauliflower first rather than just chucking it straight into the sauce. Those roasted edges add a nutty depth that you just don't get from steaming or simmering. Then blooming the mustard seeds and curry leaves in hot oil right at the start unlocks this incredible fragrance that basically sets the whole flavour foundation for everything that follows. Trust us on this one, don't skip that step.