This Phulkopir Roast is a traditional Indian style cauliflower roast recipe that can be served as a side dish with rice dishes or with Indian flatbreads such as naan or paranthas. This Indian vegetarian recipe of cauliflower is a dry preparation that is mildly spicy yet absolutely delicious in taste.
Honestly, the term ‘roast’ is a misnomer here. It is more like a pot-roast where the cauliflower florets are fried and then cooked in the spicy masala mix of fried onion, ginger and tomato. Like most classic Bengali niramish ranna recipes, it is gluten-free, nuts free, needless to say, meat-free.
The seasonal appearance of phulkopir roast in Bengali cuisine
In most Bengali households, this phulkopir roast recipe is kept for special occasions. Primarily because this dish isn’t for a faint of heart! Although the list of ingredients is small, the elaborate preparation makes it apt for special days only.
Just when you are sick and tired of having cauliflower dishes or phulkopir torkari like Aloo Phulkopir Dalna (which is, by the way, another traditional Bengali delicacy of Cauliflower Curry), this cauliflower roast recipe would get you back the love for this vegetable.
How to make Phulkopi Roast in Bengali style – Ingredients list
- Cauliflower Small size – Whole or Large cut in florets
- Mustard Oil & Ghee
- Onion, Tomatoes, Ginger
- Tumeric Powder
- Salt to Taste
- Garam Masala Powder
- Coriander Leaves to Garnish
Step-by-step instructions on how to make Indian style Cauliflower Roast or Bengali Phulkopir Roast
- Prepping the Cauliflower for roast. If you can get yourself small cauliflowers then use them as it is. Do not separate the florets but cook the whole cauliflower head intact. Otherwise, if you could only get the larger ones then, cut out bigger florets and cook them into this cauliflower roast recipe.
- Cleaning the Cauliflower head. The very step includes cleaning the cauliflower thoroughly. Wash it well to ensure that there are no particles or debris stuck inside it. Check inside the crevices between the florets from the bottom.
- Soaking the Cauliflower. Once you have washed and cleaned it thoroughly, Soak the cauliflower head or florets in warm salted water for at least 30 minutes. Not only it would soften the vegetable but would clean out the insides properly.
- Prepping for the gravy for Phulkopir Roast. As the cauliflower is soaking, you can do the prep for the dish like finely chopping onion, ginger and tomatoes. This would cut down the total cooking time considerably.
- Making Phulkopir Roast or Cauliflower Roast. We will begin with frying the cauliflower head or the cauliflower florets in a wok or kadhai. We will use mustard oil and some salt & turmeric powder. This is done to cook or roast the cauliflower partially so that when we add it back to the gravy, it doesn’t take much longer to finish cooking.
- Once the cauliflower is fried and has turned golden-brown, check to see if the stalks have softened up. If not, splash some water and allow it to simmer with a lid on for a couple more minutes.
- Cooking the fried cauliflower in gravy. After this, you can proceed to make the gravy using finely chopped onions, ginger and tomatoes along with a handful of spices, and add the cauliflower back to finish the dish. The step-by-step recipe for phulkopir roast is written below.
As I mentioned earlier that this Indian, essentially Bengali Cauliflower Roast recipe or Phulkopir roast involves elaborate cooking.
How to serve Phulkopir Roast or Indian Cauliflower Roast recipe?
On a Bengali menu, this is served with a festive rice dish like Bengali Mishti Pulao or Basanti Pulao. This Phulkopir Roast would be the vegetarian counterpart to the meat-based dishes like Mutton Kosha or Chicken Curry for people who prefer meatless diets.
This Indian style Cauliflower Roast can also be served with Indian flatbread like Naan or Paranthas. Otherwise, you can also serve it on Tortillas with some salad and yoghurt dip.
Have you tried this recipe? I would love to hear about it.
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This Phulkopir Roast is a traditional Indian style cauliflower roast recipe which can be served as a side dish with rice dishes or with Indian flatbreads such as naan or paranthas. This is a dry preparation which is mildly spicy yet absolutely delicious to taste.
- 1 Cauliflower Small size – Whole OR Large cut in florets – approx 200 gms
- 4 tbsp Mustard Oil
- 1 Onion Large – finely chopped
- 1 inch Ginger grated
- 2 Tomatoes Large – finely chopped
- 1 tsp Tumeric Powder
- Salt to Taste
- ½ tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 1 tbsp Ghee optional
- Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves to Garnish
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Soak the Cauliflower in lukewarm salted water for 30 minutes.
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Heat mustard oil in a pan. Fry the cauliflower head or the florets in the oil till it turns golden brown and the stalks have softened.
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In the same pan, fry the onion, ginger and tomatoes with salt.
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Once the mix turns dark brown in colour and there's no raw smell, add some water to make the gravy, say 1/2 cup or so.
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Add the fried cauliflower back in this gravy.
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Add the garam masala powder and ghee and mix everything well. Ensure that the gravy has entered the inner stalks of the cauliflower properly. Cover the pan and allow it to simmer for 4-5 minutes.
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Once the cauliflower has cooked completely, turn off the heat and serve with finely chopped coriander leaves on top.
