Sesame Cauliflower Bites
This is a super delicious recipe that will remind you of the restaurant style Gobi Manchurian. I gave this recipe a healthy twist by baking the cauliflower florets rather than deep frying them. Cauliflower florets are baked in the oven to get that crispy golden crust and are tossed in the Indian-Chinese style tangy sauce. Read the story behind creating this recipe to get an amazing tip to make the sauce with minimum ingredients!
Story behind creating this recipe
I created this recipe almost 2 months ago when I had bare groceries in my fridge. I made it work with whatever ingredients I had on hand. I had only onions and garlic for the sauce. I searched my pantry and guess what I used to replace the tomatoes, soy sauce and vinegar?
I used TOSTITOS MILD SALSA! This was a perfect substitute to the missing ingredients and the jalapeños in the salsa gave this dish a perfect kick. The dish turned out to be so good that I had to write it down to share it with you all.
The recipe is very easy to make and instructions are super simple to follow. To save time, you can prepare the sauce while cauliflower florets bake in the oven.
This is a perfect appetizer or side dish for the summer barbecue season. It can also be served with fried rice, noodles or with a bowl of fresh seasonal salad and ranch dressing.
Sesame Cauliflower Bites
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 medium sized cauliflower cut into florets
Ingredients for batter
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp corn starch optional
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Ingredients for sauce
- 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 red onions diced
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/3 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 cup salsa (I am using Tostitos Mild Salsa)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala/coriander powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1/2 lime juiced
Ingredients for garnish
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
Baking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F
- Grease the baking sheet with oil and line it with parchment paper
- In a bowl, add all purpose flour, corn starch, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and water. Mix everything well to make a smooth batter without any lumps
- Cut the cauliflower into big bite size pieces. Add cauliflower florets to the bowl and coat them evenly with the batter
- Place the florets onto the baking sheet. Spread them evenly in a single layer; do not pile them on each other
- Bake them for 25-30 minutes at 450°F in the oven, flipping half way through
Cooking Instructions
- Heat the oil in the pan. Add cumin seeds and garlic. Sauté until fragrant
- Add diced onions
- Cook the onions for 7-8 minutes until they are golden brown
- Add salt, black pepper, garlic powder, turmeric powder and garam masala/coriander powder. Mix well
- Add salsa, tomato ketchup and lime juice and cook for another 4-5 minutes
- Toss the baked cauliflower florets in the sauce and cook on low flame for 3-4 minutes. This will allow the cauliflower to absorb all the flavours from the sauce
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and sesame seeds
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One Comment
Gurdeep kaur
Really mind blowing ideas.Thank you for giving such amazing healthy recipes.You are inspiration for youngsters .