Most people who met me after high school know that I am originally from the San Francisco Bay Area (East Bay, to be exact). I admit that I shamelessly perk up and dive in whenever the subject of the Bay comes up, get excited when I see something San Francisco-related on a label, and often reminisce about my childhood to anyone who will listen. After moving away to Arizona for college, I found a deep appreciation for the Sonoran Desert and the diversity and culture that now surrounds me; but I absolutely left my heart in San Francisco.
After all these years, I finally decided to go to Outside Lands—a music and arts festival in Golden Gate Park. I had been hearing about this festival since my freshman year of high school when it started, but hadn’t really felt the pull to go. This year, I heard that the Lumineers were headlining, bought my ticket at the last second, and drove the 13 hours to California with a friend this past weekend. I had decided to go on a whim, so I did most of the research about the actual festival on the drive the night before, with my usual food allergy questions in mind. What would I eat? What would I drink? Should I sneak in my own snacks? Should I sneak in a cider or two under my shirt? Well, my questions were quickly answered with a quick scan of the OL website—this place was a mixed diet Mecca.
There was a vegan-, vegetarian-, and gluten free-specific search function for the food trucks and tents and there was a plethora of cider, Japanese sake, and wine options (Wine Land, baby!). I basically picked out the exact dishes I wanted to try before I even got to the festival and I ate all of them while I was there. Needless to say, I was living my best life by eating amazing food, drinking refreshing libations, and being surrounded by live music. And the cherry on top? I had no stomach issues after.
The original Crispy Cauliflower 65.
My favorite dish, and the inspiration for this recipe, is called Crispy Cauliflower 65 from a restaurant stand called ROOH: Progressive Indian (how San Francisco). Upon doing some research, I found that this dish is not actually on their menu, but it is a version of a South Indian appetizer called Gobi 65. Made to appeal to vegan and gluten free people at the festival, this crispy cauliflower was battered in a mixture of chickpea flour and Indian spices and drizzled with homemade ketchup with more Indian spices. Because I don’t get to eat fried food often, I fell in love with this dish. The batter that blanketed the soft cauliflower was fluffy and crunchy, the slightly sweet curry spice made the flavor unique, and the drizzled ketchup brought a welcome tang.
In my re-creation of the recipe, I chose to pan fry my florets in a combination of olive and vegetable oil, but you are welcome to try your hand at deep frying, air frying, or even baking these babies! I also used almond milk in my batter, but coconut milk or soy milk will be fine replacements. As always, I encourage you to experiment and switch out ingredients that fit your diet and taste buds best!
*Find chickpea flour (also called garbanzo flour) in the bulk section at Whole Foods!
Fried Chickpea Curry Cauliflower
Servings: 2
Time: 30 minutes
1/2 Head of Cauliflower
1/4 cup Corn Starch
1/2 cup Chickpea (Garbanzo) Flour
1 tablespoon Curry Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Almond Milk
Optional Indian Spice Ketchup:
3 tablespoons Ketchup (I just used store-bought!)
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
Note: The process described below is optimized so you can just go, go, go until all the cauliflower is gone.
You can always begin with frying just one piece of cauliflower at a time, and then get into a rhythm with your timing as you batter, flip, and remove.
If you start overcooking the cauliflower or get overwhelmed, take a step back and slow down! Work at a pace that fits best for you. You’ll get faster and faster as you get more practice.
I overcooked the first batch because I was trying to get a good picture. Oops!
- Prep time! Chop or break your cauliflower into florets around 2 inches long and place into a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Dump in the corn starch and shake, shake, shake until the cauliflower is coated.
- Mix the chickpea flour, curry powder, garlic powder, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
- Over medium-high heat, place a medium-sized sauté pan with the extra virgin olive oil and vegetable oil. Wait about one minute, then sprinkle some water into the oil. If the oil crackles when the water hits it, it’s ready! If not, wait a bit longer, then test again.
- When you are ready to start cooking, pour the almond milk into the chickpea flour mixture and combine until smooth. It should begin bubbling slightly from the baking powder. Then, create your assembly line: the bag of cauliflower first, chickpea flour batter second, and the sauté pan third. Next to your work station, set up a large plate with a few squares of paper towels on it (for the finished cauliflower) and have a set of tongs at the ready as well.
- Wash your hands! Prepare yourself: you are about to work fast! These cook quickly.
- Grab a floret, shake off the excess corn starch, and dunk it in the batter. Be sure to get the batter in all the nooks and crannies, and let some of the batter drip off before carefully and slowly placing the floret into the oil. Start that process over again—shake off corn starch, dunk in the batter, place in the oil.
- At this point, after you’ve placed two florets (about 30 seconds later), the first floret should be ready to be flipped. Take the tongs and flip the cauliflower to the other side and gaze upon the beautifully browned top side. But not for too long! It’s time to shake the corn starch off another floret, dunk in the batter, and place in the oil.
- Once the third piece is in the oil, the first floret is ready to be removed. Let the oil drip off and then place on the paper towel-covered plate.
- Time to flip the second piece! Flip the second piece to the other side, gazing upon the already browned top side, and begin your shake, dunk, and place process again!
- Continue until all of the cauliflower in your bag is gone. While you’re waiting for your fried beauties to cool, mix your ketchup and garam masala in a mini sauce dish for dunking. This crispy cauliflower is best enjoyed hot out of the pan. And don’t feel bad about eating all of it—it’s a vegetable after all!
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