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I assume that many are familiar with this type of dish from Indian restaurants – but unlike here, the dish is made with chicken in most cases. If you don’t want to eat meat, this one here is a great alternative. This delicious Butter Cauliflower with Rice (aka. Vegan Butter Chicken) tastes just like the “original”, but it’s all vegetarian ;P So if you want to treat yourself to something delicious after work, you should definitely take a closer look at this recipe.

We like to go to the Indian restaurant round the corner when hungry but not in the mood for cooking. Simple butter chicken (murgh makhani) or chicken korma are two of our favorite dishes… stuff we like to order again and again. The creamy sauce (butter chicken and chicken korma are quite similar here), the perfectly cooked chicken… a super tasty combination! Add some naan or batura bread and the evening couldn’t get any better ;P
Butter chicken is a popular dish in Indian cuisine, although it hasn’t been around for that long. The dish only saw the light of day in the 1950s, but since then it has found countless fans all over the world. It was originally »developed« in order to process and serve chicken that had become a bit dry. Tomato sauce with plenty of butter can fix a lot ;P

This dish here with cauliflower instead of chicken is often referred to as “vegan butter chicken”. Although my version is vegetarian, it is not vegan thanks to the real butter I used. If you want to change this, simply use margarine or vegan butter instead of butter, easy as that. All the other ingredients are vegan by default, so you don’t need to make any further adjustments if you want to “veganize” the dish.
Preparing this butter cauliflower is quite simple. The cauliflower does not need to be pre-cooked in salted water, as is the case with many other cauliflower dishes. Here, you simply fry the cauliflower in a large pot to add some roasting flavors, then you season it well and cook everything in coconut milk and some veggie stock. It’s really not rocket science. If you like curry and stuff like that, you may have discovered a new favorite dish here 😉


We love curry dishes here. They are often easy to prepare and work well with veggies only. If you want to try more, I can recommend my Vegan Chickpea Tikka Masala. The dish my look a bit basic, but it’s really delicious! This is my Vegan Yellow Curry with Tofu. That one is definitely a more colorful curry ;P
INGREDIENTS / INGREDIENTS
(4 servings)
For the cauliflower:
some olive oil for frying
1 medium cauliflower, in florets
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
For the sauce:
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. paprika powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups (480ml) veggie broth
1 can (14 oz./400ml) coconut milk
cooked rice for serving
some fresh cilantro (optional)
(4 servings)
For the cauliflower:
some olive oil for frying
1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin (ground)
1/2 tsp turmeric (ground)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
For the sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric (ground)
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1 tsp salt
480ml vegetable broth
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
cooked rice for serving
some fresh coriander (optional)


DIRECTIONS / PREPARATION
1. Clean the cauliflower and break it into small florets. Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely. Set aside.
2. Add some olive oil to a Dutch oven (or large pot) and heat up. Add the cauliflower florets and cook/fry them for 6-7 minutes until slightly softer and browned in some spots. Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl, add the cornstarch, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, salt, and lemon juice – mix until well combined and set aside.
3. Add some more olive oil and the butter to the Dutch oven and heat up. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until soft and glossy – only takes a few minutes. Next, add the tomato paste, grated ginger, garam masala, turmeric, paprika powder, and salt cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the cauliflower back to the Dutch oven, mix well, and cook/fry everything another 4-5 minutesstirring often.
4. Deglaze the veggies with the veggie broth and coconut milk and mix well. Reduce the heat and let the cauliflower simmer (uncovered) for about 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened, and the cauliflower is softer, but not falling apart. Serve the cauliflower with rice and decorate with chopped cilantro (optional).
1. Clean the cauliflower and cut it into small florets. Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely. Set aside.
2. Add some olive oil to a large pot and heat it up. Add the cauliflower and Fry for about 6-7 minutesCook until the cauliflower is a little softer and has browned spots here and there. Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl and mix with the cornstarch, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, salt and lemon juice. Set aside.
3. Add some more olive oil and butter to the large pot and heat again. The chopped onion and garlic for Sauté for a few minutes until translucent. Add tomato paste, grated ginger, garam masala, turmeric, paprika powder and salt and Sauté for 1-2 minutesuntil everything starts to smell. Add the cauliflower again, stir everything well and everything again Fry for about 4-5 minutes – Stir frequently so that nothing burns.
4. Deglaze the cauliflower with vegetable broth and coconut milk. Stir everything well. Reduce the heat and leave the cauliflower for simmer for about 15 minutes (without the lid) until the sauce has thickened nicely and the cauliflower is softer but not falling apart. Serve the cauliflower with rice and decorate with chopped coriander if desired (optional).

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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Description
Delicious and easy to prepare – this butter cauliflower is one of our favorite vegetarian dishes to make on a weeknight! So good!
For the cauliflower:
some olive oil for frying
1 medium cauliflower, in florets
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
For the sauce:
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2–3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. paprika powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups (480ml) veggie broth
1 can (14 oz./400ml) coconut milk
cooked rice for serving
some fresh cilantro (optional)
1. Clean the cauliflower and break it into small florets. Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely. Set aside.
2. Add some olive oil to a Dutch oven (or large pot) and heat up. Add the cauliflower florets and cook/fry them for 6-7 minutes until slightly softer and browned in some spots. Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl, add the cornstarch, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, salt, and lemon juice – mix until well combined and set aside.
3. Add some more olive oil and the butter to the Dutch oven and heat up. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until soft and glossy – takes only a few minutes. Next, add the tomato paste, grated ginger, garam masala, turmeric, paprika powder, and salt and cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the cauliflower back to the Dutch oven, mix well, and cook/fry everything another 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
4. Deglaze the veggies with the veggie broth and coconut milk and mix well. Reduce the heat and let the cauliflower simmer (uncovered) for about 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened, and the cauliflower is softer, but not falling apart. Serve the cauliflower with rice and decorate with chopped cilantro (optional).
Notes
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