Gobi Musallam (Whole Roasted Cauliflower in White Gravy)
Published Nov 25, 2025
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This Gobi Musallam recipe is inspired from my mom’s version which she made for us when we were kids! The whole head of cauliflower is first baked and then served with a white sauce made with onions, yogurt and flavored with whole spices. Garnished with pomegranate, this makes a great vegetarian centerpiece for the holiday table and the perfect meatless main for Thanksgiving!
My mom was a good cook but she did not cook everyday and that’s because we had help at home. There are few things which she made that I absolutely loved, like her melt-in-mouth chana dal and kathal kebabs and this agobi musallam. During that time, there was no social media or internet so she actually learnt this recipe from a cooking class she did. And then she made it for special occasions a few times and we all loved it.
I asked my mausi (aunt) if she had that recipe somewhere and unfortunately she could not find it. All I remembered was the cauliflower gravy used to be white in color, so there were no tomatoes used. And after talking to my mausi, she told me that the recipe used lots of yogurt. Keeping all that in mind, I came up with my version of Gobi Musallam which is inspired from my mom’s version.
Honestly, I can’t tell if this one tastes like mom because it has been 25 years since I had it but I know for a fact that she would have loved my version as well.
The base of this gravy is made with white onions, ginger, yogurt and cream. The recipe doesn’t use many spices- most of the flavor is from the whole spices like cinnamon, black cardamom and cumin. My mom deep fried the whole cauliflower head in her version, however I baked mine in the oven after marinating it with some ginger-garlic paste and yogurt.
It’s the Perfect Thanksgiving Vegetarian Centerpiece
I have shared the whole roasted cauliflower tikka before which makes a great vegetarian Thanksgiving centerpiece, and this gobi musallam is yet another cauliflower recipe which will impress your guests at the holiday table. The whole head of cauliflower garnished with pomegranate will sure look festive on the table.
This gobi musallam is easy to make, the marinade is super simple and you can work on the curry which the cauliflower bakes in the oven. This way you can get your main dish done in less than 1 hour!
Serve it with some tandoori roti on the side, it’s good with plain rice too.
Method
- Prep the cauliflower
Before we bake the cauliflower in the oven, I like to boil the whole cauliflower in salted water for around 10 minutes. This make sure that the cauliflower gets nicely tender in the oven, it also absorbs flavors better this way.
- Marinade and bake
The marinade is pretty simple with just yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, salt and pepper. Make sure to cover the cauliflower from all sides with the marinade and then bake. The baking time will vary depending on the size of the cauliflower head.
- Make the sauce/curry
The base “sauce” of this recipe is made with white onions (use these as they are sweeter), ginger, chilies, just a few cashews and yogurt. Boil the ingredients (minus the yogurt) and then blend until you have a smooth paste.
- Prepare the tadka
This gobi musallam recipe doesn’t use a lot of spices, it gets its flavors mainly from whole spices like cinnamon, black cardamom, cumin seeds. The prepared paste is cooked for a couple of minutes with these whole spices before adding in some ground spiceand kasuri methi.
- Add the baked cauliflower to the pot
Finish the sauce with cream and once you have added the baked cauliflower head to the pot, pour some of the sauce over it from all the sides, then cover and let it cook for just 2 more minutes. Serve with sauce on the side and garnish with pomegranate arils and fresh mint.
Manali’s Tips
- To prep for this in advance, you can bake the cauliflower a day head. Re-heat in the oven at 350 F degrees before adding it to the curry.
- You can also make the sauce in advance and keep it refrigerated. Assemble on the day of your party, if the sauce seems too thick, you can add some milk while re-heating.
- If you are using a small head of cauliflower, make sure to boil it for 5 minutes only and bake it for a less amount of time in the oven.
Gobi Musallam Recipe
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 large cauliflower whole head, 850 grams measure after removing leaves and thick stem
- ½ cup plain yogurt I used thick whole milk yogurt
- 1 & ½ tablespoons ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Sauce
- 2 cups water
- 4 whole cashews raw and unsalted
- 1 large white onion 360 grams , sliced
- 1 inch ginger roughly chopped
- 1-2 green chilies sliced
- ¼ cup plain yogurt I used whole milk yogurt
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamom
- ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons kasuri methi
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼-⅓ cup heavy cream
- pomegranate arils to garnish
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, pot should be big and deep enough to accommodate a whole head of a large cauliflower inside it. Add little salt to the water. Once the water comes to a boil, add 1 large cauliflower head (850 grams) into it (remove the leaves and stem before) and let it boil for around 8 to 10 minutes. Then remove the cauliflower head using a pair of tongs and se it aside.Meanwhile preheat oven to 400 F degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To a large bowl or pan, add ½ cup plain yogurt (yogurt should be thick), add 1 & ½ tablespoon ginger garlic paste, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper to it and mix everything using a wire whisk.
- Coat the cauliflower head with the prepared marinade, making sure that the marinade gets into every nook and cranny. Place the cauliflower on to the prepared baking sheet and bake at 400 F degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until cauliflower is nicely tender. The time will vary depending on the size of the cauliflower.
- Meanwhile make the sauce. To a pot, add 2 cups water along with 4 raw cashews, 1 large white onion (sliced), 1-inch ginger (roughly chopped), and 1-2 green chilies (sliced). Cover and let it boil for around 15 minutes.
- Then remove everything from the pot and transfer to a blender along with ¼ cup plain yogurt. Blend to a fine paste.
- To the same pot, now add 1 & ½ tablespoons oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the whole spices: 1-inch cinnamon stick, 1 whole black cardamom, and ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds. Let the spices sizzle and then add the prepared onion paste to it.
- Cook for 2 minutes, then add the dry spices: 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala, 2 teaspoons kasuri methi and ½ teaspoon salt (to taste). Mix everything and cook for 1 minute.
- Add ¼-⅓ cup heavy cream and cook for 1 more minute. Place the baked head of cauliflower carefully into the pot. Using a spoon, pour the sauce over the cauliflower getting into every nook and cranny. Lower the heat, cover the pot with a lid and let the cauliflower cook with the sauce for 2 more minutes.
- Place the cauliflower head on the center of your serving place using a pair of tongs. Pour the sauce all around it, also pour some on top of the cauliflower. Sprinkle some more crushed kasuri methi on top of the cauliflower and garnish with pomegranate arils. Serve!
Notes
- The sauce is mildly spiced, if you prefer it spicier, add some crushed red chili flakes to the sauce.
- I also tested a version in which I added curry leaves and it was very good. If you like the curry leaf flavor, simply add 4-5 curry leaves in the sauce when you are adding the powdered spices. It’s make the sauce very fragrant.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
