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These tandoori vegetables are jam-packed with flavor from the spices like coriander powder, chilli powder, chaat masala and more. I use store-bought tandoori masala mix, which gives these vegetables that depth of flavor. Once baked in the oven, they’re finished off on gas over direct flame which gives them that smoky flavor and aroma.
I can live off eating these vegetables for lunch everyday. These are smoky, full of flavor and if you are a vegetable lover like me, these are going to be your new favorite. These are also perfect to serve as an appetizer at your holiday parties. If you are throwing an Indian-inspired Thanksgiving, they will make a great addition to your menu along with masala smashed potatoes.
I made these for my Diwali party this year, and honestly I just eyeballed the recipe then and they turned out great. And so, I tested the recipe again to make sure I get the measurements write so that I can share it on the blog.
There’s a bit of prep work involved in this recipe and it’s mainly from chopping the vegetables. You can use any vegetables you like and even tofu and paneer here.
Let’s Make Tandoori Vegetables
- Parboil the cauliflower and potatoes
Bring pot of water to boil (add some salt to it) and parboil the potatoes and cauliflower. This extra step makes sure that the cauliflower and potatoes are well cooked once marinated and baked in the oven.
- Start making the yogurt marinade
Whisk the yogurt first until it’s smooth and then add sattu (or roasted besan) along with spices like tandoori powder, coriander, chaat masala etc. I used shaan’s tandoori powder and it worked great.
- Add mustard oil for rustic flavor
Once all the spices, ginger garlic paste are added to the marinade, add the mustard oil. I first heat the mustard oil until it’s smoky and then let it cool down and then add it to the marinade. Mustard oil has a distinct flavors which works wonderfully well in tandoori vegetables.
- Toss the vegetables with marinade
For the tandoori vegetables, I used cauliflower, potatoes, white mushrooms, onions and peppers. You may use other vegetables like beans, corn. You can even use paneer.
- Bake the vegetables and finish on direct heat
Arrange all the vegetables on steel skewers and bake until golden brown and cooked through. To give the vegetables, that smoky flavor, roast them on direct heat for a few seconds. You cannot skip this step!
Prep In Advance
You can make the marinade in advance and refrigerate overnight. Next day you would just need to bake them in the oven. If I were making these for a party, I would definitely do all the prep work a day ahead.
How To Serve
I like serving these with a side of cilantro chutney or mint chutney. You can also serve these with a dip like tzatziki. Basically any herby dip/sauce will go well.
Manali’s Tips
- Do not skip the last step of finishing the vegetables over direct flame. It gives them that characteristic smoky smell. If you don’t have a gas stove, you can heat a charcoal, put it in a small steel bowl and put that bowl in the center of the marinated vegetables. Pour some ghee over that hot charcoal and immediately cover the large bowl with vegetables with a lid and let it sit for 10 minutes. This will also give the vegetables that smoky flavor.
- Cut all vegetables into big pieces- the cauliflower florets, potatoes, use the whole mushrooms- these need to nice bite sized vegetables which you can serve as an appetizer, just like paneer tikka.
- If you don’t have sattu, you can roast some besan for a few minutes until it’s aromatic and then use it in the recipe.
- You can use any oil of choice but mustard oil gives it that rustic flavor. I heated my mustard oil until it was smoking hot, then let it cool down and then used in the recipe. However, you can use it straight away as well, the only thing to keep in mind is that when you use raw mustard oil as is, there will be a more prominent mustard oil flavor which many people might not be a fan of.
Tandoori Vegetables (Smoky Flavor!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups cauliflower florets 225 grams , make sure to cut into large florets, around 2-inches
- 1 & ½ cup potato cubes 230 grams with skin on, big cubes, 2-inches
- 9-10 white mushrooms 225 grams , stalk removed, choose big size mushrooms
- 1 large red pepper cut into big cubes
- 1 large green pepper cut into big cubes
- 1 large onion 215 grams
Marinade
- ¾ cup plain yogurt whole milk, use thick yogurt
- 2 & ½ teaspoons sattu or use roasted besan
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon tandoori masala
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder add more to taste
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala + more to sprinkle before serving
- ¼ teaspoon amchur
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons mustard oil smoked then cooled
melted butter, to brush on the vegetables before serving
Instructions
- Before you begin, chop all your vegetables as mentioned, they need to be cut into big pieces. Now, heat water in a pot and add 1 teaspoon of salt to it. Bring it to a boil, once water starts boiling, add 2 cups cauliflower florets and boil for 3 to 4 minutes until partially cooked, remove with a spatula and let the cauliflower air dry (place on a paper towel).
- Similarly, add 1 & 1/2 cup diced potatoes (with skin on, 2 inches) to boiling water and boil for around 5 minutes until half cooked. Let them also air dry.
- To make the marinade, take a large bowl and to that add ¾ plain yogurt. It needs to very thick. Whisk the yogurt using a wire whisk. To that, then add 2 & ½ tablespoons sattu (or roast some besan and use that).
- Now, add the spices: 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons tandoori masala (see note 1), ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon chaat masala, ¼ teaspoon amchur (see note 2), and 1 teaspoon kasuri methi. Also add 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste.
- Add ¼ teaspoon salt (remember tandoori masala already has salt in it) and 2 tablespoons mustard oil (I heated the mustard oil first until it was smoky and then let it cool down and then used in the recipe). Mix everything well with a wire whisk.
- Now, add in all your vegetables- the parboiled cauliflower and potatoes along with 9-10 white mushrooms (whole mushrooms with stalk removed), 1 large red pepper (1-inch cubes), 1 large green pepper (1 inch cubes), and 1 large red onion (1-inch cubes). Mix everything using your hands so that each every vegetable is well coated with the marinade.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, you can also do this overnight. Preheat your oven to 400 F degrees.
- After 2 hours take the vegetables out of the fridge and arrange them on skewers. If you don't have skewers, you can skip this step and place them directly on the baking sheet.
- Bake at 400 F degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Take them out of the oven, hold the skewer (see note 3) using a pair of gloves and just rotate the skewer over direct flame, which will give the vegetables that charred look and also infuse smoky flavor into them. Do this only for a few seconds, you don't want to burn the vegetables.
- Brush them with melted butter and sprinkle some chaat masala all over them before serving. Serve with mint leaves and lemon wedges with a side of cilantro or mint chutney.
Notes
- I have used Shaan brand tandoori masala here but you can use any brand tandoori masala that you like.
- If you don’t have amchur (dried mango powder), you can squeeze some fresh lemon juice into the marinade.
- I have used steel skewers here which obviously become hot in the oven and need to be handled carefully over the flame using gloves. Steel skewers are sturdy and it’s easy to do this step using them. If you use bamboo skewers , do not do this step over direct heat. The bamboo skewers will burn and break down. Simply use a pair of tongs and char each vegetable direct over heat for a seconds in that case.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
