Some of my favorite staples have come from the need to whip something up really quickly. You get home from work, it's somehow already 6:30, and you're doing your best to not get delivery. Well guess what, friends? That's why you should grab a head of cauliflower every week at the grocery store. It does not have too much of it's own flavor, which means it's a blank canvas that can take on whatever you throw at it. One day I needed to make dinner before my hanger took over my senses and decided to give a sheet pan cauliflower the Indian treatment.

If you're a fan of Indian cooking, you know the humble aloo gobi (potato-cauliflower curry). It's one of those complex vegetarian dishes that gives Indian food it's reputation for great vegetarian dishes. And while I love a saucy curry, I am currently addicted to watching old seasons of Survivor and I wanted to create a version that you could stick in the oven and get back to binge watching Jeff Probst's cute lil dimples. (Yes, that is an invitation to talk about Survivor and how Jeff is sort of a father figure to me. Ahem). I've shared another sheet pan roasted cauliflower recipe before and I essentially took some of those concepts, threw everything that goes into an aloo gobi curry, and ended up with something fantastic. It hit all of the flavor notes and had the added texture of crispy, charred vegetables. If you're newer to Indian cooking, this version is also more approachable than making a proper curry.

We had this with khichdi, a risotto-like lentil and rice dish. These crispy and spicy vegetables were a great balance to the mushy comfort of khichdi. You can also serve this with flatbread or rice. Oh and you can just added crushed garlic to this recipe but I do love roasted garlic for it's sweetness and depth and I highly recommend you give it a go.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1/2 large white Spanish onion
• 3-4 carrots
• 1 red potato
• 1 medium tomato
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 tbsp diced ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp ground coriander 
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• salt and pepper to taste
• Cilantro to garnish
• Juice of 1/2 lime

Method

Prep all of the vegetables. Cut the cauliflower in half, then cut each half into eighths. Dice the potato and tomato. Thinly slice the onion half. Cut the carrots into circles. Dice fresh ginger root to get 2 tbsp. Cut the tops off of a whole head of garlic. Chop the cilantro leaves.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Take a large sheet pan (mine is 12 x 16.75) and drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil. Place the cauliflower, potato, tomato, onion, and carrots on the pan. Sprinkle with the ginger, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the additional 1 tbsp olive oil. Mix everything together well with your hands. Place the cut head of garlic in the middle of the sheet pan.

Place the pan in the oven and cook for 35 mins. Halfway through, turn the pan 180 degrees.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 10 mins. Sprinkle with a little more salt (if needed), garam masala, the lime juice, and chopped cilantro. Toss well and serve. Remember to pop out a few cloves of roasted garlic per serving!