This creamy cauliflower curry, called Malai Gobi in Hindi, has tender cauliflower florets swimming in a creamy, mildly spiced white sauce.

I have for you today a creamy, luxurious, delicious Cauliflower Curry that's going to make you lick your fingers, then the plate, and then the serving bowl. Because it's that good.
This restaurant style curry is usually made by cooking cauliflower in a cream sauce. In this vegan version we will use a fully dairy-free, coconut milk sauce that's as tasty as it is healthy.
If you have kids who hate cauliflower, you might want to try this dish on them. The creamy cashew-coconut sauce is subtly spiced and at the same time utterly flavorful, making it perfect for picky little eaters. But it's an adult-pleaser too. I hope you try it and if you do, be sure to leave a comment and recipe rating below!
Cauliflower in Indian food
In India, cauliflower is cooked in a million different ways, although outside India its identity is usually narrowed down to a few restaurant dishes like Aloo Gobi, an Indian cauliflower curry recipe with potatoes, or Gobi Masala, a spicy curry of cauliflower florets, or the Indo-Chinese classic, Gobi Manchurian. But the fact that cauliflower, like potato, is a pretty blank slate flavor-wise makes it a perfect vehicle for all of those amazing spices so integral to Indian cooking. You can enjoy it in a sumptuous Vegan Malai Kofta Curry, grate it into a pav bhaji, add it to a cauliflower dal, stuff it into a Gobi Paratha, or use it to top off a cauliflower wild rice pilaf.

This Malai Gobi cauliflower curry I am sharing here is one of my favorite Indian recipes to make with cauliflower. For one, it's very simple and quite easy: you need no more than half an hour to put it together, cooking and all. You can even use a bag of frozen cauliflower florets and no one would be the wiser.
Best of all, this curry is so tasty that if you serve it up to company, you will have them eating out of your hand. 😉
Why you'll love this cauliflower curry recipe
- It's so flavorful. Try this recipe once and you'll be glad you did. It is so rich and full of flavor although you need just a few ingredients to make it. And anybody you serve it to will love it.
- It needs just a few ingredients. You don't need garam masala, curry powder, red curry paste, green curry paste, yellow curry paste or indeed any spice mix or paste or even curry leaves or cilantro to make this curry. Some chaat masala is amazing in this, but you can easily replace it with lemon if you don't have it. The only special ingredient I would recommend using is kasoori methi or dry fenugreek leaves and if you love Indian food you likely have it already in your pantry.
- It is everyone friendly. The recipe is vegan, gluten-free and soy-free. You need a few cashews but you can replace them with pumpkin seeds or more coconut milk.

Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower (separated into small florets)
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 green chili peppers (like serrano)
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or lime juice (about ½ lemon or lime).
- 1 tbsp kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
- Salt to taste
How to make cauliflower curry
- Blend the cashews and coconut milk into a very smooth paste. Set aside.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a saucepan. Add the onions and ginger-garlic paste and saute until the onions turn transparent but not brown. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if the ginger-garlic paste starts to stick to the pan.
- Transfer the onions to a blender, add ¼ cup water and the chili peppers and blend into a smooth paste.
- In the same saucepan, heat the remaining teaspoon of coconut oil. Add the blended paste back to the pan and bring it to a simmer.
- Add the cauliflower florets and ½ cup of water along with the cardamom powder, pepper, chat masala, and kasoori methi.
- Stir well to mix, bring to a boil, and cover with a lid. Cook on a medium-low flame, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender but still has a bite. If you like the cauliflower softer, continue to cook a little longer.
- Add the cashew-coconut cream and stir well to mix. Add water if the mixture is too thick, and thin it out to your liking. I like this curry rather thick and creamy.
- Once the curry comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Add salt to taste.
What to serve with the cauliflower curry
- Serve the curry hot with roti, vegan naan or over basmati rice.
- It can also be enjoyed with a simple pilaf like jeera rice.
- Serve a vegan raita or a little bit of lime pickle on the side.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: This curry tastes great the next day. You can store leftovers in the fridge for up to four days.
- Freeze: The coconut milk in the curry can separate or become a bit grainy when frozen. However, there will be no loss in taste. Freeze the curry in an airtight container.
- Reheating: Reheat the frozen curry in a microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring once or twice in between. You can also heat the curry in a saucepan.
Frequently asked questions
You can, although it takes so little time to make on the stovetop you might not want to break out the IP for it. But if you absolutely want to use the Instant Pot you can cook in it all the way up to step 6. Saute the ingredients with the IP set to the "saute" function. After adding the water and spices cover and cook under high pressure for 5 minutes so the cauliflower tenderizes, then release the pressure manually after 10 minutes. Stir in the coconut paste and lemon.
Certainly, frozen peas would be a great add--stir them in after the cauliflower has cooked. Or add carrots to the pot along with the cauliflower.
That would be awesome. Roasted cauliflower would add more depth of flavor and would taste great in this. If you have roasted cauliflower on hand definitely feel free to use it here.
More tasty cauliflower recipes


Cauliflower Curry (Malai Gobi)
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower (separated into small florets)
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 2 green chili peppers (like serrano)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Blend the cashews and coconut milk into a very smooth paste. Set aside.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a saucepan. Add the onions and ginger-garlic paste and saute until the onions turn transparent but not brown. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if the ginger-garlic paste starts to stick.
- Transfer the onions to a blender, add ¼ cup of water and the chili peppers and blend into a smooth paste.
- In the same saucepan, heat the remaining teaspoon of coconut oil. Add the blended paste and bring it to a simmer.
- Add the cauliflower florets and ½ cup water along with the cardamom powder, pepper, chat masala, and kasoori methi.
- Stir well to mix, bring to a boil, and cover with a lid. Cook on a medium-low flame, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender but still has a bite. If you like your cauliflower softer, continue to cook a little longer.
- Add the cashew-coconut cream and stir well to mix. Add water if the mixture is too thick, and thin it out to your liking. I like this curry rather thick and creamy.
- Once the curry comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Add salt to taste.
Recipe notes
- Serve the curry hot with roti, naan or over rice.
- It can also be enjoyed with a simple pilaf like jeera rice.
- Serve a vegan raita or a little bit of lime pickle on the side.
- This curry tastes great the next day. You can store leftovers in the fridge for up to four days.
- The coconut milk in the curry can separate or become a bit grainy when frozen. However, there will be no loss in taste. Freeze the curry in an airtight container.
- Reheat the frozen curry in a microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring once or twice in between. You can also heat the curry in a saucepan.
AnneElise
Just fantastic - reminded me of having this dish is a wonderful Mumbai restaurant. Will cook again
Yana
hi. is it important to use cashew nuts? or optional? (in case of nut allergy) can i use soya milk for protein content? din't try it yet, but sounds amazing
Nimitha
This turned out delicious. I have never had this preparation before. I added two Indian chillies and it turned out too spicy. Probably next time I'll add one chilli or skip it altogether.
Vaishali
Hi Kavita, I meant the coconut milk from a carton that's much thinner than canned. You can use any other nondairy milk like almond milk or just make thin coconut milk of your own. If you have canned coconut milk, use 1/4 cup coconut milk and 3/4 cup water. Hope that helps. 🙂
Kavita
Hi Vaishali,
Love your blog! This recipe looks so delicious, any particular reason for not using canned coconut milk? Was hoping to make this for a dinner party and I cannot make fresh coconut milk in large quantity. Thanks.
Anonymous
do u have a book of recipes by any chance...and if I do make these could I post them on social media with due credit to your blog (and with your permission)
Anna
It was amazing! So creamy but not fatty.
Vaishali
So glad you liked it!
Honey's Quilling
I made this just a couple days after you posted it. I added some mushrooms that I needed to use up, along with the cauliflower. It was really yummy! Actually it reminded me of an Indian version of stroganoff. I am making it again tomorrow for my inlaws! (They are Indian)
Guru Karam
This was sooo good! Creamy goodness that makes you want to roll over with your paws in the air!
Did not have chat masala - used garam masala instead. Looking forward to trying it again with the Chat.
Thanks for sharing your deliciouness!
Vaishali Honawar
Guru Karam, so happy you tried it. I can imagine it'd be good with garam masala. Thanks for the feedback!
Ksheeraja
Visited your blog after forever, didnt have cauliflower, used one and a half capsicums, half a tomato and an onion instead, sautéed with a little sugar. It turned out beautifully, thank you very much !
Vaishali Honawar
Ksheeraja, so glad you tried it. Thanks for letting me know!
The Vegan Junction
I was trying to think of something new to do with cauliflower, so this will be perfect. Thank you. I like the texture and consistency too!
Kirsten
this looks delicious! But I didn't notice in the recipe where you add the chiles. Did you leave them out? Thanks so much!
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Kirsten, they get blended up with the onions and ginger-garlic. Cheers.
Katy
This was incredible. Definitely a new way to prepare cauliflower that has a unique taste. The fenugreek really added something in combination with the chaat masala. Will be making this again!
Anonymous
It has been years since I signed into blogger or visited your blog. I'm happy I did. I have a cauliflower in the fridge that I didn't know what I was going to do with. I will try this recipe. It looks yummy!
Vaishali Honawar
Glad you're back. Hope you try it!