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Gobi 65 Recipe | Fried Cauliflower Snack
4.8 from 84 votes

Gobi 65 Recipe | Fried Cauliflower Snack

Gobi 65 features deep-fried cauliflower florets coated in a spiced gram flour batter and a bright red chili and garlic ginger paste, resulting in a crisp, flavorful snack with distinct South Indian seasoning. The batter combines gram, rice, and corn flours with turmeric, chili, and garam masala for a textured crust. A tempering with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and green chilies adds aromatic complexity after frying.

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Marinating Time
20 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
Servings: 3
Calories: 331 kcal
Course: Snacks
Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

For Blanching
  • 350 grams cauliflower (gobi) or 3 cups small to medium cauliflower florets
  • water as required - for covering gobi florets, hot
For Red Paste
  • 4 red chili or Kashmiri red chillies with seeds removed - soaked in ¼ cup hot water, dry
  • 1.5 teaspoons garlic or 5 to 6 medium-sized cloves, chopped
  • 1.5 teaspoons ginger or 1 to 1.5 inches ginger, chopped
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons water or as required - for blending
Other Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons gram flour (besan) - sub with chickpea flour instead
  • 4 tablespoons rice flour
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder (ground coriander)
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • ⅓ cup water or as needed
  • salt as required
  • 7 to 8 tablespoons neutral cooking oil or as needed, generic cooking oil
For Tempering
  • 2 teaspoons neutral cooking oil or 2 tsp of the fried leftover oil, generic cooking oil
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ¼ cup onion or spring onion whites or 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon garlic or 3 to 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ginger or 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
  • 3 to 4 green chilies - slit
  • 2 to 3 red chili broken and seeds removed, dry
  • 5 to 6 curry leaves
  • 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves cilantro, chopped
  • 1 to 2 pinches salt or add as per taste
  • 1 to 2 pinches caster sugar or superfine sugar (finely granulated), brown sugar or powdered sugar; add as per taste (optional

Instructions

Preparation
    Cup of Yum
  1. Chop the cauliflower in small pieces. Rinse them very well and keep in a bowl.
  2. Now add enough hot water so that all the florets are covered. Cover and blanch the florets for 15 to 20 minutes.
  3. In a small bowl, add ¼ cup warm or hot water and soak 4 dry red chilies in it for 15 minutes.
  4. In a small grinder jar or chutney grinder, add 1.5 tsp chopped garlic and 1.5 tsp roughly chopped ginger.
  5. Add the soaked red chilies.
  6. Add 1 to 2 tablespoon water or as needed and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.
Making Marination
  1. Drain the cauliflower florets of all the water very well and take them in a mixing bowl or pan.
  2. Add the red paste. Mix very well.
  3. Then add gram flour, rice flour and corn starch.
  4. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and coriander powder.
  5. Also add ½ to 1 tsp lemon juice and ⅓ cup water.
  6. Next add salt. Combine and mix everything very well. The batter should coat the cauliflower pieces and must not be runny or thin.
  7. If the mixture looks dry, doughy, sprinkle a few tablespoons of water and mix. If the batter drips from the florets or is runny or thin, add a few tablespoons of gram flour or chickpea flour.
  8. Cover and allow to marinate for 20 to 30 minutes.
Frying Marinated Cauliflower
  1. Heat oil in a kadai (wok) or a frying pan. When the oil becomes medium hot, use a spoon to carefully place the cauliflower florets in the hot oil. Ensure that you do not overcrowd the pan, so you will have fry in batches.
  2. The oil should be medium hot at about 350 to 356 degrees Fahrenheit (175 to 180 degrees Celsius).
  3. Fry one side and when it becomes crisp, turn over with a slotted spoon and fry the other side.
  4. Fry them evenly, until they are golden and crisp turning them as needed. Fry them in batches.
  5. With a slotted spoon, remove the fried cauliflower florets and place them on kitchen paper towels to absorb extra oil. Work in batches this way.
Making Tempering
  1. Now remove the extra oil from the kadai and keep 2 teaspoon oil in it or add fresh 2 teaspoon oil in another pan. Add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and crackle them. Then add 2 to 3 dry red chilies. Fry until the dry red chilies change color and become a darker shade of red.
  2. Next add ¼ cup chopped onions, 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic, 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger and 5 to 6 curry leaves.
  3. Stir and sauté until the onions turn translucent and are softened.
  4. Then add one to pinches of salt or add as per taste. You can also add a pinch or two of castor sugar. Mix well.
  5. Add the fried cauliflower florets. Switch off the heat.
  6. Toss and stir the whole mixture. Add chopped coriander leaves.
Serving Suggestions
  1. Serve gobi 65 as is or pair with Coconut Chutney, Coriander Chutney or Mint Chutney or even tomato ketchup. You can also serve with some Roti or Bread.
Storage
  1. Gobi 65 tastes best when eaten right after being prepared. But you can keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 to 2 days.
  2. While serving later, reheat by baking in an oven for about 5 to 10 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

Nutrition Information

Calories 331kcal (17%) Carbohydrates 37g (12%) Protein 7g (14%) Fat 18g (28%) Saturated Fat 2g (10%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g (6%) Monounsaturated Fat 1g (5%) Cholesterol 1mg (0%) Sodium 721mg (30%) Potassium 590mg (13%) Fiber 7g (28%) Sugar 7g (14%) Vitamin A 438IU (9%) Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 1mg Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 1mg Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 20mg Vitamin B6 1mg Vitamin C 101mg (112%) Vitamin E 7mg Vitamin K 21µg Calcium 62mg (6%) Vitamin B9 (Folate) 272µg Iron 4mg (22%) Magnesium 33mg (8%) Phosphorus 94mg Zinc 1mg

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 3 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 331

% Daily Value*

Calories 331kcal 17%
Carbohydrates 37g 12%
Protein 7g 14%
Fat 18g 28%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 1mg 0%
Sodium 721mg 30%
Potassium 590mg 13%
Fiber 7g 28%
Sugar 7g 14%
Vitamin A 438IU 9%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 1mg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 1mg
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 20mg
Vitamin B6 1mg
Vitamin C 101mg 112%
Vitamin E 7mg
Vitamin K 21µg
Calcium 62mg 6%
Vitamin B9 (Folate) 272µg
Iron 4mg 22%
Magnesium 33mg 8%
Phosphorus 94mg
Zinc 1mg

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.