I have waited a little while to share this recipe of Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower with you all! Why the wait? Well, for the silliest reason ever! I was waiting to pick up the perfect little cauliflower to photograph. Yup, us food bloggers & food photographers are a crazy tribe! We can go lengths to pick up the perfect little ingredient! However, I cannot take any credit for this one! A couple of weeks back I was getting these crazy cravings for crispy baked cauliflower florets so I asked the husband to pick up a cauliflower on his way back from running some errands along with a few other things. He came home with a not so good-looking cauliflower with ‘visible’ bugs crawling all over it! Plus he missed out couple of other things that I had asked him to pick up from Wholefoods (via text… yes those were on the list) – so back he went with the bug covered cauliflower and came back with this gorgeous bug-free one! I will be eternally grateful to the Wholefoods employee who helped him pick this one up!

That night, my cravings for crispy baked cauliflower florets were not quenched but I could not wait to photograph this gorgeous piece of vegetable the next day! Just look at it!

I bought the Tandoori Masala from the wholesale aisle of Wholefoods. I am so glad that they are stocking up on organic spices that I use in my Indian/Bengali recipes!

Preheat oven to 375 F when you are ready to bake. Grease a cast iron skillet or an oven proof dish/skillet or a baking sheet and keep aside.

Now to prep the cauliflower head – First off, break off and discard the leaves of the cauliflower. Next cut off the stem. Now using a sharp knife (I use my paring knife) core the cauliflower but be careful not to go too deep or the florets will break off.

Season the cauliflower with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Take the tandoori masala, paprika, turmeric (if using), oil, salt and freshly cracked black pepper, in a bowl and whisk together into a smooth paste. Place the cauliflower, cut side down, on the prepped pan/skillet. Now pour the marinade on the prepped cauliflower head and using your hands (or brush it on, if you don’t prefer messy hands) massage the  marinade all around and under the cauliflower without missing a spot.

Let the cauliflower hang out in the fridge or on the countertop for 30 minutes or so. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes till the masala/marinade looks cooked (turns darker) and a skewer goes into the roasted cauliflower easily.

Transfer the roasted cauliflower gently onto a serving platter. Cut into wedges, add a squeeze of lemon juice, and serve with your favorite condiment – mint chutney or raita.