Prep25 min
Cook25 min
Total50 min
Serves4
Difficultymoderate
Contains: gluten, soy
Ingredients
Quantities for 4.
- 1 medium (about 600g), cut into 3cm florets Cauliflower
- 6 tbsp Cornflourhalf for the batter, half for the sauce
- 4 tbsp Maida
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Chillifor colour in the batter
- 10 cloves, finely chopped Garlic
- 1 tbsp, finely chopped Ginger
- 3, slit lengthways Green Chilli
- 1 medium, diced into 2cm squares Onion
- 1, diced into 2cm squares Capsicum
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Vinegarplain white or synthetic
- 1 tsp Sugarrounds off the vinegar
- 1/2 tsp, coarsely crushed Black Pepper
- 4, whites and greens kept separate Spring Onion
- 500ml for deep-frying, plus 2 tbsp for the sauce Neutral Oil
- to taste Salt
- 150ml Waterfor the batter and the sauce
- 2 tbsp, chopped Coriander Leavesto finishoptional
Equipment
stovetop, kadhai
Before you start
- Blanch the florets in salted boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and dry them completely on a cloth — wet cauliflower makes soggy batter.
- Chop all the aromatics and vegetables before you start frying. Once the sauce begins it takes 3 minutes end to end.
- This is a deep-fried dish. Set out a tray lined with kitchen paper and keep it next to the stove.
Method
- Whisk 3 tbsp cornflour, the maida, kashmiri chilli, 1/2 tsp salt and about 100ml water into a batter that coats a spoon thickly and drips off slowly.Too thin and it slides off the floret; too thick and you get a doughy shell. Aim for pouring cream.
- Heat the frying oil in a kadhai to 180C — a drop of batter should rise and sizzle within 3 seconds.
- Dip the florets in batter and fry in two batches for 4 to 5 minutes each, until pale gold and crisp. Drain on paper.Do not crowd the kadhai. The oil temperature drops and the batter drinks oil instead of setting.
- Raise the heat and fry each batch a second time for 90 seconds, until deep gold. This double fry is what keeps them crisp once the sauce goes on.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide pan over the highest flame. Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli and stir for 40 seconds, until the garlic is fragrant but still pale.
- Add the spring onion whites, onion and capsicum and toss hard for 2 minutes. They should stay squeaky and bright, with a little char at the edges.
- Pour in the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and pepper, then 100ml water. Bring to a boil.
- Stir the remaining 3 tbsp cornflour into 4 tbsp cold water and pour it in, stirring, until the sauce turns glossy and clings, about 45 seconds.Slake the cornflour in cold water off the heat or it will go lumpy in the pan.
- Tip in the fried cauliflower, toss twice to coat, and take it off the heat immediately.Every second it sits in the sauce is crispness lost. Serve straight from the pan.
- Scatter the spring onion greens and coriander over and serve.
Storage
Best within 10 minutes of tossing; it softens as it stands. Fried florets alone keep 2 days refrigerated and re-crisp in a 200C oven for 8 minutes, after which make the sauce fresh.
Recipe v1.0.0, last updated 2026-07-31. Curated for Khaana and kept under version control.