Tender cauliflower and hearty chickpeas are simmered in a spicy cashew tomato sauce and topped with fresh cilantro in this spicy vegan tikka masala.
It took me a long time to familiarize myself with the variety of dishes that make up Indian cuisine. I started out eating Indian food at a buffet, which is really the best way to get started on Indian food if you ask me. Head on over to the vegetarian section and grab a scoop of everything. Who needs labels? If it was meatless, I was happy to have it on my plate.
After that I experimented with some sit-down Indian dining, on the first occasion of which, a friend instructed me to “Just pick anything at random off of the vegetarian menu. It’s all good.” I did. It was. From then on I became a bit more familiar with the dishes themselves, though the names were still lost on me.
It took a while before I ever learned about tikka masala, I suppose because usually shows up on restaurant menus as chicken tikka masala, which isn’t really that interesting to me. So even when I did learn of the dish’s existence, I never got to try it, with the whole chicken and dairy issues to contend with.
Really though, it would be such a shame to miss out on something like tikka masala. If you’re where I was not too long ago and know little of this dish, here’s the lowdown: rich, spicy, curry, tomato gravy. That’s it. It’s so good.
I finally got down to it and created my own version. My very own vegan tikka masala. No need for chicken. Cauliflower is the meatiest of veggies and chickpeas the meatiest legume. I threw ’em both in there.
Nor is there any need for dairy. Traditional tikka masala is made with yogurt or heavy cream. Sounds tough to replicaet, but it’s really not. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: cashews are magic. They’re amazing, and so was this dish. My husband declared that he forgot he was eating vegan as he polished this off. You might just do the same.
Vegan Cauliflower Chickpea Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked in water 4-8 hours and drained
- 1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 1/2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
- 1 to 3 tsp. Asian chili paste
to taste - 1 tbsp. garam masala
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 large cauliflower crown broken into florets
- 1 3/4 cups cooked or 1-14 oz. can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1/2 to 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- cooked basmati rice to serve
Instructions
- Place cashews, tomatoes, broth, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, chili paste, garam masala, cumin, paprika, coriander, cardamom, salt, cloves, nutmeg and pepper into blender or food processor bowl. Blend until very smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of pitcher or bowl as needed. This may take a few minutes.
- Coat the bottom of a large pot or skillet with oil and place over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add cashew mixture, cauliflower, chickpeas, brown sugar and about 1/2 cup of water. Stir to incorporate. Bring to a simmer. Lower heat and allow to simmer, uncovered, until cauliflower is tender, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally and thinning with a bit of extra water if needed.
- Divide onto plates with basmati rice. Top with cilantro. Serve.
Looks delicious. Feeling like having it now. But anyway, I am going to prepare this soon as you have shown me the way. So, Thanks.
I love how you just make the sauce in the food processor – looks so easy! Tikka masala is my favorite Indian dish. I’ve made it with chicken and a vegan version with chickpeas, but I love how you combined cauliflower and chickpeas!
I made this tonight and hesitate to comment since I did not have cashews and used homemade coconut milk instead along with subtracting the other liquids in the recipe. But I do comment because it was wonderful and actually tasted like tikka masala! Served it over brown jasmine rice. I hope to make it again with raw cashews instead if my grocery store isn’t out of them next time!
Yay! I actually have a similar recipe for vegetable korma that uses a coconut milk base, and a few other curries as well, so I’m not surprised that it worked out. Glad you liked it. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and let me know! :)
Do you have any nutritional information for this recipe? It looks delicious!
Thank you! I don’t usually calculate nutritional info for my recipes, but you can use this calculator if you’d like to.
Can I sub apple cider vinegar for the lemon juice?
You can give it a try, but you might get a bit of apple flavor in there. I always find apple cider vinegar to have a really distinct flavor. You might be better off trying a more neutral flavored vinegar.
Made this tonight – and clearly should have opted for the mid-range of the chili paste. :-) I speed-soaked by cashews by cooking them in my Instant Pot for two minutes since I had forgotten to soak them. Worked well. I also added a little bit more agave syrup to make it a notch more balanced in flavors. My husband is not a big cauliflower fan, but he ate it and had seconds. The cauliflower was rather large (used ready to go florets from Trader Joe’s), and they weren’t cooked at the 12 minute mark. You may have to account for that in your timing. It was very delicious – thank you!
I have never commented on a recipe in my life but I just had to tell you that this was the most delicious curry I have ever cooked and I’m not vegan! I used a packet of salted cashews from 711 and by the time they were soaked it was fine. Like another poster I added too much paste I think as the flavour was overwhelming and I was a bit worried. But I added some extra water and a bit of coconut milk and while this added to the cooking time considerably due to the extra liquid it was absolutely perfect when done. Thank you!
The recipe uses cashews but talks about garbanzo beans. Which one do we use?
Both! The sauce is made from cashews, and chickpeas and cauliflower are both simmered in the sauce. :)
I came across this recipe on Pinterest, made my first vegan meal and I love it.Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that!!
Can I sub cashews for almonds please? I’m allergic to cashews :-(
I’ve never been able to get almonds to blend up smooth enough for sauces like this, but maybe it will work if you have something like a Vitamix. Otherwise I’d say macadamia nuts would be a good bet if you can have them, or you can try adapting a different sauce recipe – this one uses non-dairy yogurt: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/indian-butter-tofu-lentils/