Cauliflower 65 or Gobi 65 is a snack that is very famous in Chennai but has many interesting histories behind it. yes. you read it right. many says many reasons why it got this name correlating it with chicken 65. Like it’s name the preparation of gobi 65 is also differs region to region.
I personally like this verion of gobi 65 which is widely prepared in Chennai street sides and in beaches. The crispy, spicy and sour cauliflowers are very addictive and one can not stop eating it with just one piece. Gobi 65 is a vegetarian variant for the chicken 65.
I have not blanched cauliflower in this recipe, instead I kept them immersed in very hot salted water for 15 minutes to remove any worms and dusts. After that washed the florets in a running water two or three times before adding masala.
I skipped the food colour in this recipes, instead I have added kashmiri red chilli powder. Generally the kashmiri red chilli powder tastes less spicy but gives nice colour. So i have added 3 teaspoons of it to get balanced spicy levels. If you are adding the usual red chilli powder, please add it according to its spicy level. You may food colour if preferred. Do not skip the lemon juice which gives the unique taste to this recipe. Instead of lemon juice, amchoor(dry mango powder) can also be added.
Deep fried curry leaves add extra flavor and crisp to this recipe. If you like the extreme hot gobi 65, fry some slit green chillies along with curry leaves and mix it with gobi 65 while serving.
Basic Information:
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 to 30 minutes
Serves: 3
Ingredients:
Cauliflower – 30 florets
Maida – ¼ cup
Cornstarch – 2 tbsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder – 3 tsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Lemon juice – from half lemon
Water – little less than ½ cup or as required
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Video Recipe:
Method with step by step pictures:
1) Cut the cauliflower into 30 florets. Make sure all florets are almost uniform in size. I picked 1 inch size florets.
2) Keep the florets in a wide bowl. Pour very hot water in it along with salt. mix it well and keep it aside for 15 minutes.
3) After 15 minutes, drain the water. rinse two or three times.
4) Take the drained cauliflower in a bowl, add maida, cornstarch, kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, salt and lemon juice.
5) Start mixing it without adding water. once the masala coated well with the florets, add water little at a time.
6) I added 4 handful of water which came approximately little less than 1/2 cup. The masala coats well with cauliflower at the same it should not be runny.
7) Deep fry it oil. Deep fry 8 to 10 florets at a time.
8) Stir gently in between to avoid the florets sticking to each other.
9) Once the bubble sound reduces and the cauliflower becomes crisp, drain the excess oil and transfer to a plate. Repeat this step with the remaining florets.
10) when all the cauliflower florets are fried, turn off the stove. Then very carefully add curry leaves. Once the curry leaves are fried well, drain the excess oil, then transfer to the plate.
11) Mix both fried cauliflower and curry leaves.
12) Serve hot.
Serving Suggestions:
1) It is a snack. It can be served as an evening tiffin and as after school snack.
2) It can be served along with mint chutney / tomato ketchup / buttermilk ranch.
Notes:
1) I have added kashmiri red chilli powder to avoid food colour. if you do not have kashmiri red chilli powder, add red chilli powder according to it’s spicy level and add a pinch of red food colour. This gives a nice red colour.
2) Instead of lemon juice, add amchoor masala for slight tanginess.
3) Make sure to add water correctly. add very little water at a time and mix the masala and florets.
