Gobi 65

Restaurant style Gobi 65 | Crispy Cauliflower is a easy to make appetizer or for a quick tea time snack. Only two steps, marinate the cauliflower florets with spices and deep fry it. A very popular vegetarian starters in the Indian restaurants and it is perfect for any occasion. Serve the crispy cauliflower with tomato ketchup or with your favorite sauce, or it can also be served as a sides with any lunch platter or as an appetizer in thali meals.

This recipe includes,

• Step by step pictures of how to make the crispy cauliflower or gobi 65?
• Serving, storing and reheating instructions
• Tips to make the perfectly crispy cauliflower
• Different ways to cook the cauliflower
• Links to other starters / appetizers from the blog

What is gobi 65 / chicken 65?

Gobi 65 or chicken 65 is a spicy, deep fried chicken dish originating from Hotel Buhari, Chennai India, as an entrée, or quick snack. The flavor of the dish can be attributed to red chilies, but the exact set of ingredients for the recipe can vary. It can be prepared using chicken, cauliflower or paneer and is usually served with onion and lemon garnish. Vegetarian variants like “Paneer 65” or “Gobi 65” use paneer or cauliflower instead.

For a vegetarian, these gobi 65 is a must to order starter on the restaurants menu, and most commonly seen vegetarian appetizer in a buffet. Few things why I like to make this gobi 65 is because, it holds its shape and stays crispy even after it cools down.  Unlike other cauliflowers starters which tends to become soggy after a while, this gobi 65 do not and is perfect appetizer for any occasion.

More over it is very easy to make it and takes very less work. The important step is marinating the florets in the right batter consistency, else the coating will loosen from the cauliflower while deep frying it. This recipe will give you the perfect coating to the cauliflower and I just simply followed my moms recipe without changing a thing. And when it comes to my kids, there is absolutely no fuzz in eating these. I did not use any food coloring in this recipe like they typically do in the restaurants for the bright red color, instead used alternatives.

What is the right oil temperature to deep fry the marinated cauliflower?

Once the oil is heated for 5 to 10 minutes in medium high flame. Use a deep frying thermometer to check the oil temperature, temperature should read between 350 to 375 degree F. Recommend not to heat the oil beyond this temperature, else cauliflower coating will get browned quickly and inside will not get cooked fully. Same way when the temperature is below this point,  cauliflower will absorb lot of oil and become greasy.

What to do if you don’t have deep fry thermometer?

If you don’t have the thermometer, then heat the oil in medium – high flame for 8 to 10 minutes, and check by dropping little batter or a piece of cauliflower first into the hot oil, the floret or the batter should bounce right back to the surface of the oil, which means the oil is ready for deep frying. Else give it few minutes extra to heat and try again.

Why it is important to deep fry to golden brown color?

• Fry the cauliflower in batches, few pieces at a time and don’t overcrowd in a single batch.
• Fry the cauliflower for approximately for 5 to 6 minutes or more in medium flame, to nice golden brown color. The frying time may vary depending on the size of the florets, so fry accordingly until well browned ( as show in the picture below).
• Do not cover the fried cauliflowers immediately with a lid or in a box, it will become soft. Cauliflower tastes best when served warm and still crispy.

Can you bake the cauliflower instead of deep frying it?

• In this recipe I deep fried the cauliflower, and this is the best method to make gobi 65 / crispy cauliflower.
• But if you want to bake, then marinate the cauliflower with the ingredients given. Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C . Spray some oil on the baking pan or line a parchment paper on the baking dish, and then place each marinated floret piece on the oil sprayed pan. and bake for 15 minutes approximately or until the cauliflower are crispy and dark brown in color. Slightly cool down before removing the florets from the baking pan / parchment paper. Note – cauliflowers may not be very crispy when compared to deep fried cauliflowers.
• I don’t recommend air frying it, instead you can use bake option in the air fryer and bake it.

Why to use kashmiri red chili powder ?

Kashmiri chilly powder is the name given to a powdered chilli pepper. It is mildly hot when compared to plain chili powder, and when used in the recipes, it gives a nice red color to the dish. Kashmiri chilli powder gives the natural red color to the cauliflower, an alternative to the red food coloring used in the restaurants to make these gobi 65. I highly recommend using it in the recipe. You can buy them in the Indian grocery store or in the Amazon online.

Note – If you do not have Kashmiri chili powder or cannot find it, then add regular/ plain chili powder – 1 teaspoon full or add 1 teaspoon of paprika. You may not get a good color like shown in the picture, but taste will be good.

What to do if the consistency of the batter is not coating well ?

• Sometimes depending on the cauliflower size and measuring cups you are using may vary and the marination may be little thick to coat the florets or little loose and not sticking to the cauliflower.
• The batter should be semi thick like bajji batter / or idli batter consistency (see picture below for reference). It should not flow loose when you lift little batter in your hand and pour.
• After marinating all the cauliflower florets, If you find the florets are not coating well with the batter or you don’t have enough batter to coat well all the florets, then add extra 1 to 2 tablespoon heaped besan/ chickpea flour, 1 tablespoon of rice flour and 2 tablespoon of water and mix it well. Make sure to coat/cover each florets with batter using your hands, else you may have uneven coating. Check for extra salt if needed.
• If you find the the batter to be very thick after preparing the marinade and if it is not spreading well on the florets, then add two tablespoon of water at a time and mix the batter to loosen the consistency and add more if required.

How to serve the crispy cauliflower ?

• Crispy Cauliflower can be served with tomato ketchup or with any hot sauce/ ranch / mayonnaise.
• It can be served for tea time as a snack , so good with a cup of chai or filter coffee.
• You can also serve it with noodles , fried rice, or as an appetizer, lunch thali meals, goes well with any variety rice dish like lemon rice, coconut rice, ghee / jeera rice, pulao etc.
• Great for lunch box or kids school snack.

Storing and reheating instructions

Store any left overs in the refrigerator for up to a weeks time. Recommend to store it in the air tight box, make sure to cool down before storing it in the fridge. To reheat – microwave the required quantity of cauliflower in the microwave only for few seconds ( 15 to 30 seconds) or just until warm to touch.

Other appetizers from the blog, I have listed few below, for the complete list of recipe, check the link here – Appetizers Recipes.

• Easy Instant Pot Pav Bhaji – mixed vegetable curry served with Indian pav buns or any soft dinner rolls.
• Restaurant Style Spicy Fried Chicken Strips
• PF Chang’s  Inspired Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps 
• Street Food Style – Kaalan | Mushroom Masala
• Panda Express Orange Chicken Recipe
• Air Fryer Crispy Tofu In Sweet Chili Sauce
• Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp

Step by step pictures of how to make the crispy cauliflower / gobi 65

Cut and clean the cauliflower – Cut the cauliflower into small bite size florets, add the florets into a large bowl, fill the bowl with warm water (not boiling water) , add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp turmeric and stir well. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes and drain the water completely. Set aside the florets for the marination. This softens the texture of the cauliflowers a bit and cooks perfectly .

Marinate the cauliflower 

Before starting the marination, Add enough oil to a heavy bottomed pan/Kadai  for deep frying the florets. In a bowl  add all the spices and flours – besan /chickpea flour, rice flour , maida /all purpose flour, ginger and garlic paste , salt , turmeric , red chili powder , lemon juice , Kashmiri chili powder and water. Mix all these ingredients to a smooth paste. Batter should be semi thick, like bajji batter / idli batter consistency.

Now add the cauliflower florets to the prepared batter and mix well to coat. Make sure each floret is coated well with the batter.

Deep fry the cauliflower florets

Make sure the oil is hot. To test the temperature of oil – simply take few drops of batter and drop it slowly into the hot oil , if the batter immediately pops up to the top surface , the oil is ready for deep frying. Take each floret using a spoon or hand and drop it carefully into the oil ( do not crowd with too many florets in a single batch). Fry for 5 to 6 minutes approximately depending on the size of the florets or until it turns to nice golden brown. Keep the flame in medium ( In high flame, florets will not get cooked inside but the coating will turn brown quickly). Drain the florets on the plate lined with paper towel to remove any excess oil. Repeat the steps and fry the rest of the marinated florets in batches.

To garnish

Optional – deseed green chilies and cut it into thin strips and deep fry it in the oil. Same way you can deep fry few fresh curry leaves. Both gives very good flavor and spice when served with the crispy cauliflower. Serve the cauliflower when it is still warm and crispy for best taste. Serve with freshly cut lemon slices, few pieces of onions rings, deep fried green chillies and fried curry leaves.