‘Butter Chicken’ Curry Cauliflower Soup

All the flavours of one of our favourite dishes, Butter Chicken, but serving them up in a rich and comforting creamy roasted cauliflower soup. 

This is the kind of soup you will turn to again and again, it is easy to make, leftovers keeps for a few days in the fridge, and is packed with nutrients and warm spices.

Ingredients 

• One head of cauliflower
• Olive oil, or to keep it vegan, use coconut oil
• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Fresh ginger
• Tomato paste (can use a small can of crushed tomatoes if you are making a larger batch)
• Coconut milk
• Stock (either chicken or vegetable will be great in this soup)
• Tahini
• Spices: curry powder, turmeric, garam masala, dried coriander, cinnamon, dried chili, salt and pepper

Start with Roasting off the Cauliflower

You will break up the head of cauliflower into large bite sized florets.  Place them on a baking sheet.  Drizzle olive oil over them.  Add some of the minced ginger, garlic, salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven at 425F till starting to turn golden brown.  Set aside to cool.  When it comes time for adding these to the soup, set aside 1/4 of the florets to add to the bowls of soup afterwards.  Keep these warm in the oven.

Making the Soup

In a medium to large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the chopped onions and cook till starting to soften.  Then add the remaining ginger and garlic and stir through.  Add in the spices, along with a 1/2 tsp of both salt and pepper, and stir to coat evenly, cook till fragrant.  Then you will add the tomato paste and some stock to create a thin paste with the vegetables and spices.  Then you will add most of the roasted cauliflower florets, coconut cream and broth. You will also add some tahini which adds creaminess and even some protein. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook till the ingredients blend together, or for about 5-10 minutes.

Now you can either use an immersion blender to blend it all smooth.  You can also use a stand blender, doing so in batches if necessary. Make sure you don’t overfill, since the force could push the soup up and out the lid.  Cover the lid with a tea towel just in case while you blend, starting on low. Return the soup to the pot, and set over low heat.  Taste and re-season as desired.  Whether it is more heat, more pepper, or even some acid if you find it too rich.  A splash of lemon juice or even red wine vinegar will do the trick.

To Serve

Serve the soup  in bowls and add a few roasted cauliflower florets on top.  You can also top the soup with black sesame seeds.  A spoonful of tangy yogurt will balance the warmth of the soup.  Fresh cilantro is also a wonderful finish.

Alternative Garnishes

Roasted chickpeas add some great crunch and texture, here’s the link to my Dukkah Roasted Chickpeas.  I love making up some pappadums to break up over the soup (kind of like crackers over tomato soup)  Pappadums are made of chickpea flour, and come ready to be fried up from the East Indian aisle of your grocery store.  They literally fry up in a few seconds, just adjust the heat so that they don’t burn while in the oil.  And of course, feel free to serve with warm roti, naan or flatbread.

Final Thoughts

This soup was inspired by my ‘Butter Chicken’ Cauliflower with Yogurt Flatbread.  All the good flavours and warmth of the sauce which usually accompanies grilled chicken, but this time with roasted cauliflower.  A great alternative for a Meatless Monday.  Using some tahini in the sauce or soup brings healthy fat and even a little protein.  Same goes for the chickpeas or the pappadums. And feel free to serve with yogurt flatbread or naan instead.  The link for the Butter Chicken Cauliflower include a great yogurt flatbread recipe 😀

You can easily make this a vegan soup, by using coconut oil instead of olive oil, and vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

And yes, if you have leftover soup, you can even fake a Mulligatawny Soup!  Adding shredded rotisserie chicken and basmati rice to the serving bowls before ladling the creamy cauliflower soup over them turns everything into a legit dupe to the Mulligatawny Soup in my book, and on the blog.  Jim loves cauliflower, and he loves Mulligatawny Soup, so he loves this combo

If you make this Butter Chicken Cauliflower Soup, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

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'Butter Chicken' Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Creamy, warmly spiced, and nutrituous, this Roasted Cauliflower Soup will be a go-to for you all through the colder months, to warm you up from the inside out!

Course Soup

Cuisine North American, Pakistani

Keyword roasted cauliflower, tahini

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 medium to large head cauliflower, cut into large bite size florets
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided, see Notes
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced or grated
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 medium to large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp crushed or ground coriander seed
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp dried chopped red chilli pepper, seeded and deveined, more or less to taste
• 6 tbsp tomato paste, if making a larger batch, feel free to use a small can of diced tomatoes
• 2 1/3 cup stock divided, more if needed (can use chicken or vegetable stock)
• 1 large can of coconut milk, well blended together
• 3 tbsp tahini
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped, for garnish
• black sesame seeds, for garnish
• yogurt, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Toss the cauliflower with 2 tbsp olive oil to lightly coat them. Add half the minced ginger, and half the minced garlic, plus a good pinch of salt and pepper. Spread the cauliflower in a single layer on a large baking sheet and roast until the tips of the cauliflower are golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove and set aside.

2. Meanwhile about 15 minutes before the cauliflower is finished roasting, in a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, warm the remaining tbsp olive oil. Add the onion and a dash of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is turning translucent, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the remaining ginger and garlic and cook for another minute. Stir to keep the garlic and ginger from scorching.
4. Add the garam masala, curry powder, tumeric, coriander, cinnamon and crished chili pepper and stir to incorporate.

5. Add in the tomato paste and 1/3 cup of stock. Stir till smooth and well blended.

6. Set aside 1/4 of the roasted cauliflower florets. Add the remaining roasted cauliflower florets to the pot.
7. Add coconut milk, tahini, remaining stock, and the sugar. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Continue simmering for 5 to 10 more minutes to meld the flavors, reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pot from the heat.
8. Let the soup cool for a few minutes, then carefully use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Alternatively you can transfer the soup in small batches to a blender, blending until each batch is smooth. Don’t over-fill and beware of the steam escaping from the lid: use a tea towel to cover and hold down the lid.

9. Return the soup to the pot. Taste and re-season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup needs more acidity, stir in 1 or so tsp of red wine vinegar or lemon juice, to taste.

   If the soup is thicker than you'd like, just add in some more stock or water, a little at a time, till you are happy.

   Ladle the soup into 4 bowls. Top each with ¼ of the cauliflower florets, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and fresh cilantro, as well as a dollop of yogurt if you want.

10. See blog post for more serving details.

Recipe Notes

Make this soup vegan by using melted coconut oil in place of the olive oil, and vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

This soup will keep in the fridge for a few days. You can also freeze it, for up to two months.

I say it serves four, it can probably serve five depending on appetites.