Cauliflower Tikka Masala - jain

I married into a Vaishnav household, where onions and garlic were not consumed. As a young bride , not only was I not trained in cooking , but I had not encountered such strict dietary restrictions. My Gujarati Jain lineage not withstanding , we used onions and garlic freely at home. As a matter of fact , my dad was more of a Saraswat than a Gujarati Jain. Though at my mothers home, my Ajji ( grandmother) abstained from using onions and garlic on certain special days. Food thus cooked was called Shivrak.I was too young to have noticed this , hence my total apprehension about vaishnav cooking.
I eventually learnt some and experimented some, with various vegetables and gravies, to create some options apart from paneer.

Cauliflower Tikkas, can be served as appetizers and can be cooked in a rich gravy and served as a main entree.

Grilling the tikkas on a non stick girdle

Staring with the ingredients for the basic Tikkas
500 gms fresh , white cauliflower broken into florets.4 tbsp yoghurt, 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 pinch orange food colour, 1 tsp mustard oil, salt to taste. 
Onion slices, chat masala and lemon wedges to garnish
Soak the florets in hot salty water.Drain and let dry.Mix together yoghurt, chilli powder, salt, ginger, oil and food colour. Add in the florets and keep aside for an hour, occasionally turning the florets to ensure even coating.Brush a non stick girdle with oil.arrange the florets , tightly packing them in. Cover n cook for 5 mins on a low flame. Turn over the tikkas and cook for 5 mions on the other side.Just before serving, toss them around ojn high heat and serve garnished with onion rings, lemon wedges and a sprinkling of chat masala.

The Tikkas ready to be served as appetizers. A sprinkle of Chat masala gives it a nice tang.

The Gravy:1 tbsp ghee, 1 tsp cumin ( jeera), 1/4 cups tomato puree, 2 tbsp cashew paste, 4 tbsp yoghurt, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 2 tbsp cream/ malai . Chopped coriander leaves to garnish.

Use the tikkas as cooked above, omitting the garnish and the chat masala. Heat the ghee, add cumin seeds. Add in tomato puree, chilli powder and  coriander powder . Beat the yoghurt and add to the mixture. Cover and cook for 5 mins. Add in the cashew paste and salt to taste. Mix well , add in the tikkas and 1/4 cup water.Adjust salt . Add in the cream just before serving. Garnish with coriander leaves.