Vegetable Tikka Masala

This delicious Vegetable Tikka Masala is the most perfect holiday curry! It’s incredibly rich & creamy with authentic Indian flavors that will impress your family & guests. It has everything you would expect from an Indian restaurant dish – perfectly marinated & roasted crunchy vegetables swim in a tikka masala sauce that’s bursting with gourmet flavors. For a protein boost, I also add chickpeas and paneer/tofu.

About Vegetable Tikka Masala

Vegetable Tikka Masala is a vegetarian Indian dish where tandoori veggie tikkas are served with tikka masala curry. In India, Tikka Masala is mostly associated with chicken or with paneer. So you will find the veggie version only in Indian restaurants outside India and in the frozen sections. There are a lot of brands selling frozen veggie tikka masala but nothing beats the flavors of a fresh homemade version.

Traditionally, a tikka (piece of marinated meat/paneer) is roasted in a tandoor clay oven but in the absence of the tandoor they are roasted in a oven or on a barbeque. To simplyfy the recipe I did not thread the veggies on skewers instead spread them on baking trays.

Making a traditional tikka masala takes some time but isn’t a difficult recipe. Since this recipe is loaded with lots of vegetables, most of the time goes into preparing them. I always feel making a small batch of this recipe isn’t worth so I opt to make a larger batch and the leftovers are great to serve thru the week. But you can always halve this recipe for a smaller batch.

This Vegetable Tikka Masala is so good that you can eat it on its own. For a complete Indian meal serve it with Plain Basmati rice, Jeera Rice, Butter Naan, Chapati, Plain Paratha or Saffron Rice. This Cucumber Salad, Onion Salad, Kachumber or a Raita make some great sides.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Vegetables: I love cauliflower, carrots, green beans, bell peppers & button mushrooms in this recipe. Zucchini, broccoli, peas, baby corn are other options. Your tikka masala can take up the flavor of the veggies so use only what you like.
• Aromatics: Onions, tomatoes, ginger & garlic form the basis of the tikka masala.
• Ground Spices: Spices like garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric add depth and flavor. These are used to make both the sauce and the tikkas. Kasuri methi is dried fenugreek leaves. They are the key to enhance the North Indian flavors.
• Cream: For a creamy texture I like to go the traditional way and use nuts & heavy cream (fresh cream). For a vegan option, you may omit the heavy cream & just use nuts. For a nut-free option, substitute nuts with heavy cream but cut down the water.

Can I use coconut milk?

For a dairy-free and nut-free option you may use coconut milk or coconut cream. But traditionally nuts, seeds and fresh/heavy cream are used and using coconut milk changes the flavor of the tikka masala drastically. In this recipe if you want to use coconut milk, replace the nuts and the heavy cream with ½ to ¾ cup of thick coconut milk. Using a lot will mute the flavors.

Can I omit roasting the veggies?

A piece of meat, paneer or veggie becomes a tikka only when you marinate and roast it. If you add veggies directly (without roasting) to the sauce, it becomes a regular Vegetable Curry and not a Tikka Masala.

Photo Guide

How to make Vegetable Tikka Masala (Stepwise Photos)

Protein: I also include 1 cup of boiled/canned chickpeas and 200 grams paneer for some extra protein. You may omit or replace with cooked beans or extra firm pressed tofu.

Preparation

1. To make the curry,

• Fine chop 2 medium or 1 large red onion to make 2 cups (240 grams)
• Peel & slice ¾ inch ginger & 4 garlic cloves or use 1½ tablespoons ginger garlic paste (22 grams) 
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (cut down for low heat, increase if you want high heat)
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste, ½ tsp more if you want)
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• I use 1¼ cups canned tomato puree/ bottled mutti passata (310 grams) (substitute with whole peeled tomatoes or ½ kg high quality fresh tomatoes, deseed & chop)
• ⅓ cup cashews or almonds (55 grams) (soaked in ½ cup hot water, sub 2½ tbsps nut butter or ⅓ cup heavy cream or ½ cup coconut milk to add at the end)
• ½ teaspoon sugar/jaggery (optional, adjust to taste)
• 1 tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• ¼ to ⅓ cup heavy cream (optional)

2. Prep up the veggies

• 1 small head cauliflower florets (350 grams, break to 1½ to 2 inch)
• Dice 2 small carrots to make ½ cup (1 inch pieces, 55 grams) 
• I dice half each of a yellow and red bell pepper to make 1 cup (100 grams, 1½ inch portions, you may use any one)
• Use 200 grams whole or halved white button mushrooms (I felt brown types are strong for this recipe)
• Trim of the ends and break a handful of green beans to make ½ cup (100 grams) 
• Dice half of a medium red onion to 4 and seperate the layers to make ½ cup

Make the Masala

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee in a pot. Add the fine chopped onions & 1 teaspoon salt. Saute until golden, for about 9 to 10 mins. Stir in the ginger garlic and saute for a minute.

4. Mix in the red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, coriander powder and cumin powder.

5. Transfer tomatoes and cook until mushy.

6. Canned puree takes only 2 to 3 mins and fresh tomatoes or peeled tomatoes take 7 to 8 mins. (First break down the peeled tomatoes a bit with a little masher to help them cook faster)

7. Pour ¾ cup cold water to a blender jar. Transfer the onion tomato masala and the nuts along with the soaked water. If it is too hot, let cool down first.

8. Blend to a smooth sauce and pour back to the pan.

9. Stir in 1 cup boiled or canned chickpeas if you want. I used half cup more water at this point. You may not need any if you don’t use cashews. Bring to a boil on a high heat and cook covered for 10 mins on a medium heat, stir every 4 to 5 mins. Turn off the heat when it is done.

Make the Vegetable Tikka

10. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 220 C / 425F for 15 mins. In a small bowl, mix together the following

• ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (or smoked paprika for low heat)
• ¾ teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ tablespoon ginger garlic paste or 1 tsp each grated
• 2 tablespoons oil or hot melted ghee

11. Layer your cauliflower and mushrooms on a prepared baking tray (with parchment or greased). Reserve a tsp of the spice blend and drizzle the rest little by little over cauliflower and mushrooms. If you add all at one time it will clump up so be careful. Gently rub and mix to coat well. Spread evenly. Place this in the oven in the middle rack and roast for 20 mins.

12. Meanwhile add the bell peppers, onions,carrots and green beans to another prepared tray. Drizzle with the rest of the spice mix and coat them well. Place this in the bottom rack during the last 10 mins (10 mins after the cauli & mushroom are placed in the oven).

Optional – Paneer/ Tofu

13. If using paneer or tofu – To the same spice bowl, add

• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ½ teaspoon each Kashmiri red chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder, salt, ginger garlic paste, kasuri methi
• ¼ cumin powder

If it is too dry add a splash of yogurt.

14. Mix well and add the 200 grams diced paneer or tofu. Coat it well. When the veggies are done with the roasting, remove from oven, transfer to one pan and spread the marinated paneer/tofu on the other. Place in the top rack, broil for 10 to 12 mins, until the marinade dries out.

15. Mix in the roasted vegetable tikka, little by little to adjust the sauce to veggie ratio. If you want it more saucy, add lesser veggies. But I end up adding everything.

16. Taste test to adjust salt and garam masala. Add the roasted paneer/tofu and half teaspoon sugar/jaggery if you want. Crush 1 tablespoon kasuri in your palms and sprinkle. Pour the cream if you want. I use 1/4 cup heavy cream. If your sauce is too thick adding some cream or hot water will help loosen it.

If you omitted cashews, use half cup coconut milk or heavy cream at this stage. Adjust the amount to suit preference.

17. Bring to a boil, to heat through the sauce and veggies.

Garnish vegetable tikka masala, chopped coriander leaves and with a tsp of cream. Serve it hot with rice, naan or bread.

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