Vegetarian Tikka Masala over Rice

I have been trying this new approach to vegetarian cooking, and so far I think it is turning out well. Basically, in any place I would have incorporated a chicken breast, instead I sub in cauliflower and/or chickpeas. Chicken breast is a light on flavor meat, so I usually season it up well or add a sauce. In my opinion, cauliflower can be cooked almost the same way and inserted in its place pretty darn easily!

If you are unfamiliar with Tikka Masala, it is traditionally a chicken simmer dish that involves curry, tomatoes, coconut cream, and other spices such as paprika and tumeric. I’m not going to claim to know where it came from as the internet doesn’t seem to know for sure either, but my taste buds give me Indian cuisine feels.

This dish is super easy because I use a pre-made sauce. I have two kids and work full time… as much as I want to go full on scratch with this veggie recipe, the truth is I make it more as a quick week night dinner and grabbing the sauce of the shelf is so much easier! Just make sure to grab an organic one to keep things fresh.

Ok, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup Jasmine rice
2 cups water
1/2 head cauliflower prepped (slice off individual stems/heads)
1/2 onion, diced fine
1 can chickpeas
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 15oz jar Tikka Masala sauce
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt or sour cream (only if your Masala sauce is not already creamy)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt & pepper as needed

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, set your 2 cups of water to boil. Once boiling, add your 1 cup of white rice and reduce to a simmer. Cover and let set until your rice is cooked.

While the rice is cooking, take a large pan and toss in your butter and olive oil over low/med heat. Once the butter has melted, add your cauliflower and onion. Let this cook on lower heat until the onions start to sweat and cauliflower is al dente. Add the chickpeas and continue to stir and cook in the saucepan until the cauliflower is almost done. Then, add your masala sauce, yogurt/sour cream (if needed), and seasonings. Allow this to simmer until your cauliflower is nice and tender (without being mushy). Once your veggie mixture is at its desired consistency sprinkle your seasoning in and stir.

Serve hot over rice and enjoy! We had some cotija cheese in the fridge which I grated over and actually found the flavor combination to be fantastic.

I feel like my vegetarian cooking has been so on point lately and my body is thanking me. I wake up feeling so much more refreshed and healthy in the mornings when I have veggie dinners! What about you? How much vegetarian eating do you do? I would love to see your recipes!

X.O. – Abbey Co.

For Masala sauce, all you are looking for is something like this…

Sharwood Tikka Masala Cooking Sauce, 14.1 oz

Also, I prepared this meal in my coveted All-Clad Stainless Steel pans. I love my All Clad set because being made out of stainless steel, they are much safer for cooking (we had an old non-stick set that the finish started CHIPPING OFF into our food!!). Also, the stainless pans are so easy to deglaze and come up to temp super fast. They take some getting used to cooking on but once you have mastered the stainless skillet, the possibilities are endless! Below is the set that I have.

All-Clad BD005710-R D5 Brushed 18/10 Stainless Steel 5-Ply Bonded Dishwasher Safe Cookware Set, 10-Piece

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