Garam Masala Roasted Cauliflower “Wings”

When I ate my first vegan buffalo “wings,” I was floored. They had to be deep-fried. They were chewy and spicy and warm and rich. I even kept pestering the cook, trying to get her to admit there was gluten in the breading. Nope, no breading, she said. Worcestershire? No. Soy sauce? None of that either. I didn’t believe it.

So I did what most people would do and Googled it. Turns out you can make the coating with regular flour, but she’d made it gluten free. And you could use regular milk, but she’d used soy milk. So it was gluten free and vegan and tasting a whole lot like chicken wings.

So I went home and made the recipe a bunch of times to test it. I even ended up doing a version of it for a Global Television segment in Montreal. And I tried making it with turnip. Both worked.

So then I tried mixing up the spices. Partially because I ran out of hot sauce and partially because variety/garam masala is the spice (blend) of life. They’re still vegan and gluten free and delicious. Bring them to your next potluck and you’ll probably meet some new non-believer friends/converts too.

GARAM MASALA SPICY BUFFALO “WINGS”

• 2 heads of cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 1 cup plain, unsweetened almond milk (or soy or rice or regular milk)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups flour (rice, buckwheat, soy, sorghum, chickpea or regular wheat flour)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp garam masala (buy it or make your own here)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne or chili powder, optional
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• Up to 2 tbsp hot sauce, optional (Tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot or Sriracha)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (if you don’t use the hot sauce)

1. Line two baking sheets or roasting pans with parchment paper (if you don’t, the paste will be very sticky and you’ll spend your life swearing as you hack through the burnt-on paste.
2. Preheat the oven to 415˚F.
3. Combine the milk, water, flour and spices in a large bowl and add the cauliflower florets. It shouldn’t be too runny or the coating won’t stick. Add extra flour or extra water a few teaspoons at a time if needed to make a thin paste.
4. Toss to coat, shaking off excess batter, then spread the vegetables in a single layer on the parchment-lined sheets.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip the cauliflower and bake 10 minutes more.
6. Sprinkle the hot sauce or lemon juice (if you’re not using the hot sauce) overtop of the cauliflower, or transfer the florets to a large bowl and toss with the hot sauce, if your hot sauce bottle isn’t sprinkle-able. Toss to coat, then return the cauliflower to the pans.
7. Bake for 10 more minutes then remove the trays from the oven.
8. Eat!