This vegetable masala is roasted in a flavorful Indian spiced tomato sauce. Low carb veggies make this the perfect replacement for aloo gobi and suitable for any ketogenic diet.
Do any of you have a cookbook that you return to again and again? A cookbook that provides endless inspiration as well as fabulous recipes? I have one such book – Complete Indian published by Hamlin.
If you page through the book you will find handwritten notes on many of the pages – notes where I have tweaked ingredients to better suit our tastes and daily carb counts. Notes that have slowly multiplies over the years.
And sometimes in a fit of boredom or creativity, I can’t decide which, I take one of those recipes and turn it on it’s head as I did for an Indian Spiced Flank Steak or this Roasted Vegetable Masala.
I admit to dropping the ball most nights with our vegetable sides. It’s common to see the same tired steamed vegetables accompanying our entries again and again. It’s partly due to lack of energy and enthusiasm on my part and often lack of organization. Oh, yeah, that’s a BIG one. But two things have inspired me recently to improve our weeknight-veggie-side-situation.
The first thing that has breathed new life into our sides is “sheet pan meals”, where everything cooks at once on a cookie sheet. The person who started the trend – genius! Since the cooking temperature for these babies is commonly 400-425F, we won’t be enjoying them too often when the weather turns hot.
The second thing that has inspired my cooking lately is Pinterest and the fact that more people are cooking from scratch, using healthy, whole food ingredients. And the pictures are amazing! I wonder if people will look back in 20 years and say, “Hey, remember when home cooks decided they were food experts and everyone was taking pictures of their food and starting food blogs?” Who knows, maybe it will still be a thing…
Today I’m bringing you a healthy vegetable side with great international flavor – Roasted Vegetable Masala. The spice mixture is borrowed from a traditional Indian dish for Aloo Gobi, which is a wonderful side of cauliflower and potatoes. It’s sautéed in a pan and can be prepared wet or dry. I absolutely adore it. It’s one dish I always make room for on my plate when we go out to our local Indian Buffet. (Okay, it’s a tiny portion, but I do partake of those potato carbs, take responsibility for them, and move on with my life!)
In the spirit of sharing one of my favorite dishes with you, I developed my own low carb recipe for Aloo Gobi with roasted mixed vegetables: cauliflower, green beans, and mushrooms. To keep the mixture moist in the oven, I used tomato puree as the flavor medium for the masala (a mixture of spices). Instead of standing in front of a hot saute pan cooking, this healthy low carb vegetable dish, just mix it all together and pop it in the oven or toaster oven in the Summer.
This low carb roasted vegetable masala is perfect for a simple side of chicken or fish, which can cook with the vegetables as a sheet pan meal or be cooked separately (grilled is perfect!). I have also enjoyed leftover vegetable masala with my morning eggs! Yummy! But because the vegetables are so flavorful, it’s best to let them be the star. Serve with a dry Reisling if you desire.
This terrific Roasted Vegetable Masala is 6 net carbs per serving
Nutrition for 6 people: Calories 70, Fat 5, Carbs 7, Fiber 2, Protein 2; Net Carbs 5
[This recipe contains affiliate links.]
- 8 ounces cauliflower (1/2 a medium - large head)
- 6 ounces green beans, sliced
- 4 ounces whole mushrooms, quartered
- 1/2 cup tomato puree
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, ghee, or melted butter
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon chile powder (pure ground chiles)
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
- salt and pepper to taste
- sliced green onion
- chopped cilantro
- Siracha is wonderful on this! optional
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Preheat oven to 400F or toaster oven to 375F. Place rack to middle position Cover a sheet pan in foil for easy clean up.
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Cut the vegetables. Mince the garlic and ginger.
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Add the tomato puree, spices, minced garlic and ginger to a medium bowl, Stir in the liquid ghee or oil. Add the vegetables and stir to coat.
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Spread the vegetables into one layer on the prepared sheet pan and season with salt and pepper.
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Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until the veggies are cooked to your liking.
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Alternate Cooking Method: Add the oil to a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the vegetables, ginger & garlic, and stir. Saute until crisp tender. Turn the heat down to medium and add the tomato sauce and spices. Cook until the sauce reduces a bit and the vegetables are cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.
Made a double recipe of the roast vegetable masala for a Memorial Day community pitch-in. Was a real hit … and that’s saying something in the Midwest, with its high-carb, meat-based tradition. Dish was empty by the end of the meal.
I made two changes: I added a quarter sliced large yellow onion, simply because I felt it would add a unique caramelized flavor as well as an additional texture and I provided some sriracha for those who wanted to amp up the heat. Given the broad spectrum of people I knew I had to stay on the mild side for the base dish and give the Chile heads an option. Sriracha dmphasizes the garlic ginger and onion while adding fresh pepper and a little vinegar, a very complementary condiment.
Definitely a success — thank you for this great single tray dish … rating 5/5 …
Great Jason, I’m glad it was a hit. Nice call adding the yellow onion and I love adding Sriracha to it, too – especially if I serve with eggs. Thanks for taking the time to let me know how you made this recipe your own and how it was received. Have a wonderful week! -Kim
Mmmm, this sounds amazing….cant wait to give this a try!
Thanks, Barbara. I hope you like it. If you have any left over, try it with eggs and Siracha the next day. It’s so great. Have a wonderful week. -Kim
Hi,
could I substitute chile powder or just leave it out?
Thanks!
Sure, Agnes, you can sub chile powder. Commercial chile powder in the States has cumin, salt, sugar, and other spices in it. The pure ground dried chiles found in the Mexican section of American grocery stores is the best choice but not a deal breaker. I hope you enjoy the dish! Have a wonderful weekend. -Kim
Thanks for your answer! Ok, then I try to add cumin, I have and love it.
I really like your recipes! 🙂
Have a nice week!
Thank you Agnes. I am glad you like the recipes and that the cumin you subbed worked out for you. Have a nice week. -Kim
I’ll bet this would also be great on the grill this summer.
Amanda, I bet you are right. Just take care not to burn the tomato. Thanks for commenting and have a great weekend. -Kim
I love reading cookbooks….even with the ease of the internet, I often find myself opening up a cookbook to browse the recipes. You can always tell a favorite cookbook because it just looks loved. This masala looks lovely. It would be a perfect side dish for just about any grilled meat.
Yes, Kathy, I feel that books are friends and I have a warm affection for my favorites. Thank you for your kind comment. -Kim