gobi 65

Gobi 65 (Cauliflower 65)

By Swasthi on August 11, 2022, Comments, Jump to Recipe

Gobi 65 recipe – Gobi 65 is a delicious crisp fried appetizer made with cauliflower, spices, yogurt and herbs. 65 recipes are quite popular starters in South Indian restaurants. They originated from Chicken 65. There are many varieties made like Paneer 65, aloo 65. They are served as a evening snack or starter along with other South Indian foods.

gobi 65 fry

We love the crisp fried appetizers made with gobi. My boys often ask for this Gobi manchurian. But I end up making this gobi 65 as it needs no bottled sauces and can be made in a jiffy.

About gobi 65

Gobi 65 is a fried cauliflower snack inspired from the popular South Indian Chicken 65. To make gobi 65, cauliflower florets are batter fried until crisp and tempered with lots of spices, garlic and curry leaves. These fried cauliflower florets are simply superb, flavorful & addictive.

Gobi 65 is immensely popular on the restaurant menus & a lot of South Indians love to serve this as a side with their meal. This also makes a fantastic tea time and party snack.

In this post I share 2 ways/recipes to make gobi 65 – one is the restaurant style and the second one is a baked recipe that is a healthier version. You can also follow the same method and make in air fryer.

In the first recipe of gobi 65, cauliflower florets are batter fried until crisp. Then they are seasoned with a spicy masala. Crisp fried curry leaves, green chilies, spice powder and yogurt bring in a magical aroma to the gobi 65.

For the second method, we just follow the easier way and coat the gobi with flour, spices and a splash of water. Bake them until crisp.

Serve this as a starter or as a side in a Indian meal. It is best served hot since the fried cauliflower bites begins to loose their crispness as they cool down.

More Gobi recipes or cauliflower recipes
Gobi masala
Gobi pakoda
Cauliflower kurma
Easy gobi curry
Cauliflower pickle

How to make gobi 65 (stepwise photos)

1. Clean 2 cups cauliflower florets and add them to a pot of slightly hot water. Let sit for a while and drain them off and rinse them well in a colander. Set aside. To a mixing bowl, add

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour or wheat flour
  • 3 tablespoons rice flour or cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ teaspoon ginger garlic paste
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
cleaning cauliflower

2. In a small bowl, mix 1 tsp red chili powder with few drops of oil and little water. Make a fine paste and add it to the flour. This helps gobi 65 to get a good color. Also add 2 sprigs of chopped curry leaves.

adding batter ingredients

3. Pour water little by little. Start with ¼ cup water and add more only as required.

making batter for cauliflower 65 recipe 03

4. Mix everything well to make a thick batter. Taste test and adjust salt. It has to be slightly salty.

Mix

5. Add cauliflower to the bowl.

Add cauliflower

6. Toss and coat the florets well with batter.

coating florets with batter to make gobi 65 recipe 06

Frying gobi 65

7. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. When the oil is hot enough, drop a small portion of batter to the oil. It has to sizzle and come up without browning. This is the right temperature. If your oil is not hot enough, the coating will come off the gobi while frying so make sure it is hot.

Pick up the florets one by one and gently slide to the hot oil. Do not disturb for a few minutes. Then stir and deep fry until golden and crisp. You can also fry some curry leaves and slit deseeded green chilies for garnishing. This way fry all of the gobi in batches ensuring the oil is hot enough before frying each batch.

deep frying florets to make cauliflower 65

8. Remove gobi 65 on a kitchen tissue or a steel colander.

Drain gobi

9. If you do not like to use yogurt for this recipe you can serve after this step after garnishing with curry leaves and green chiles.

garnished south indian style easy recipe of gobi 65

Tempering

To avoid the curd from splitting please use thick full fat curd that has lesser whey. For additional safety you may also stir the garam masala and red chilli powder with yogurt before adding to the pan.

10. To make a restaurant style cauliflower 65, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds to hot oil. When they begin to splutter add curry leaves, 1 to 2 slit green chilies and 2 chopped garlic cloves. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes without burning.

heat oil in a pan

11. When the garlic begins to smell good, reduce the flame to low. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons whisked yogurt (curd), ½ teaspoon red chili powder and ¼ teaspoon garam masala.

addition of yogurt to make cauliflower 65 recipe 10

12. Stir and saute until the mixture thickens.

sauteing gobi 65 in yogurt mixture until crisp

13. Add fried cauliflower and saute well on a high flame for 2 minutes.

Add fried cauliflower

Restaurant style gobi 65 is ready.

gobi 65 fry

Baked gobi 65 – Method 2

Gobi 65 recipe with step by step photos – baked cauliflower 65, an healthy kids after school snack recipe. There are so many ways a 65 recipe can be prepared. Few recipes use soya sauce or yogurt. The recipe shared here is a simple gobi 65 without using yogurt or sauce. If you want you can add it while seasoning.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups of cauliflower florets
Green and red bell peppers (1/2 each, optional)1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp Olive oil
2 ½ tbsps. Corn flour
1 tsp oil for seasoning
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 tbsp shredded ginger
1 tbsp shredded garlic
2 tbsp. Yogurt optional
1 onion chopped to cubes
1 green chili

Marination
Pinch of turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste
Lemon juice as per your taste

Instructions

  • Add cauliflower florets to salted warm water and set aside for 15 minutes. Drain off.
  • Wash and pat dry the cauliflower florets.
  • Marinate them with marination ingredients and set aside for at least 30 mins to 2 hours.
  • Grease a baking tray and preheat the oven to 240 C.
  • Sprinkle the dry flour on the gobi, mix well.
  • Add in the olive oil and a splash of water, mix well to coat the florets with the flour. Sprinkle as much water as required. Check the picture below.
  • Place these on a baking tray and bake for 20 to 30 mins until crisp, time depends on the size of your florets.
  • Heat oil in a tawa, add curry leaves and green leaves. Fry till they turn crisp, remove and set aside.
  • Add shredded ginger garlic and fry to get an aroma.
  • Add onions, capsicum and salt
  • Fry on a high flame for 2 to 3 mins or till the capsicum is done. If using yogurt add now, mix and fry for 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Add in baked gobi , curry leaves, chili and mix well and fry for 2 mins on high flame.
  • Gobi 65 is ready to serve as starter.
baking gobi for gobi 65
garnishing gobi 65

Related Recipes

Recipe card

gobi 65 fry

Gobi 65 recipe (Cauliflower 65 fry)

Gobi 65 is a south Indian snack made of fried cauliflower, spices and herbs. It can also be served as a starter or as a side in a meal. This recipe yields a Andhra style spicy gobi 65.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings3 people
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 1 cauliflower (about 2 cups florets)
  • 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or wheat flour)
  • 3 tablespoons rice flour or corn starch
  • teaspoon ginger garlic paste
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ¼ pepper powder
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder (can use more)
  • 2 sprigs curry leaves
  • ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
  • ¼ cup water (more if needed)
  • oil for deep frying

seasoning for gobi 65 (optional)

  • 2 green chilies slit & deseeded
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped finely
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 1 tablespoons oil
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (Indian curd)
  • salt if required


Instructions

Preparation for gobi 65 fry

  • Heat 3 cups water in a pot until slightly hot (not boiling hot). Turn off the stove. 
  • Drop the cauliflower florets and rest for 2 to 3 mins. Rinse them well and drain completely. This step is followed to get rid of the worms in the cauliflower. You may skip if you want.
  • Add wheat flour, rice flour, garam masala, salt, red chili powder and ginger garlic to a bowl. Chop 1 sprig curry leaves and add it to the bowl. 
  • Pour water and make a slightly thick batter. The batter must not be too thin or too thick. Taste test and add more salt if required.
  • Add the gobi to the batter. Coat them well.
  • Heat oil in a kadai. When the oil is hot, check by dropping a small portion of the batter to the oil. If the oil is hot enough it will rise and come to the surface.
  • Gently slide the florets to hot oil. Make sure the oil is hot enough before adding them. Do not disturb them for a few minutes.
  • Later stir and deep fry the cauliflower on a medium heat till golden and crisp. Remove to a steel colander or a kitchen towel.
  • Fry 1 sprig curry leaves in the oil. Set this aside for garnishing.

How to make gobi 65

  • Use thick full fat yogurt for tempering as we don't want it to split. As an additional precaution you may whisk the yogurt in a small bowl with red chilli powder and garam masala. Keep this aside.
  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Fry garlic, chili, curry leaves and cumin seeds. When the curry leaves turn crisp, add yogurt , chili powder and garam masala.
  • Stir and let the mixture cook till it thickens.
  • Add fried cauliflower and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Serve crispy gobi 65 as a starter.


Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Gobi 65 recipe (Cauliflower 65 fry)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 298 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 136mg6%
Potassium 124mg4%
Carbohydrates 26g9%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 485IU10%
Vitamin C 54.8mg66%
Calcium 29mg3%
Iron 1.3mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

Gobi 65 (Cauliflower 65)

About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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Comments

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5 stars
Love the baked method. Healthy and so delicious. I have started making it regularly. Thank you!

5 stars
This was delicious and so much more flavorful and light than a restaurant!

4 stars
Hi Swasthi,
Can I marinate the cauliflower the previous night for your baked version? Also the cauliflowers seemed go stick to my baking pan do you think it is because of less greasing?

I’m keen to make this, but I’m not sure what “pepper powder” is. Is it just ground black pepper? Or some kind of red pepper powder?

5 stars
Yummy recipe Swasthi. It’s better than what we get in restaurants.

5 stars
Wow yum! Made this last night can’t stop thinking about it, thank you!!

4 stars
VERYGood

Hi thank you so much for sharing. This is one of my and my husband’s favorite thing to eat. He’s from South Indian and introduced me to a mushroom version of 65 as well. I wanna try the baked version of this recipe for both the cauliflower and mushrooms but would it work if I used mushrooms? If not, what should I change? Thank you!

Awesome Recipes, I will try some time, I Like all your recipes, simple Ingredients.

Awesome ? receips plz put appan with coconut milk….. Without yeast

Hi,
How do I prevent the curd from breaking?

I would like to try it but I am not sure what is curd ?

5 stars
It is an absolutely brilliant recipe.Hands down one of the best cauliflower recipes.Its super easy to make and it is absolutely delicious.
You are an amazing chef!!!!

4 stars
Very nice your Gopi 65 recipes. Mince chicken version do we have to deep fry before batter?

5 stars
Very good! Tried the baked version. Excellent.

5 stars
Thank you for your wonderful recipes. Really appreciate your time and effort in helping us novices. In method 1 – you mention 1 large cauliflower but not sure how many cups would that be? 3?

5 stars
Awesome recipes

5 stars
I just love ur recipes

To day i try your recipe for gopi 65 very very super taste super no words thanks for you recipes swasthi….

It’s a wonder full resipe……thank u soo much…..

5 stars
Hi swasthi
Thanks a ton for this recipe. I made this for a party and got so many appreciations. I made both the recipes since only tossing in yogurt spice is the difference. Everyone loved the gobi made in second method. Simply super gobi 65. Like a restaurant style. Thanks again