A pretty good portion of the leftovers in my life end up going into burritos. When you blog about food on a regular basis you end up with lots of leftovers, and since I live in a two person home and don’t always blog two person meals, my fridge is generally overflowing with leftovers. I’ve become pretty good at repurposing these meals, and a warm tortilla works brilliantly when it comes to using up spicy, saucy dishes, like Indian food.
Does Indian food in a burrito sound weird? It shouldn’t! Between the copious use of rice, legumes, veggies and spicy sauces, Indian food shares lots of elements with the Mexican fillings you’d normally put into a burrito, so it doesn’t end up tasting weird at all. In fact, it’s pretty darn fantastic.
For this particular recipe I went and created an Indian-inspired filling that's actually designed to be eaten in a burrito. This works out nicely for anyone who follows a vegan diet, because vegan naan can be tough to come by, but a flour tortilla satisfies my bready cravings in the same way that naan does, and it conveniently doubles as a wrap. The cauliflower chickpea filling is somewhat on par with chana masala in terms of flavor, and comes together quickly and easily. The coconut basmati rice is a bit of indulgence, but so worth it. I got into the habit a while back of adding coconut milk to rice whenever I’m serving it up as a side for stir-fry type recipes. I usually go with jasmine or plain white rice, but adding some light coconut milk to basmati gives it a great richness that you might be yearning for if you’ve ever enjoyed the buttery basmati served up at Indian restaurants. As an added bonus, if you decide to spice up your cauliflower chickpea filling with some hot sauce, which is totally optional, the coconut milk does a great job of calming down the heat.
Recipe
Ingredients
For the coconut basmati rice:
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- 1 cup basmati rice
- Salt to taste
For the curried cauliflower & chickpeas:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil any neutral flavor oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 cups small cauliflower florets about 1 small crown
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- ½ cup water
- 1 14-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
For serving:
- 4 large or 6 medium flour tortillas
Instructions
Make the coconut basmati rice:
- Combine the water and coconut milk into a small saucepan and place it over high heat. Bring to a boil and stir in the rice. Lower heat, cover and cook at a low simmer until the liquid is fully absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Uncover and season with salt to taste.
Make the curried cauliflower & chickpeas:
- While the rice cooks, coat the bottom of a large saucepan with oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, garam masala and cumin. Saute about 1 minute more, or until fragrant. Add the diced tomatoes, water and cauliflower. Stir a few times and bring to a simmer. Lower heat, cover and cook until the cauliflower is fork tender, about 6-8 minutes.
- Uncover and stir in the tomato paste and chickpeas. Simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens up a bit.
- Remove from heat. Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble the burritos:
- Divide the rice onto the tortillas and top with the curried cauliflower and chickpeas. Wrap and serve.
Mona says
IT is nice
Donna says
My husband and I made this for dinner and it was excellent. I will definitely make this again!
MarylandBill says
The thing to keep in mind is that a tortilla is just very thin bread. Call it a wrap instead of a burrito and no one would even blink.
Suzi says
oh boy. just taste tested before I assemble. I added the rest of the can of coconut milk to the chickpeas and all and used fire roasted tomatoes with jalapeños in em. YUM!! SO GOOD!! ps house smells amazing!suzi
Katie Trant says
They are delicious, aren't they Suzi?! Glad you enjoyed this recipe as much as we do.
Erin says
can this dish be frozen ? how long would you recommend storing in the refrigerator for leftovers?