Vegan Richa

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Vegetable Balti

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This easy Vegetable Balti is a really delicious way to get the family to eat healthy veggies like bell pepper and cauliflower, as the Balti Spices add a fantastic Indian flavor to them. Glutenfree Soyfree and Nutfree!. Serve it with rice.

overhead shot of two servings of vegetable balti served with rice

Meet vegetable balti! An easy veggie-forward weeknight dinner made in one casserole!

What is Vegetable Balti and how is it different from other curries

Balti translates to “bucket” in Hindi and refers to the style of cooking used for this dish. The food is cooked in an iron pan with two handles that looks a bit like a bucket. This style of cooking is said to have originated in a Pakistani restaurant in Birmingham, back in the 1970s.

The now-famous balti curry has become a restaurant favorite as it is flavorful yet mild! My Balti spice blend really takes mere moments to make and lends such an incredible depth of flavor to the vegetables. While there are balti spice pastes available, the homemade spice blend is far superior to anything found in bottles or ready-made pastes.

a bowl of vegetable balti served with rice and sprinkled with fresh parsley
Think of vegetable balti as a type of stir-fry. We bake this dish in the oven. No burnt spices! If you loved my Vegetable Curry Casserole, you will love this one too!

What is Balti Flavour?

Balti sauce is a fragrant Indian sauce based on garlic, onions and ginger and a blend of Indian spices. Fresh whole spices are ground and used for the best flavor. They add umami flavor to the sauce. Balti sauce is generally not creamy but you can easily add coconut milk or cashew milk instead of water.  Balti gosht is eaten in Pakistan and North India, as well as other parts of the world, such as Great Britain.

a bowl with rice topped with vegetable balti

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5 from 7 votes

Vegetable Balti

This easy Vegetable Balti is a really delicious way to get the family to eat healthy veggies like bell pepper and cauliflower, as the Balti Spices add a fantastic Indian flavor to them. A wonderfully rich and hearty Indian Balti sauce that is packed with veggie vitamins . Glutenfree Soyfree and Nutfree.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time55 mins
Total Time1 hr 5 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani
Keyword: baked vegetable curry, vegetable balti
Servings: 4
Calories: 128kcal
Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

For the spice mix:

  • 3/4 teaspoon coriander seeds or use ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds or use 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds or use ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek leaves or 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

For the curry:

  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1 cup (160 g) thinly sliced red onions
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 inch (4 g) ginger minced
  • 1 red bell pepper sliced or use a mix of red and green
  • 1 cup (100 g) cauliflower florets
  • 1 cup (140 g) cubed sweet potato or butternut squash
  • 1 cup (96 g) sliced mushrooms
  • 2 tomatoes chopped small
  • 8 ounce (226.8 g) tomato puree canned also called tomato sauce depending on the brand. Use unseasoned
  • 1 cup (250 ml) water
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Grind the spices in a spice grinder and set aside.
  • In a baking dish, add the oil, onion, garlic, and ginger and the spice mix and mix well, and spread it around.
  • Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 c) for 9-11 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
  • Then add in the veggies, tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, and water and mix well.
  • Then put the dish back in the oven to bake for 35-45 minutes.
  • Cover the dish after the first 20 minutes so that the edges don't burn too much. Check if the cauliflower and sweet potato are cooked to preference. Otherwise, bake a little bit longer.
  • Remove from the oven. Garnish with cilantro and lime juice and serve with Roth flatbread, naan or rice
  • To make this on stovetop: Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. combine onion garlic ginger and spices and cook until golden. Add tomatoes and cook for a few mins until tender , add the purée, salt, veggies and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook until veggies are tender (14-17 mins) . Stir occasionally. Taste and adjust flavor. Add more water or some creamy milk to adjust consistent if needed, bring to a boil then take off heat.

Notes

To make this creamy, you can use 1 cup of full fat coconut milk instead of water.
You can also add in protein like cubed tofu or chickpeas. Replace some of the veggies with the chickpea volume so you have enough sauce

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Vegetable Balti
Amount Per Serving
Calories 128 Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Fat 3g5%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 489mg21%
Potassium 819mg23%
Carbohydrates 24g8%
Fiber 6g25%
Sugar 10g11%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 6682IU134%
Vitamin C 70mg85%
Calcium 61mg6%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Ingredients:

  • the Balti spice mix is a blend of coriander, nigella seeds, cumin, cardamom, fenugreek, cinnamon, pepper, paprika, and cayenne
  • just like with most of my vegan Indian curries I use red onions, garlic, and minced ginger to form the base of the vegetable dish
  • sliced bell pepper add some color and natural sweetness
  • cauliflower florets for some bite
  • sweet potato or butternut squash add a nice creamy texture
  • mushrooms up the umami of this vegetable balti
  • for that savory balti gravy, we use a blend of fresh tomatoes and tomato puree (canned) also called tomato sauce

Tips & Variations:

  • To make this a creamy veggie curry, you can use 1 cup of full-fat coconut milk instead of water.
  • You can also add in protein like cubed tofu or chickpeas. Replace some of the veggies with the chickpea volume so you have enough sauce.
  • This is a dish that tastes even better the next day when the flavors have had a chance to sit together and meld.
ingredients needed for making vegetable balti

How to make Vegetable Balti:

Prep: Grind the spices in a spice grinder and set them aside.
onions, garlic and ginger in a casserole dish
In a baking dish, add the oil, onion, garlic, and ginger and the spice mix and mix well, and spread it around.
onion, garlic and ginger tossed and baked with spices and oil to make balti
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit(205 c) for 9-11 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
Then add in the veggies, tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, and water and mix well.
healthy vegetables assembled in a casserole dish to make balti vegetables
Then put the dish back in the oven to bake for 35-45 minutes.
vegetables being mixed with balti spices and tomato puree to make balti
Cover the dish after the first 20 minutes so that the edges don’t burn too much. Check if the cauliflower and sweet potato are cooked to preference. Otherwise, bake a little bit longer.
freshly baked Indian vegetable balti in a white casserole dish
Remove from the oven. Garnish with cilantro and lime juice and serve.
two bowls of healthy vegetable balti with rice

How do you eat Balti?

The traditional way to eat a Balti is to scoop it up with naan, or any other flatbread. But I also like to serve it over rice. 


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you Love the Recipe, Please consider rating it using stars in comments! It helps readers and helps more people find the recipe online! I love hearing from you all! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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  1. I love how straightforward and delicious this sounds, can’t wait to try it! Will probably swap cauliflower for chickpeas.

    Reply

  2. 5 stars
    This was a quick and tasty meal. I made it with water and doubled the seasoning as I knew I was tossing all of the lone veggies in the fridge. Versatile recipe.
    Thank you,
    Trina

    Reply

  3. Hi Richa! this looks incredible, and I cannot wait to try it in the oven! Is it possible to make this recipe stovetop?

    Reply

    • Yep. Cook over medium. Once the onion and spice mixture is nicely golden, add the tomatoes and cook for 4-5 mins until tomatoes are tender then add the purée and veggies and salt. You won’t water. Just cover and cook . Once the veggies are tender you can add in a bit of water or non dairy milk for sauce consistency if needed and bring to a boil and done

      Reply

  4. 5 stars
    Another winner! The sauce is so flavorful! I added a mix of veggies and some garden. Drizzled some coconut yogurt before serving!

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    This is delicious! We make a variety of Indian dishes regular, and this is my new favorite! My husband made it and said it was very easy. It tasted complex. I LOVED it!
    Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  6. So good. Iadded some red lentils, extra water and a cup of coconut milk. Went down a storm! Thanks Richa!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    Made this on the stovetop. Absolutely delicious. Added a few squeezes of lime to brighten it up. Will make again.

    Reply
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