Monday, March 30, 2015

Cauliflower rassa...curried cauliflower

This takes a bit of TLC...so made when I have some time on my hands. It's creamy and has just a bit of bite from the garam masala. If you use Kashmiri chili powder you get the perfect colour. A treat for all the senses.

2 cups cauliflower florets. (keep them all the same size)
1 cup green peas
1 tbs of poppy seeds (khus khus) - soaked for at least 30 minutes
1 TBS grated ginger
2 cloves
2 pepper corns
2 green cardamom
1/4th inch piece of cinnamon
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
8-10 fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp red chili powder (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder or  sweet Hungarian paprika
4 TBS oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp hing
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
2 TBS chopped coriander

Grind together the soaked poppy seeds, ginger, cloves, peppers, cardamom, cinnamon, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds to a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Heat the oil, temper with mustard seeds, hing and turmeric. Add the cauliflower, peas and the poppy seed paste. Saute till the cauliflower is completely coated with the paste and the tempering oil. Usually about 3-4 minutes. Add salt, chili powder and sugar and cover and cook. Do not add water at this point. The cauliflower will leach out water as it cooks. Once the cauliflower and peas are cooked, add the coconut milk and tomatoes. Add water to get it to the consistency you want. Check for seasoning. Bring to a rolling boil. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.



Notes:
You can use canned coconut milk here, actually works very well. You can soak fresh grated coconut in warm water...just enough water to barely cover the coconut shreds. Keep for 15 minutes. then squeeze out the coconut milk. This first extract is really thick and creamy. Keep aside to use in the curry.
Make sure you soak the khus khus or poppy seeds for at least 30 minutes so they can be blended into a smooth paste or your curry with be very rough.
To make it even creamier or richer throw in a handful of cashews in the paste. You can also fry some cashews and add them to the curry at the last minute.





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