Recipe for Gobhi-Mutter - Indian Cauliflower and peas curry
When Rihanna of Garlic Breath from France wrote to me about her totally Indian Thanksgiving menu , I was so thrilled. Just like how excited we are to hear someone else speak our mother tongue, it is exactly that elation I experience when I see Americans, Europeans and so many others take an avid interest in Indian cuisine. Barbara, Emma and Susan, are some of those wonderful people who aren't afraid of the variety of Indian spices. On the contrary, go all out and embrace the various colours, flavours and textures of the great Indian food fabric. Food blogs have made it so convenient to get straight into the kitchens of the world and take a page out of their family traditions of food
Ingredients
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds cumin seeds and
- 4 - 5 cloves garlic , mashed
- 300 - 400 gm Cauliflower cut into small florets - stems discarded
- Handful green peas fresh
- Pinch turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp coriander cumin powder (can use curry powder)
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp salt more
- 1 - 2 tsps cooking oil
Instructions
- Putting them together: Wash the cauliflower florets thoroughly in salted water and drain. Keep aside.
- In a kadai / wok, take 1-2 tsp of vegetable oil. Splutter the mustard and cumin seeds. Throw in the mashed garlic, saute for 30 seconds. Don't brown / burn it.
- Put in the florets and green peas, along with the spices and salt. Cover the wok with a fitting deep dish (thali) and pour a cup of water over the dish. This will dry cook the vegetables without adding water into the wok and the steam generated will also keep them from sticking to the bottom of the wok or burning.
- After 10 minutes, carefully lift up the covering dish with a pair of tongs and check if the veggies are cooked. 10 minutes are enough for the dish to be cooked well, if the vegetables are fresh.
- Check for salt and remove into a bowl. You may garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
Notes
Serve hot with chapatis or as a side dish with meat.
Note: For garam masala recipe click here
Make this a part of an Indian Menu
Whet your appetite with Masala Mor (spicy buttermilk).
Start with the crunchy, delicately flavoured Carrot Peanut salad.
Serve rice cooked in a stock flavoured with Indian spices like cinnamon, clove and star anise along with the bold Lasooni Dal Palak (Garlicky Lentils with spinach).
End your meal with a distinctly South Indian food-for-Gods kinda Cashewnut Payasam (Sweetened milk with cashewnut paste).