Amma's Cauliflower Peas Koottu
I've separated the cauliflower into florets, kept the kadai on the flame and then, I call Amma. "...Amma, how do you make that Cauliflower koottu that you serve with rotis for dinner?" Amma laughs. "But there is no recipe for it. It is the easiest thing ever!" That's how I extract recipes from my fa
Ingredients
- 2 cups cauliflower medium sized florets
- 1/2 cup peas peas shelled fresh or frozen
- 1 potato large , cubed
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- pinch asafoetida Fat (LG powder or Goldie's Pure Hing).
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder .
- 3/4 tsp salt .
- 1 tsp rice flour (optional).
Instructions
- In a big kadai, heat the oil. Pop the mustard seeds, add the asafoetida.
- Within a few seconds, add the vegetables. Toss them in the oil.
- Add salt, 3/4 cup water, turmeric powder, sambar powder.
- Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook on medium heat for around 8 minutes. The vegetables should be just tender and not mushy. If the water dries out in between, add 1/4 cup water to aid cooking.
- In the end there should be a few tablespoons of watery 'gravy' in the dish, not fully dry. So adjust water accordingly while cooking.
- If you find the end result too watery, then make a slurry of 1 tsp rice flour in a tbsp of cold water, add to the vegetables and bring to a simmer. Remove from flame and serve hot with phulkas.
Notes
Minimalistic recipes like these really bring out the flavour of the vegetables due to the use of very few spices. So it is important that the vegetables you use are a 100% fresh. Try it with eggplant and potato, which are in season all year round. If you don't have homemade sambar powder, borrow from a Tambrahm friend or if you rely on any brand that comes close to the authentic taste do share in the comments. You could try making your own sambar powder from our authentic tambrahm recipes blog.