This is a post/recipe from my friend. I give you one of the Heather's:
I’ve been working with curry since my mother taught us my Guyanese step-father’s recipe for curried chicken. His recipe is pretty straight forward and benefits from generous additions of pickled mango. When I lived in Houston, my friend Mira, whose family had been missionaries in India for a generation or so, taught me how to make daal, which includes not curry, but the general attitude toward spice in South Indian cuisine—cook it first. and for a long time. and don’t be afraid of ketchup.
This recipe for curried cauliflower emerges from that history.
1 head of cauliflower, chopped in bite-size pieces
1 onion, diced
1 bag frozen peas
1 cup rice or couscous
1 TBS tumeric
1 TBS ground garlic
2 TBS paprika
1 TBS cumin
1 TBS coriander
1 TBS black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground anise or fennel seed
or 1/4 cup curry powder
1. Start rice, if you’re using it. If you’re using couscous, you can start that last as it only takes 5 minutes.
2. Heat 3 TBS olive oil in large frying pan over low heat. In a small bowl whisk your spice together with 1/4 cup water (or chicken broth) til smooth. Add spice to pan and simmer for as long as you can take it. This is the step that provides the flavor, so the longer you simmer down, add more water, simmer down again, the better everything will taste.
Usually I do this once because I don’t have the time, and it takes about 1o minutes.
3. Add your onion and cauliflower to the pan, and increase heat to medium. For more gravy add more broth or water. Cook until tender. Add peas, stir to combine, and then remove from heat.
If you’d like a sweeter taste, you can add up to 1/2 can of coconut milk at this point. That will add more complexity to the overall taste, and take some of the fire out of the spice.
4. Serve over rice or couscous.
Like most recipes from friends and family, these are all guestimates and depend totally on who you’re cooking for. Someone loves the heat? Add more cayenne. Someone loves the sweet and gravy? Add more coconut milk. Cooking for vegetarians? Leave out the broth. It’s the kind of recipe that can also be expanded as a main dish or be served as a side.
You can serve this with a simple lime and cucumber salad to contrast all that spice.
One Comment
My husband is not a picky eater but he hates cauliflower. I am betting anything he would love this however. It sounds like it is right up his alley. I am going to have to make it.
I tried your mac and cheese last week and loved it!