I got a new cookbook, two actually (from friends of ours from Delhi). This recipe comes from one of the books called “Anjum’s Indian Vegetarian Feast” and featured a recipe called Best ever Bombay Potatoes and it came with a variation (and you know how much I love to vary recipes) which included cauliflower. Truth be known, we don’t eat enough vegetables, we try, but don’t succeed often enough so when I find a recipe that tingles my taste buds just reading it, I had to try it. I know I’ve done other cauliflower and potato recipes but this one is a different flavor. So try it. Why I like it – it only uses a few Indian spices and comes together really quickly. Most time consuming part, cutting the cauliflower florets. Everything else – a snap (which reminds me, this would work really well with peas as well).
4 tbsp vegetable oil (I used coconut oil, well why not!)
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 – 3 green chilies, split down the middle
25g ginger – julienne or dice
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp garam masala
salt – to taste
400g cauliflower florets (about a small to medium sized cauliflower, we’re cooking not baking, eyeball it)
250g potatoes – diced about the same size as the florets (2 medium potatoes)
1 1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder, probably the only thing the average kitchen won’t have these days, but please don’t leave it out, it is what makes this recipe different) couple of stems of coriander, leaves attached – chopped 1/4 cup water or stock
Heat the oil in a non-stick wok, add the cumin seeds and fry them until fragrant and lightly browned Add the ginger and chilies (remember my ghost peppers, I used those as I haven’t had to buy chilies for a while), and stir fry for a minute
Add the ground spices – coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala and salt – fry this until fragrant and aromatic – about 2 – 3 minutes, just don’t let it burn
Add the cauliflower and stir to coat, add the potatoes and stir to coat – taste the cauliflower that is coated – it should be tasty – if it isn’t, you probably have too little spice mix for the quantity of vegetable – don’t panic. Make a hot spot in the wok, let add a little oil to it and add the same proportion of ground spices to the dish and stir this around to fry the spices – then mix everything together
Add 1/4 cup water, stir and cover, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 15 – 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender crisp – remove from the heat
Add the amchoor powder and coriander – stir and serve I served this with a roast chicken flavored with lemon, thyme, rosemary, garlic, basil and of course salt, pepper and olive oil – delicious (or so I was told by my son who stopped by on his way home)
As always – enjoy!
