thayirsaadham

Let me confess first - I do not like cauliflower. All you readers (Yes… All 3 of you)….. Be shocked!!!

I don’t remember when I started disliking it… I don’t even know the reason…  I have always shied away from trying it and everyone around me has looked at me like I was a moron
I thought it was high time I tried it once… So, I bought this bag of frozen cauliflower and its been sitting in my freezer for a week…. I decided to try cooking it today. This is the first time I have cooked cauliflower and I must say - I loved it. It was spicy and crunchy and perfect for the rice and dhal that I had.

Ingredients

1. cauliflower (frozen) - 1 packet
2. peas - 1/2 cup
3. oil - 2 tbsp
4. mustard seeds - 1 tsp
5. green chillies (chopped fine) - 1
6. jeera - 1 tsp
7. salt - to taste
8. coriander powder - 1 tsp
9. sambar powder - 2 tsp

Method

1. Take the cauliflower packet out of the freezer and keep it outside so that it thaws. ( I was impatient and I microwaved it for 2 minutes)
2. Cut it into florets (I cut off the stems too. You can keep them if you want to)
3. Take oil in a non-stick pan and add mustard seeds.
4. Once the seeds start spluttering, add jeera and saute for 30 seconds.
5. Add the green chillies and let them fry for 30 seconds.
6. Add the spices (sambar powder and coriander powder) and saute for a minute.
7. Add the chopped cauliflower and add salt according to taste.
8. Let it cook for 5-7 minutes. (You can add a little bit of water so that the cauliflower does not stick to the bottom of the pan)
9. Now, add the peas and let both cauliflower and peas cook for 10 minutes or so. (Add just enough water so that the vegetables do not burn but also make sure that it does turn too mushy)
10. Adjust for salt and spice level.
11. Once the cauliflower is cooked (I just stuck a fork in one and tasted it - it was cooked but still crunchy), we are done.

Once I was done, when I was waiting for the rice to cook, I was browsing for recipes online and I found a similar recipe at Deesha’s Vegetable Platter and I wish I had seen hers before. She had mentioned adding lemon juice and garam masala at the end of her recipe. I am sure that must have added a unique zing to the dish. Will definitely do that the next time

This goes great with rice, chapathis and you can also have it sandwiched between bread. That’s what I am going to do with the leftover curry tomorrow - gobi mattar sandwich