Cauliflower Jalfrezi

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Not long ago, staying in a group house in the Belgium with an assortment of talented home cooks, a discussion ensued about cooking Indian food at home. My take on it: the start up cost for cooking Indian can be cost prohibitive when looking at finding a specialty store to buy all of the unique, authentic spices and accoutrements to make something as simple as a chana masala. A few weeks later, a cookbook arrived unexpectedly on my doorstep, and a promise that those very friends would be visiting me soon, and a full day of Indian cooking would ensue. That November, the Day of Too Much Everything did in fact occur, and it was probably the best day of 2013 for me. Plus, Dutton and Nic left all of the Indian spices at my place, making it easy to play pickup games of Indian Cuisine anytime I want!

I chose this recipe for two main reasons: vegetarian-ish dinner guest, and the ease of entry. This recipe does not require too many specialty ingredients: the ghee can be made beforehand at home with nothing but unsalted butter and a small pot, and nearly everything else can be purchased at your standard grocery store. As for the dried red chiles, buy yourself a big bag of them and keep them stored airtight for a long time. Very versatile, and keep forever as far as I can tell.




Jalfrezi is a very prolific style of cooking in Indian cuisine, utilizing any and every protein in the pantheon. In simplest terms, this is a buttery, cumin and chile sauce with tomato puree and a strong taste of black pepper. And cauliflower - red-headed stepchild of the cabbage family, or underutilized wunderkind floret? Personally, I can't think of a more versatile vegetable out there.

So let this be your first step into the realms of Indian food. Recipe comes directly from Rocky Mohan's The Art of Indian Cuisine, a gift from Dutton and Nic that has thus far delivered tenfold.



Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of ghee/clarified butter (recipe to follow)
  • 4 dried red chiles
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1 head of cauliflower, cut or broken into florets
  • salt
  • 1 tsp peppercorn powder (I used my coffee grinder to grind down 1 tsp of whole peppercorns)
  • 2 tsp ginger, juliennes (sliced incredibly thin - see picture below)
  • 1/2 cup tomato puree
  • 1 Tbs white vinegar
Bad measuring there, Jon. Just terrible.

Ginger sliced delicately thin.


To Prepare:
  1. To make the ghee, place a stick of butter into a small sauce pot and melt.  As the butter melts, solid matter will float to the surface; use a spoon to remove these solids from the butter. As the butter cools, more solids will form at the top. Scrape these off with a spoon. 
  2.  Use 1/2 a cup of ghee in a large wok over medium heat. Add the chiles and let them release their oils into the butter for about 3-5 minutes. Add the cumin seeds.
  3. When the oil begins to crackle, add the cauliflower, salt, peppercorn powder, and ginger. Cover and heat over a low heat until the cauliflower is almost tender, about 15 minutes.

  4. Add the tomato puree and white vinegar. Cook uncovered at a low heat until the cauliflower is completely tender, about 10 more minutes.


  5. Serve the jalfrezi over basmati rice.



Bon appetit!

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