Maria Nasir
“Would it really be so bad if you slowed down even a teensy bit? If you took charge of the ingredients of your food instead of letting corporations stuff you and your family, like baby birds, full of sugar, corn products, chemicals, and meat from really, really unhappy animals? ”
Catherine Friend
Gobi or Cauliflower is one of the most cooked vegetable in Punjabi homes after potatoes. Gobi Gosht – a meat and cauliflower spicy curry, for meat lovers or Aloo Gobi – potato and cauliflower dry curry, for meatless days are two of the most cherished dishes and fondly enjoyed served with parathas or tandoori roti (flatbread cooked in clay oven). Then the left overs are either stuffed inside parathas or samosas for another round of delicious breakfast or teatime snack.
My husband and I eat vegetarian food at least five days a week. I find it easier to create more variety with vegetables and it’s more fun to play in the kitchen with the fresh bounty of the season. And then of course it’s healthier to include more vegetables in the menu.
Cauliflower has actually so many more uses than we actually restrict it to, in both eastern and western kitchens. It’s a great addition to salads, hummus and soups. Makes yummy fritters, tempura, casseroles and even tikka (grilled bites). These days cauliflower is all the rage for people preferring low carb diet. This cauliflower and chickpea curry recipe came into being as a tweak on the traditional aloo Channa because I ran out of potatoes. Imagine that! But then we liked the combination so much, with added advantage of the dish lower in carbs and starch, that now we cook it on a regular basis.
You can serve Gobi Channa or Cauliflower and Chickpea recipe with steamed rice, your choice of flatbread or, as I do, on it’s own. It’s filling, nutritious and very heartwarming for a comfort meal without guilt.
Garam masala (hot spice blend) is traditionally used in cauliflower curries for flavour and garnish. I’ve used the easier to find ground spices instead so that everyone can enjoy cooking this Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry recipe. A mix of coriander, cumin, black pepper and cinnamon is my quick substitute for garam masala. If you want to make it spicier and can find garam masala where you live, sprinkle some as garnish on top.
Ingredients:
1+1/2 cup boiled or canned chickpeas
1/2 head small cauliflower (almost 2 cups florets)
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup thick yogurt
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder or to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil
1/4 cup toasted peanuts
1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped
2 green chilli peppers chopped
This Is What You Do:
Remove the stalks and cut cauliflower into bite size florets.
Heat oil in a deep pan on medium low heat. Add onions, sauté till golden brown.
Remove pan from heat. Scoop out the fried onions.
Add fried onions, chopped tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, dry spices, salt and yogurt to a food processor.
Bled to make a smooth puree. The smoother the paste, the better texture of curry you will get.
Add the masala paste back to the pan. Cook on medium heat till the masala gets darker in colour and you can see a line of oil on the sides separated from masala. There won’t be much oil because we are using very little.
Once the masala is fried, add cauliflower florets and boiled chickpeas to the pan. Add a 1 cup water. Stir to mix.
Cover the pan and cook on medium low heat for 6-7 minutes or till the cauliflower florets are just tender but not mushy.
Pour in the serving dish. Garnish with toasted peanuts, coriander and green chilli peppers.
Serve hot with rice or roti.
Serves 4