Simple Stir-Fried Cauliflower - Bhaja Phool Kopi

 

Bhaja Phool Kopi

Cauliflower ranks at the top of my list of favourite vegetables. I like this recipe because the true taste of the cauliflower comes through since its made with minimal spices and cooked until al dente. Be free to chop and fry onions and garlic until golden brown, but my shortcut is to use ready made deep-fried onions and garlic. The cauliflower is seasoned very simply with turmeric, salt and roasted cumin seed powder. I get a bottle of McCormick cumin seeds, roast them in a dry skillet, cool and grind in a coffee grinder (that I reserve for grinding spices) to a fine powder. The ground cumin seeds are stored in the bottle and used as needed.

Serve with chapatis, pilau or biryani and raita.

Fish with Cauliflower and Green Onions

 

Fish with Cauliflower & Green Onions

Any kind of fish works with this recipe. I used filleted fish, but it goes without saying that bone-in fish tastes much better. This way of cooking a fish curry takes me back to the days when we first arrived in India from Burma. We stayed with our uncle's family in Calcutta and Mamima (aunt) made fish this way. It tastes so good!

Asian Stir-Fried Cauliflower

 

Asian Stir-Fried Cauliflower

Treat yourself to this delicious stir-fried vegetable dish which complements any Asian meal. I used an American cauliflower, but I've heard that Asian cauliflower which is not so compact and has long stems is the most flavourful. Once the vegetables are sliced and diced, it takes just a few minutes to put this dish together. Add a punch of flavour with a jalapeno pepper or red pepper flakes.

Phoolkop'r Bhortha - Cauliflower Mash

 

Phoolkopi'r Bhortha

This is the Bengali way of making Bhortha (Bharta in Hindi) or mashed vegetable. Phoolkopi is cauliflower, so this is Mashed Cauliflower. As you know, cauliflower has little flavour of its own and takes on the flavour and aroma of herbs and spices that are added to it. The overriding element in this dish is mustard oil that is added to the cauliflower while it's still hot from steaming. The pungency of mustard oil is what sets our bhorthas apart from bhartas from other parts of India. Another distinction is the addition of salt to taste along with raw, minced onions, green chilies, cilantro or coriander leaves and tomatoes that are mashed into the vegetable. It's a simple dish to assemble and takes center stage at any meal.

The leaves and stems from the base of the cauliflower are removed and the whole head of cauliflower is placed in a pressure cooker with 1/8 cup of vegetable broth or water and 2 tablespoons of oil. Salt is sprinkled over the cauliflower, the cover is put on, its brought to full pressure over high heat and then pressure cooked for 15 minutes over low heat after full pressure builds up. After removing from heat, always allow pressure to release naturally, for about ten minutes, before messing with the cover to prevent steam from burning your hands.

Use a masher like a 'daler kata' or lentils masher to mash the cauliflower and add all the aromatics before mixing it all together to make the bhortha. This bhortha  goes well with hot, steamed rice and is usually served as a first course or starter of a Bengali meal.

Phool Kopi Alu Diye Tilapia Maacher Jhol

Tilapia with Cauliflower and Potatoes

Cauliflower adds a special touch to fish curry, and is one of my favourite vegetables. The fish pieces, cauliflower and potatoes are all tossed with turmeric and salt and are fried, separately, to a golden brown before being added to a gravy. The gravy is composed of onions, tomatoes and ginger paste to which the powdered spices, dissolved together in a few tablespoons of water, are added. The dish is garnished with cilantro and jalapeno peppers.

Served over a bed of steamed rice, this main dish takes center stage at any Bengali meal.

Komola Kopi or Stir-Fried Cauliflower and Mandarin Orange Segments

Komola Kopi

I came across this unusual recipe on Facebook and since oranges and cauliflower are staples in our home, gave it a try with excellent results. Since most of the orange segments melted down in the cooking, I added more before removing it from the stove top. Its appearance, aroma and taste were in a class of its own. I love the occasional burst of sweet citrus flavour! 

Serve this as a side dish with rice or chapatis.

Saffron Cauliflower

Saffron Cauliflower

Saffron is one of those spices that should be discarded after a year because it loses its aroma and flavour. I often use saffron as a substitute for turmeric powder. In this case, cauliflower and potatoes were cooked with white poppy seed paste and saffron, which imparts a beautiful golden hue. Serve as a side dish with steamed rice, chapatis or tortillas.

Roasted Cauliflower

The stove top was being used to capacity, so this cauliflower dish was baked in the oven. It tasted great and was so easy to assemble. It goes well with rice or chapatis.

Alu Phulkopi'r Ghonto - Potato and Cauliflower with Rice

Alu Phulkopi'r Ghonto

The difference between Phool Kopir Ghonto & Phool Kopir Pulao, in my humble opinion, lies in the ratio of cauliflower to rice. In a Ghonto, the ratio of cauliflower to rice is 2:1, and in a Pulao the ratio is 1:2. By adjusting the amount of gravy, it can be served wet or dry. This is a vegan and vegetarian dish that can be served on auspicious occasions.

I first had Phool Kopir Ghonto at my sister's place. She follows a vegetarian diet one day a week and has a amazing repertoire of vegetarian dishes. This dish has stuck in my memory and even though I haven't followed her recipe exactly, it tasted wonderful!

Phool Kopir Ghonto - Cauliflower, Potatoes & Rice

Phool Kopir Ghonto

The difference between Phool Kopir Ghonto & Phool Kopir Pulao, in my humble opinion, lies in the ratio of cauliflower to rice. In a Ghonto, the ratio of cauliflower to rice is 2:1, and in a Pulao the ratio is 1:2. By adjusting the amount of gravy, it can be served wet or dry. This is a vegan and vegetarian dish that can be served on auspicious occasions.

I first had Phool Kopir Ghonto at my sister's place. She follows a vegetarian diet one day a week and has a amazing repertoire of vegetarian dishes. This dish has stuck in my memory and even though I haven't followed her recipe exactly, it tasted wonderful!

Adraki Gobi - Cauiflower in Ginger Sauce

Adraki Gobi

My sister and her daughter 'fast' one day every week. It's not a total fast, they just stick to vegetarian cuisine that has no onion or garlic. This cauliflower dish would be ideal for them because it is flavoured simply with ginger and tomatoes.
Fresh, minced ginger would be perfect, to get that strong ginger taste, but I often resort to using ginger paste for convenience.

No water was used in this recipe to keep the cauliflower dry. To make it saucy, add half a cup of hot water at the end and bring everything back to a boil. I added a diced russet potato to suit my Bengali palate, but it may be omitted if you wish.

Serve Adraki Gobi as a side dish especially if you are catering to a vegan and/or vegetarian guest.

Cauliflower in Yogurt Sauce - Doi Phoolkopi

Doi Phoolkopi

It's hard to keep cauliflower from turning to mush when it's cooked in a gravy base. Today I learned a new trick from the internet food blogs, to microwave the florets for 3 minutes and allow them to soak for 15 minutes in the hot water. The texture remains firm after cooking in the yogurt sauce. Another trick I learned today was to add a teaspoon of besan (chickpea flour) to the Greek yogurt while whipping it, which prevents the curds separating from the whey when it's heated.

To save some cooking time, a can of Del Monte's sliced potatoes came in handy in place of the russet potatoes I would have otherwise used.  

To give this dish a taste of Kashmir, the ground spices consist of Kashmiri mirch (paprika) along with powdered ginger and fennel seed powder.

Alu Gobi Mattar - Potatoes, Cauliflower and Peas Curry

Alu Gobi

There are so many ways to prepare this all-time favourite Indian dish. It's vegetarian, vegan if ghee is omitted and is the perfect side dish to accompany lentils and a non-vegetarian main dish. Alu gobi is versatile enough to be served with either steamed rice or any Indian bread.

In this preparation, I've saved time by dicing onions instead of making a paste and used a whole can of pureed tomatoes to create the gravy. By parboiling the vegetables beforehand, the gravy permeates throughout the dish to tie in all the flavours. A handful of shredded cilantro gives a fresh and aromatic finish to this vegetable side.

Stir-Fried Chicken & Riced Cauliflower

Chicken with Riced Cauliflower

Recently, social media has been inundated with healthier, carb-free alternatives to fried rice. Using cauliflower is particularly successful as the texture of processed cauliflower imitates cooked rice very well. Too lazy to get out the food processor, I simple shaved off slices of the head of cauliflower and chopped them into tiny morsels. It cooks very quickly and tastes delicious when paired with diced boneless chicken thighs. The chicken can be replaced with beef, pork, shrimp or seafood.

Phool Kopi Karaishuti Posto - Cauliflower & Peas in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Phool Kopi Karaishuti Posto

White  poppy seed (posto in Bengali) is very versatile and can be added to any combination of vegetables. It is especially tasty with cauliflower and peas. 

This dish was introduced to me by my sister, Rene, who lives in Toronto in Canada. I specifically remember the evening she made this on one of my visits to Toronto. She had also made Chicken Razala whose leftovers she told me she'd packed for my husband to have when I got back home to Michigan. 

At the U.S. border, a female customs official questioned me about what food I was carrying in the car and I told her about the chicken. She asked me to pop the trunk and examined the ice chest, came back to me in a fit of anger and informed me that she could impound my car. Really startled, I asked her what the problem was and she said she found some cauliflower along with the chicken. I told her to take the entire contents of the ice chest and throw everything in the trash, for all I cared. Honestly! Give a woman a little bit of power and she's likely to go bonkers!

Burmese Cauliflower Salad

Baked Cauliflower Salad

There was a main dish already prepared for dinner today and a cauliflower in the fridge that needed to be used up. The first thing that comes to mind when I think cauliflower is the Indian Alu Gobi, but it was too complicated at that late hour. 

Then I remembered coming across a Burmese recipe for a roasted cauliflower salad that was very easy and doable at short notice. 

So here is an adaptation of that recipe which, for my taste buds, used too much shrimp powder, fish sauce and lime juice. So I toned down those ingredients and ramped up the garlic also because I wanted to give vegetarians the option of omitting shrimp powder and fish sauce. The black sesame seeds used as a garnish was replaced with deep-fried flat beans (Burmese: pe hlaw kyaw) because I was out of sesame seeds.

Uncertain what it would taste like, I was pleasantly surprised how very good this tasted. Hubby took a second and third helping, so it may be a frequent item at our dinner table!

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

salt to taste

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 small red onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, diced

1 green chili, diced

1 generous handful cilantro, diced

1 lime, zested and juiced

1 Tbsp. dried shrimp powder (optional for vegetarians)

2 tsp. fish sauce (optional for vegetarians)

salt to taste

deep-fried flat beans (pe hlaw kyaw) for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400*F.
2. Toss cauliflower florets with next three ingredients and spread in a single layer on a baking pan.
3. Bake at 400*F for 15 minutes, turn florets over and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
4. Remove cauliflower from oven and transfer to a mixing bowl, along with remaining ingredients, except fried flat beans.
5. Toss until well combined, adjust salt to tast and garnish with deep-fried flat beans.

Serve as a side dish with steamed rice.

Baked Tandoori Cauliflower & Potato Casserole

Tandoori Cauliflower & Potato Casserole

One of my favorite food blogs is The English Kitchen, which inspired this dish. I've switched out and added several ingredients to favor my Indian palate and it turned out to be perfect!

Take it easy with the salt because grated cheese has plenty. Serve as a side dish with grilled meats, chicken, fish or shrimp.

Ingredients:

1 large russet potatoes, peeled, sliced & blanched
1 large cauliflower, trimmed, sliced & blanched

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 oz. Greek/hung yogurt

1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
2 (8 oz.) cups grated Mexican blend cheese 
2 tsp. tandoori masala powder

1 tsp. Kashmiri mirch/paprika
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
butter to dot the top

salt to taste

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350*F.
2. Heat oil, and stir-fry onions, cauliflower & potatoes, cover and simmer until cooked.
3. Season with tandoori powder, paprika and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes.
4. Remove skillet from heat and stir in yogurt, mixing it into gravy.
5. Spray a baking dish with Pam non-stick butter spray.
6. Layer onions, potatoes, cauliflower and cheese twice.
7. Pour chicken broth around edges and dot top with butter.
8. Bake at 350*F for 20-25 minutes until bubbling & golden brown.

Serve hot as a side dish with grilled meat, fish or shrimp.

Cauliflower Stir-Fried with Yogurt

Doi Kopi

Whipped Greek yogurt adds a creaminess to simple stir-fries. Here cauliflower has been sliced in bite-sized pieces and stir-fried until it's cooked, but still crunchy. The secret is to soak the cut cauliflower in hot water and leave it to cool. This also saves cooking time, so this dish comes together quickly. 

I like to keep the ingredients simple, so the only spices used are fennel powder & Bengali garam masala powder comprising ground cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Black cardamoms are big cardamom pods that are easily removed from the dish prior to serving. Squeeze the tip of each pod to crack it so that the flavor penetrates the gravy without releasing the seeds. The small green cardamom pods are an irritant when they unexpectedly lodge in the teeth and are better served ground into a powder.

INGREDIENTS
1 cauliflower, sliced in bite-sized pieces 

2 cups boiling water, flavored with salt and turmeric
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1/4 tsp. hing/asafetida powder
1/4 tsp. shah jeera/cumin seeds

1 cinnamon stick

2 black cardamoms
2 onions, diced

1 tsp. ginger paste

1 tsp. garlic paste

1 tsp. fennel powder

1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder

1 cup Greek unflavored yogurt

1 green chili, diced

4 green chilies, slit & left whole

1 tsp. ghee

1/2 cup cilantro/coriander leaves, chopped
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour boiling water over cauliflower and leave to soak until cold.
2. Heat oil, sputter hing, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick and cardamom.
3. Add diced green chilies and onions & stir-fry until translucent.
4. Scoop cauliflower out of soaking liquid and stir into skillet.
5. Mix ginger & garlic pastes with fennel, garam masala powders and yogurt.
6. Pour over cauliflower in skillet and stir well.
7. Cover and simmer over medium heat until oil resurfaces.
8. Adjust salt to taste and garnish with ghee, whole green chilies & fresh cilantro. 

Serve with hot Basmati rice or any Indian bread.

Stir-Fried Cauliflower with Potatoes & Shrimp

Phool Kopi Alu Aar Chingri

This is a popular dish in Bengali households in India. Alu Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower) is a common item on menus at Indian restaurants and is a favourite vegetarian side dish. The addition of shrimp in this recipe takes it up a notch to satisfy the non-vegetarian palate. The shrimp can be omitted if you wish to serve Alu Gobi in its vegetarian form.

Cauliflower & Potatoes in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Phool Kopi Alu Posto

White poppy seed sauce (known in Bengali as 'posto') is very versatile and can be used to dress practically any vegetable. Adding a little green chili to the poppy seed paste gives this dish quite a zing!