Indian/Pakistani Cauliflower Curry: Gobi Masala

Gobi Masala is a north Indian and Pakistani curry dish, which simply means a dish made with a sauce of various spices. Just my opinion, but cauliflower is more to the bland side; thus, it needs some help in the flavor department. When I was a kid, cauliflower with various cheese sauces was a fairly common dish, and then there was breaded and fried cauliflower, which was served with some type of dipping sauce. Whether you agree with me that cauliflower in itself is a bit bland, it IS a healthy vegetable, with lots of nutrients and fiber. This dish is vegetarian, and, as with all good dishes, there are variations. For one thing, it is not uncommon for people of the Indian Subcontinent to make some dishes with a good deal of sauce ("gravy," as they say), but they also make a "drier" dish of the same name; that is, the amount of sauce is limited, with the main ingredients coated with the seasonings, rather than swimming in "gravy." It is great with rice, with which it is often served in India and Pakistan, but it is also commonly served with chapati (roti) bread,* especially if there is a lot of sauce to be sopped up by the bread. If you don't like much "heat," use just one jalapeño pepper; on the other hand, if you like dishes that are very "hot," use 3 serrano chilies. For a little information on the spices and herbs used in the cooking of the Indian Subcontinent, here are two links: 1)   https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/12/great-spices-and-herbs-of-india.html     

2)  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/12/great-spices-and-herbs-of-india_10.html

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green chili peppers, chopped (serrano or jalapeño chilies are great)
2 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons oil (+ more, if needed, vegetable oil is fine)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
2/3 teaspoon garam masala 
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or Indian red chili powder)
1 cup diced tomato with juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Add the oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, green chilies and ginger, cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Add the turmeric, ground coriander, fenugreek, garam masala and cayenne pepper, stir to mix well, then add the tomatoes and stir further. Add the cauliflower and 1/2 cup water. Stir to mix again to make sure all of the cauliflower is coated with the seasonings, then cover the skillet with a lid or foil. Cook until the cauliflower is tender (likely about 10 to 12 minutes), remove the lid or foil, and if necessary, cook a few minutes to allow the sauce to cook down (thicken) a bit.    

* Chapati (roti) bread is an unleavened whole wheat flatbread. It is quite easy to make and this is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/10/easy-flatbread-of-indian-subcontinent.html 

Click on photo to enlarge...

WORD HISTORY:

Floret-This word is not only closely related to "flower" and "flour" (both of which are really the same word, and of Latin derivation and borrowed by English from Latin-based French), but "floret" was borrowed from Old French "florete" ("little/small flower") in the late 1300s. The Old French form was the diminutive of "flor," which meant "flower." ^

^  For the history of "flour/flower;" and thus, to the base of "floret," this is the link to the article with the "Word History:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/10/egg-in-your-beer-eierbier.html