Cauliflower Masala Kootu

Cauliflower again! How many times do we get stuck with cauliflower and the same old recipe of cauliflower fry or cauliflower with potatoes or something like that? I used to struggle with it,until  I had this kootu in a thali at a resturant in India.. Since I knew the people at the resturant I had to ask them what are the ingredients in it and they were very glad to help... and indeed it is a very unique recipe and it tastes extremely good with rice& rotis.Now don't get alarmed with Masala in it and think it may be very spicy or heavy... infact anything with saunf in it has to be called Masala..as its part of our garam masala ingredient... but truely this small spice can work wonders in this simple dish! Being addicted to this I had to share it with all my blog friends ofcourse. herez cauliflower masala kootu....

Cauliflower Masala Kootu

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower diced into bite size pieces

2 tomatoes  roughly chopped

1 onion  small diced

1/2tsp tumeric powder

4-5green chillies slited

2tbsp coconut grated

1 tsp sambhar powder

1/2 cup cooked and mashed toovar dal

salt to taste

1tsp sugar

Oil 2tsp

for tempering

Ghee 2tsps

Cumin seeds 1tsp

saunf 1/2tsp

cloves 2

cinnamon 1

curry leaves 3-4

corriander leaves for garnish

Method

grind into a thick paste coconut,green chillies and sambhar powder and keep aside.

Heat oil and fry the onions until translucent

next add the tomatoes and cauliflower & tumeric powder and saute until the vegetable is slightly soft.

now add the cooked dal and add some water to adjust the consitency of the gravy and season with salt and sugar. allow it to cook for about 5mins. once the vegetables are fully cooked add the ground coconut mixture. mix everything well and simmer for about 5mins.

Now heat ghee and add the tempering ingredients and pour over the kootu.garnish with corriander.

serve hot with steamed rice or rotis.

Chilly Cauliflower

Temptation for a good chineese food has never left me,its always been my weakness and I love it.
There is something about spicy indochineese food that makes me eager to learn its recipe and make them for my family. Amoungst the favourites is the chilly cauliflower. Its simple and very good with a simple fried rice as a side. This recipe can be used for Paneer instead of cauliflower.

Chilly Cauliflower

Ingredients

one medium sized cauliflower cut into florets

oil for deep frying

corn starch + flour 2tbsps

onions finely chopped 1//2cup

garlic finely chopped 2tbsp

tomato ketchup 2tbsp

soy sauce 2tbsp

chilli sauce as spicy as needed

salt & pepper for seasoning

cilantro for garnish

Method

Blanch the cauliflower in hot water for a couple mins and allow it to cool

season with salt and pepper

sprinkle the flour mix over the cauliflower.

heat oil , the oil must be very hot because we want to flash fry them

quickly and carefully fry the cauliflower and keep them aside,drain them in a paper towel to remove the extra oil.

Now in a stirfry pan and just 2tsp of oil & fry the diced onions and garlic,once they r slightly golden brown add the sauces and the salt and pepper,and mix the fried cauliflower with it and toss it with the sauce to coat evenly.

finally sprinkle some cilantro or spring onions for some freshness.

serve hot.