Cook Book Series: Cauliflower and Green Peas Curry...

Ever since I got hooked to the internet I have stopped using cook books.  Any recipe you need is right at your finger tips so why bother going through books! But I have so many cook books in my book shelf that I now wonder why did I even buy them in the first place if I had no intention of using them (err..I got one last week too. Gosh! I can't resist...). So I have decided to try at least one recipe at random from any of these cook books (yea maybe I am inspired by Julia Powell) which will help me to discover different recipes as well. I am going to group these recipe posts under the title 'My Cook Book Attempts' so that I can compile the tried and tested recipes  :) Will be handy for future references.

This is a simple recipe for cauliflower and green peas curry that I tried from Tarla Dalal's cook book - Rotis & Subzis. Tweaked it a bit but otherwise it is almost the same. It tasted pretty good with rotis and was quite easy to make.

Cauliflower and Green Peas Curry: Recipe

(Source: Rotis & Subzis by Tarla Dalal)

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower florets - 2 cups
• Green Peas - 1/2 cup, boiled
• Bay leaves - 2
• Firm, ripe tomato - 1 large pureed
• Tomato paste - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - a pinch 
• Milk - about 2 tbsp
• Dry kasuri methi - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp
• Salt to taste

To be ground into a paste:

• Onion - 1 medium chopped
• Grated fresh coconut - 2 tbsp
• Garlic cloves - 4 large
• Coriander powder -  2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
• Cashew nuts - 6 to 8
• Red chillies - 6 (Spice alert!)

Method:

1. Grind the above ingredients into a smooth paste and set aside.
2. Divide the cauliflower into medium size pieces so that they cook faster and then steam them for about 10 to 15 minutes till they are 3/4th cooked.
3. Heat oil in a kadai and add a pinch of cumin seeds and the bay leaves. When they sizzle add the ground paste. Fry for few minutes till the raw smell is gone.
4. Add the tomato puree and tomato paste. Saute the mixture well for few minutes. You need to make sure there is no raw taste.
5. To this add 1/2 cup of water, milk, steamed cauliflower, boiled green peas and salt to taste. Cook for about 10 minutes till they are soft. Add kasuri methi (while adding, rub it between your hands to release the flavour) and serve hot.