Danielle's Indian Spiced Cauliflower & Potatoes

Like Melanie, my husband claims to not like cauliflower. I've always liked it so I cook with it occasionally, and basically, Max eats whatever I make for dinner. Max actually said he really liked this dish and would be happy to eat it if I made it again.

I liked it, but I can't say I really loved it. I mean, it tasted good. But realistically, I don't see it being a favorite that I'll make over and over. I think it needs a sauce or something. As is, it seems like more of a side dish. But I appreciate any good vegetarian meal, so I might try this again and make up some kind of sauce.

If any of you are interested, I made some homemade naan to go with it that was quite good. The whole process takes a long time (longer than other breads I've made), but there's a lot of down time in between (for rising) that you could be doing other things so it's not too bad. I stuck with the lower end of all the time ranges and it took me about 3.5 hours start to finish.

Here's the recipe: Snowshoe Naan

Melanie W.'s Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes

I wasn't quite sure about this recipe at first for two reasons 1) I don't usually make Indian spiced dishes, though I do like Indian food. I just wasn't sure how mine would turn out. 2) I never make cauliflower because my husband does not like to eat it. He thinks it's bland, has no nutrition, and he thinks old people smell like cauliflower. Regardless, I decided to give it a try.

Well, I thought it was really good!! And my husband did too. He even willingly ate the cauliflower. :) I didn't have any cumin seeds, coriander, or turmeric and I wasn't going to spend $15 on them just for this meal so I substituted curry powder and it was yummy. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. I don't like crunchy onions or even slightly crunchy onions so I sauteed the heck out of them instead of roasting them like Jeannie did. I removed all the seeds from my jalepeño because the last time I cooked something with jalepeños I left in just a few seeds and the food was way too hot, so I didn't want to take any chances. I would still consider this a spicy dish, but not too spicy.

I served it over Thai Jasmine rice because that's what I had, along with some naan bread, and it was a delicious meal that filled us up and even gave us leftovers! If I were to change anything I would probably just add more too it, like broccoli or carrots or chicken to make it a little more hearty and colorful.

Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes

source*

I am in love with roasted cauliflower. It's ridiculously flavorful and hearty while still being super good for you. For those of you who may believe that it's a bland vegetable, I urge you to reconsider. You could actually skip all the other stuff in this recipe and just roast it in some olive oil and call it good. But the other ingredients are tasty, too, so go ahead and give it a try.

I've made it several times with some modifications that I think make it easier to prepare. Serve it up with some basmati rice and some warm naan and you've got yourself a well-rounded meal.

Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes
Gourmet | February 2004
Posted on Epicurious.com

Ingredients:
1 (1 3/4-lb) head cauliflower, cut into 3/4-inch-wide florets
1 1/4 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons minced fresh jalapeño, including seeds
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Put oven rack in upper third of oven and place a shallow baking pan on rack. Preheat oven to 475°F.
2. Toss cauliflower and potatoes together in a bowl with 3 tablespoons oil, cumin seeds, and1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread in hot baking pan and roast, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender and browned in spots and potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes.
3. While vegetables are roasting, cook onion, garlic, jalapeño, and ginger in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until very soft and beginning to turn golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Stir in water, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, then stir in roasted vegetables. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

yield: Makes 4 side-dish servings
active time: 30 minutes
total time: 30 minutes

266 calories per serving

Total cost = approximately $1.50 a serving (unless you don't have the spices on hand)

Cook's Notes:

• This is not that spicy. I would just say it's more flavorful. My kiddos don't mind spicy foods but I usually leave out the jalapeño seeds just to be sure.
• I don't think it's necessary to do Step 3. Why waste an extra pan? I just toss all of the ingredients (minus the water) into a bowl to mix and then dump it all onto a baking sheet to roast in the oven together.
• I've never used cumin seeds and it's still turned out great.
• If you don't have all of the dry spices and don't want to go out and get them, you could probably get by with just some yellow curry powder.

*I forgot to take a picture so I've borrowed from Epicurious. Hopefully, I'll remember to add my own soon.