Recipes Trending

Its nearing end Jan and finally we winter-starved Bombayites are finally feeling some cool. Afternoons are still hot. The tiled flooring does turn cold though. The cold water in the wash-basin gives me a little jolt as I sleepily open it early in the morning, reminding me that - Hey girl, enjoy this while it lasts.

I love all spices. Especially so, at this time of the year, when our body yearns for it. Ive gone all out with my spices in this recipe, dressed up the benign cauliflower in flavours it didnt know existed. Its like turning an ice maiden Aishwarya Rai into a hot sizzling Mallika Sherawat! If you dont know who these babes are, dont worry. Im sure you got the idea though. The peanuts were added on second thoughts, to make the gravy a little milder and creamier without adding any dairy cream. It turned out good. Real good. In fact, the day I made this, DH had an unusually long day at work. I for once didnt complain as I dug into the whole darn bowl myself. Yeah! That good. Try out and youll know Im sticking by my new year resolutions :D

And hey friends, I havent forgotten about the WBB 8 round up. I just got some respite from work and I wasnt in the mood for some more serious work like battling with blogger to do a round up. Itll come up soon with a new theme as well.


Cauliflower in spicy peanut gravy

Category: Vegetables, side, Indian curry, Spicy food, Winter food
Cooking time: About 20 minutes
Serves 3
Recipe source: My own




2 cups cauliflower florets - largish
1 cup finely chopped fenugreek leaves

For the masala

3-4 red chillies
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 small stick cinnamon
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
5-6 black peppers
1 sprig curry leaves
3-4 cloves garlic
2 medium onions - sliced
1 tsp salt or to taste

1/4 cup or handful of roasted peanuts
Salt to taste

Wash the florets in plenty of salted water. Drain and keep aside.

For the masala, on a low flame, roast all ingredients except the onions and garlic. Roast till aromatic. Remove from the kadai onto a dish and let it cool. Meanwhile, take a tsp of oil in the same kadai, put in the sliced onions and garlic with tsp of salt. Saute till translucent. Remove from the kadai and cool.

In a mixer, grind the roasted spices, onion-garlic and the peanuts into a very fine paste, adding upto half cup of water.

In a cooker or a pressure pan, heat a tsp of oil. Splutter some cumin seeds and then pour the masala paste. Stir around for a good 5 minutes or so. We wont wait for any oil to separate here because we didnt use much oil to start with. Throw in the cleaned cauliflower florets and the greens. Add upto a cup of water and let the florets simmer in the paste for around 3-5 minutes before closing the lid of the cooker.

Allow just one whistle to escape. Switch off the gas and take the cooker off the burner immediately. The remaining pressure in the cooker is enough to cook the florets just enough without turning them into a mash. Another reason why they wont turn to a mash is because we keep the florets big enough not to cook too soon. If you want to try this in a saucepan (no cooker scenario), then by all means break the cauli into smaller florets for faster cooking.

After 10-15 minutes, the cooker would have cooled. Open the lid carefully. Check for salt. Serve hot with any Indian bread or plain steamed rice. A cold salad on the side will complement the heat of this curry beautifully.

Tags: Cauliflower, curry, winter recipe, spicy curry, peanuts

This is a simple gravy preparation for non-vegetarian dishes made by my grandma. I recently brought a packet of Shady Brook Farms turkey chops. The very interesting point that attracted me to getting these was that the fat percentage of these chops was 0% (absolutely fat-free), so this is a heart healthy and protein-packed dish. Generally white meat turkey turns a little bit dry when overcooked, so making any gravies or adding them to briyanis is ideal instead of baking them…I learnt that the hard way :( This gravy turned out good and the turkey was not dry at all. I have used very few ingredients in this gravy trying to keep the dish as simple as possible but the taste was not simple in anyway. That’s how our mothers and grandmothers cooked right…when I was a kid I remember my mom and grandma using only fennel seeds for spicy dishes (garam masalas were used only for making briyanis back then) and whatever dishes they made tasted good with the simple ingredients they used, so I have followed the footsteps of my granny here. Dear friends, I hope you all like my healthy and tasty turkey chops kozumbu. Here goes the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1. Turkey chops or small pieces of turkey, around 1 pound.
2. Red onions, medium-sized 2.
3. Roma tomatoes, medium-sized, 2.
4. Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
5. Turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon.
6. Chili powder, 2 teaspoons.
7. Coriander powder, 4 teaspoons.
8. Fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon.
9. Curry leaves, 1 spring.
10. Chopped cilantro, ½ cup.
11. Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:

Clean the turkey and if needed, it cut be cut into small bite-size pieces. Dice the onions and tomatoes finely. Take a pressure cooker or pressure pan and a tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot add the fennel seeds and fry them for a few seconds. Add the diced onions and curry leaves and sauté for a few minutes until the onions turn brown. Then add the tomatoes and ginger-garlic paste and keep sautéing for a few more minutes until everything is blended. Add the powders along with the turkey and add water just enough to cover everything. Pressure cook for up to 3-4 whistles (or after 2 whistle, lower the flame and let it simmer for 15 minutes) and switch off the stove to let the pressure down. If pressure cooker is not used, the gravy can be cooked under medium flame for 15-20 minutes until the turkey is cooked. Remove the lid and let the gravy simmer for a few more minutes without covering the pan. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with idlis, dosas, rice, or chapathis.