Bengali Phulkopir Aloo Dalna Spiced cauliflower and potato curry with whole spices, turmeric and green peas

 Bengali Phulkopir Aloo Dalna

Spiced cauliflower and potato curry with whole spices, turmeric and green peas

This was a nice side dish, but would not make it as a main. I was able to make this partially in advance which is always a bonus for me!

Great served with Indian Spiced Rice...and other dishes we cook as part of our Indian Feasts!

The recipe says...

"Phulkopir Aloo Dalna a classic Bengali recipe thats light, full of flavour and ideal when your craving a curry in the summer. Cauliflower is a staple in most Indian curries and delicious when combined with spices. The whole spices fried in hot oil give depth and warmth to this semi dry dish. As with Maharashtrian food a little bit of sugar helps balance the flavours. I’ve used boiled potatoes which I add at the end although you can cook them at the beginning before adding the cauliflower florets. If you prefer a little more gravy add a touch more water. Perfect served with luchis, rice or parathas.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

420gms Cauliflower florets

280gms potato boiled and cut to chunks

60gms frozen green peas

3 tbsp vegetable oil

Pinch of asafoetida/ hing

2 dried bay leaves

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp nigella seeds

4 green cardamom pods

1 dried mild red chilli

1 heaped tsp ginger paste

½ tsp mild chilli powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp caster sugar

Salt to taste

100mls water

¼ tsp garam masala powder

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan. Add the asafoetida along with all the whole spices. Fry for a minute on low heat. Add the ginger paste and fry for a few seconds

2. 2. Now add the chilli powder and turmeric powder along with the cauliflower florets. Mix well and sauté the florets for 2-3 minutes

   3. Add the sugar, season to taste and add water. Stir well and cook with a lid on for 10 minutes. Now stir and add the potato continue cooking for 5 minutes with a lid on

   4. Add the green peas and simmer for a minute. Turn the heat off and add garam masala. Stir well and serve warm with paratha or rice

Turkey cauliflower 'fried rice’

We make this recipe a lot. When I get cauliflower in my Oooby Box which I am not going to use I blitz it to 'rice' and freeze it.
I add a lot of extra veggies to this dish - whatever is in the fridge or garden.

Isabella is a big fan of this dish. She loves regular fired rice and when I first made this she said it was the best fried rice I had ever made...then I told her it was cauliflower!

It's great with turkey mince - we use this a lot, or with prawns.

Ingredients

cauliflower 800g (1 small head) broken into florets

peanut oil 1tbs

turkey breast mince 500g

red onion 1medium, finely chopped

garlic 2clove(s), crushed

fresh red chilli 1whole, finely chopped

snow peas 150g, trimmed, thinly sliced

red capsicum 1medium, finely chopped

Frozen green peas 1cup(s) (120g) thawed

Tamari, salt-reduced 2tbs

green shallot(s) 2 individual, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Process the cauliflower in a food processor, in batches, until it resembles rice.

1. Heat half the oil in a wok over high heat. Stir-fry the turkey mince, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps, for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate.

1. Heat the remaining oil in the wok over high heat. Stir-fry the onion for 2 minutes or until golden. Add the garlic and chilli and stir-fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the cauliflower, snow peas, capsicum and peas and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until heated through.

1. Return the turkey to the wok. Add the tamari and stir-fry until heated through. Divide among serving plates and top with the shallot to serve.

Cauliflower and apple soup

This one was a bit of a experiment. I was not convinced it was going to be approved by the family...surprisingly it was! This soup is reasonably simple in preparation and in taste. I'd make it again.

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
1 clove(s)fresh garlic, crushed
1500g Cauliflower, raw (1 head) cut into floret
2 medium fresh green apple, Granny Smith, coarsely chopped
4 cup(s) vegetable stock (1L) (I used chicken)
1 tbs fresh chives, finely chopped

Instructions

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add cauliflower, apple and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until cauliflower and apple are tender.

Blend soup using a stick blender or food processor until smooth. Stir in cream, Season with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with chives.

2 ww points

Roasted Cauliflower Rice Salad

We had a large cauliflower delivered in last week's Oooby Box which needed using up.I came across a recipe on Pinterest but modified (quite a lot) to suit what I had in the house to use.

Ingredients: 
1 medium-sized head cauliflower (about 2 lbs. before cutting)
2 capsicum, chopped
2 T olive oil
1 tsp. smoked garlic salt (or use your favorite all-purpose seasoning blend)
fresh-ground black pepper to taste
2 - 3 sliced spring onion 
1/4 - 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts or pistachio nuts
1/4 - 1/3 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese


Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 425F/220C. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray or olive oil.

Cut the core out of cauliflower and discard. Cut the cauliflower into smallish same-size pieces. Then using a food processor with the steel blade, buzz half the cauliflower at a time until it's chopped into small pieces (slightly larger than rice.) Don't overprocess or the cauliflower will start to puree. (You can also grate the cauliflower on the large side of a box grater if you don't have a food processor.) Chop the red bell peppers into pieces.

Put the chopped cauliflower into a bowl and toss with the red peppers, corn, olive oil, garlic seasoning, and black pepper. Spread the cauliflower mixture out on the baking sheet and roast in the pre-heated oven 20 minutes. Then use a large turner to turn the cauliflower over, spread it out again, and put back into the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes longer, or until it's starting to look toasted and is browned to your liking.

While the cauliflower cooks, slice green onions and grate parmesan cheese. Put a frying pan over a burner on high heat, add the pine nuts, and toast for about a minute, or until they are barely starting to get some color. (They can get too browned rather quickly; remove from the pan as soon as they are barely toasted.)

When the cauliflower is roasted to your liking, put it back into the bowl and toss gently with the sliced green onions, coarsely-grated Parmesan, and toasted pine nuts. Season to taste with salt and additional fresh-ground black pepper and serve hot, warm or cold.