The Cauliflower Question

How do you make cauliflower taste really good? Not that it’s bad, it just doesn’t have much flavor on its own. I get tired of eating the same vegetables all the time, so I’m always on the lookout for new ones to add to my routine. Cauliflower is low in fat, high in fiber and Vitamin C, so it seems like a good choice to add to my shopping list. It always looks beautiful at the farmer's market, so recently I’ve been on a quest to find an easy, tasty way to prepare it. Several of my attempts have not been very successful, but I have finally found a great way to cook it, thanks to my friend Bina. This one is going to be a standard at my house.


I wrote about Bina’s curried peas and potatoes previously in the post Anticipation. Last night we made her basic vegetable recipe using cauliflower and peas, with outstanding results. To go with the Indian spices in the vegetables, I made a mango lassi and served naan. This would make a great meal for your Meatless Monday. This week, we just made it a meatless Wednesday instead. Here is Bina’s recipe with a few adjustments to make 2 large main dish servings:

Curried Cauliflower and Peas

1 small head cauliflower chopped into florets
1/8 c oil
¼ c red onion chopped
½ Tbsp each salt, pepper, cumin, curry, coriander
1/8 c grated fresh ginger
¾ c peas (fresh or frozen)
¼ c cilantro

Heat oil. Cook onions until brown. Push onions to the side and add spices. Roast spices for one minute. Add cauliflower and ginger. Cook covered for about 15 minutes. Add peas and cook another 10 minutes uncovered (only about 3-5 minutes if using frozen peas). Stir in cilantro at the last minute.

Mango Lassi

For each serving:
1 c plain yogurt
1 fresh mango (or the equivalent of frozen or canned mango)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Put all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth.

Thanks again to Bina for sharing her recipe. I plan to try it with other vegetable combinations as well.