Cauliflower Chaat for One
Published October 2, 2018
Melina Hammer for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE CAULIFLOWER
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ small head cauliflower, cut into florets
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño pepper
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons chaat masala
FOR THE SAUCE AND SERVING
1 cup cilantro
½ jalapeño pepper
¼ small white onion
½ small garlic clove
1 tablespoons plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
Pinch of cumin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon roughly chopped roasted almonds
Cooked rice or store-bought flatbread, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)
74 grams carbs; 2 milligrams cholesterol; 766 calories; 33 grams monosaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 49 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 1080 milligrams sodium; 12 grams protein; 5 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Cook the cauliflower: Heat the oil in a sauté pan on high heat, until the oil starts to smoke in small wisps. Add the cauliflower florets and lower the heat to medium-high. Sprinkle with salt and allow the florets to brown in the pan, then stir and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for another minute, then add ginger and jalapeño. Stir well, add cilantro, lemon juice and chaat masala, and stir again. Remove pan from heat.
- Step 2
Prepare the sauce: Place all ingredients plus 2 tablespoons water in a small food processor and purée until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides and get everything incorporated. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 3
Drizzle sauce over the cauliflower and sprinkle with almonds. Serve with rice or flatbread.
Private Notes
Comments
These are but one example of each: chaat masala 1/4 cup cumin seeds 1 tbsp black peppercorns 1/4 cup dried mango powder 2 tbsp black salt 1 1/2 tbsp salt 1/2 tsp asafoetida garam masala 1/2 cup cumin seeds 1/2 cup cardamoms 1/4 cup black peppercorns 1/4 cup coriander seeds 3 tbsp fennel seeds 2 tbsp cloves 10 cinnamon sticks , 50 mm. (2”) each 1/4 cup bayleaves 2 tbsp caraway seeds 1 tbsp nutmeg powder , optional 1/2 tbsp dried ginger powder
You can replace the chaat masala with curry powder and double the lemon added to the cauliflower. Slightly different taste but works very well. You should be able to find regular or hot or madras curry powder in most Safeways these days.
if local markets don't have it, you can make chaat masala. there are lots of recipes online w/ lots of variations, & there are decent substitutions for the more exotic ingredients. e.g. dried thyme is a quite decent substitute for ajwain, a common chaat masala ingredient. Instead of tamarind powder you could use some lime juice and brown sugar to get a similar sour/sweet flavor. Most dishes using chaat masala, are more like home-cooking than not, and invite improvisation.
I did the sauté part in the air fryer 400 deg for 12 or 15 min turning twice—chaat masala etc in a bowl after—very zen and no smoke alarm or stove clean-up…! And it was FAB!
This was excellent. I roasted the cauliflower and jalapeno in the oven and then finished on the stove w/the rest of the ingredients as written. I thought I made the sauce as written but realized too late that I forgot to add water to the sauce....and glad I didn't see it as it wasn't needed. Incredibly easy weeknight meal.
I screwed parts of this up (including not blending sauce - I just stirred it up, somehow missed that step), and I still thought it was pretty good. Some things I noticed and wondered if I did wrong: The cauliflower cooking in the pan seemed really dry. More oil? It browned up OK, and cooked through eventually, but I kept wondering if there should be a little liquid. I think my chaat masala was really salty. I salted the cauliflower very lightly when it went in the pan, and I shouldn't.