Indian Cauliflower Masala
The key to preparing Cauliflower Masala is organization. If you like, you can make the tomato sauce, the toasted cashews, and the rice in advance. You can even make the tomato/onion sauce the day before and just toss it with the steamed vegetables a few minutes before serving. While the number of spices in this recipe may seem overwhelming, this dish comes together rather seamlessly. Read the instructions over before beginning and have your ingredients measured out and organized in advance (mise en place). Preparing this dish will then be a breeze. Most of the spices for this recipe can be found at your local grocery store; others at your Indian market or ordered online. I’ve included them in the margin of this post for your convenience.
Indian Cauliflower Masala
Ingredients
Toasted Cashews:
- 1/4 cup raw cashews
Tomato Sauce
- 1 14-oz can tomatoes whole, diced, pureed, or crushed
For The Onion/Tomato Sauce:
- 1 large onion, diced about 3 cups
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 pods green cardamom
- 2 pods black cardamom
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 medium bay leaf
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 1 cup reduced tomato sauce/paste
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garam masala (an Indian spice blend)
- 1 1/2 cups water, preferably filtered
For The Cauliflower Masala:
- 1/4-1/2 cup water
- 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets about 4 cups
- 1 large carrots, sliced 1/8-inch thick on an angle 1 1/2 cups
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 8 ounces organic cherry tomatoes sliced in half lengthwise
- all of the pureed onion/tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup water to clean out the blender.
- 1/2-1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper optional
- 1/4 cup toasted cashews
- salt to taste optional
Instructions
For the Cashews:
- Toast cashews in a dry skillet or sauté pan on low heat until they become a light brown color and are fragrant. Turn frequently by flipping with the skillet or by turning with a spatula. Set aside.
To Reduce Tomatoes:
- Prepare tomatoes in advance by pureeing in a blender. ≈
- Transfer puree to a small saucepan. Simmer, uncovered, at a fast pace for 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes have reduced by half. Stir frequently to prevent scorching.
To Prepare The Onion/Tomato Sauce:
- Add chopped onions to a large saucepan and heat until a drop of water added to it makes it sizzle.
- Stirring frequently, sauté onions until golden brown. As the onions begin to brown and stick to the pan, move them aside with your spatula and drizzle a little water on the browned spots on your sauté pan. Scrub the caramelization loose with your spoon or bamboo spatula to pull it off the pan. Move the onions to the area you just scrubbed. This will pull the caramelization off the pan and onto the onions.
- Continue pulling the onions off the areas of the pan that is developing caramelization, adding small amounts of water to loosen the caramelization, scraping with your spoon or spatula. Allow most of the water to evaporate before moving the onions back into that spot. Repeat process until all the onions are golden brown.
- Add mustard, sesame, coriander seeds, bay leaf, green and black cardamom pods, and cinnamon stick. Stir in garlic and ginger and continue sautéing until the garlic and ginger are soft and the mixture becomes fragrant.
- Stir in previously reduced tomato sauce.
- Stir in ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, black pepper and garam masala. Add a little water to aid in combining ingredients.
- Stir in up to 1 1/2 cups water, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pick out cardamom pods (both green and black), bay leaf, and cinnamon stick. Discard.
- Transfer mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Wash sauté pan and return it to the stovetop.
To Prepare the Cauliflower Masala:
- To a clean sauté pan, add carrots, cauliflower, and 1/2 cup water. Cover and simmer for about three minutes or until the color of the carrots begin to deepen and the cauliflower becomes crunchy soft or until a fork inserted into the cauliflower meets with a little resistance.
- Stir in peas and cherry tomatoes. Cover and continue to simmer another two minutes.
- Add the pureed onion/tomato mixture. Clean out the blender with a half-cup water to recover the sauce remaining on the walls of the blender. Add this to the cauliflowers and carrots.
- Stir in cayenne pepper, cashews, and salt, if using. Simmer, uncovered for another two minutes.*
- Serve with Aromatic Brown Basmati Rice. (See video)
Notes
Below are the equipment and products I used in this recipe. Click on the photo to order yours through my affiliate link with Amazon.com, for which I receive a small advertising fee. Please visit my Store for more information.
All-Clad 5-Ply Stainless Cookware
This is a good basic set that will serve most of your needs.
Vitamix 5200 Blender
Food To Live Organic Cashews
Lundberg Organic Brown Basmati Rice
Pride of India Organic Bay Leaf
Spicely Black Cardamom Pods
Swad Green Cardamom Pods
Cumin Seeds
Organic Black Mustard Seed Whole, Half Pound
Simply Organic Turmeric Powder
Simply Organic Ground Cumin
Simply Organic Turmeric Powder
Frontier Garam Masala, 2-oz
Simply Organic Cayenne Pepper Certified Organic, 2.89-Ounce