Ok now you’ll just have to excuse Christie from Fig and Cherry for being better than me at Meatless Mondays – it’s not her fault she’s so awesome! And if you haven’t checked out her blog, DO IT. She puts most food bloggers to shame with her incredible photography and fresh, seasonal cooking. I might have a little blog crush…
Since I’ve moved to the country I’ve barely ordered any takeaway food. There’s less choice, which is one of the reasons, but the other is that I am still very excited about exploring new farmers markets. Like, every weekend.And you know what that means? Mountains of fresh fruit and veg! (Because I get carried away).
I’m very frugal when it comes to the environment and I refuse to let anything go to waste. I even boil pineapple skins to make a delish pineapple flavoured water, just so I didn’t have to throw them out without using them for something. Try it, it’s great chilled.
So all that fruit and veg from the farmers markets has been cooked up, preserved, baked and frozen. There has been no shortage of food, and no need for takeaway.
Last week though, I was tired after a long week of work, play and toddler-dom and looked longingly at hubby to ‘make dinner’. As in, dial it up! 10 minutes later we had dinner on its way from the newest takeaway in town: an Indian restaurant.
I asked hubby how much it came to so that I could get the money ready at the door. “$53”, he said.
“What!!!???”, I exclaimed! “That can’t be right? What did you order?”. (In the least accusatory tone I could muster).
“Two meat dishes, one rice, 1 naan”.
I was appalled.
I don’t mind paying good money for good food, but seriously, why does Indian takeaway have to cost so much? With $53 I could have fed half the town! OK, that’s probably exaggerating, but I did make hubby feel better by assuring him that we would be eating more Indian food… however, it will be homemade from now on.
And voila! I present you with Indian spiced cauliflower. Enjoy it. On the cheap 😉
Christie x
Indian Spiced Cauliflower
serves 4
based on a recipe by Rachel Lane from her cookbook, Wok.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 garlic cloves, sliced
3cm chunk fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh coriander leaves, loosely packed
steamed rice and natural yoghurt, to serve
1. Heat a wok or large, deep frying pan over high heat until smoking. Add the vegetable oil and cumin seeds and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
2. Add the onion, chilli flakes, garlic, ginger, ground coriander and turmeric and stir fry for 2 minutes until the onion has softened.
3. Add the cauliflower and stir to thoroughly coat in the spice mixture. Stir fry for 5 minutes until golden brown, stirring constantly to stop it sticking.
4. Add the chopped tomato, salt and 1/2 cup (125ml) of cold tap water and turn the heat down to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes until the cauliflower is fork tender. Stir through the fresh coriander leaves and serve with rice and yoghurt.
Kyrstie @ A Fresh Legacy says
That looks gorgeous Christie and I am not a huge fan of cauliflower! You have made me want Indian food now…
Christie Connelly says
Thanks Kyrstie. Makes me want Indian food too – might be on the menu tonight – homemade of course!
Kyrstie @ A Fresh Legacy says
Of course!
Christie Connelly says
Blog crush, lol, now I’m blushing. Right back at ya kiddo! So happy to have helped out with a guest post 🙂
Mother Down Under says
Yum! I love Indian and I love cauliflower! I will have to give this one a go! Thanks!
Christie Connelly says
Sorry for the delayed response – would love to hear what you think if you try it 🙂
Diane Balch says
I make a similar cauliflower dish using maple syrup and indian spices, can’t wait to try yours.
Christie Connelly says
Sorry for the delayed response – oh I love the idea of maple syrup to sweeten an Indian dish – I might try that, thanks! Christie