Gunpowder Cauliflower

This recipe for Gunpowder Cauliflower is inspired by the Gunpowder Potatoes from the “Dishoom – From Bombay with Love” cookbook. One of those intriguing cookbooks you can’t put down and one of rare ones I cook from regularly. They say we cook on average 1 recipe from a cookbook, if we cook from it and I must have made at least 5 recipes from the book so far.

I swapped the roasted potatoes in the original recipe with cauliflower and I think it works really well. I also swapped the butter for ghee for added flavour. You need to make two spice mixes for the dish but is definitely worth it. The kebab masala will probably require a visit to an Indian spice shop for the ingredients but it’s a perfect opportunity to explore. You will have more kebab masala than you need for the recipe but it’s not a problem. Store it in an airtight container and use it spice up other veggies like roasted butternut or coat some chicken pieces for roasting.

Serve the cauliflower as part of an Indian inspired meal or an accompaniment to a simple roast chicken. Or as we do regularly, alongside a simple bowl of home-made dahl. It is also delicious on a flatbread (or fresh naan) with a dollop of plain yoghurt.

Dishoom, there are now 8 restaurants across the UK, pays homage to the Irani cafés and the food of Bombay. The cafés were opened in Bombay by Zoroastrian immigrants from Iran,  of which today fewer than thirty remain. The Irani cafés were the first places in Bombay where people of any culture, class or religion could take cool refuge from the street with a cup of chai, a simple snack or a delicious meal. The cookbook sharing memories and tastes of what must have been magical places.

I hope you enjoy making this recipe for Gunpowder Cauliflower. If you’ve made it, share it with me by tagging @heinstirred on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #heinstirred. It is always a treat to see the recipes made and enjoyed.

Gunpowder Cauliflower

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Ingredients

  

• 500 g cauliflower florets
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp coriander seeds
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 25 g ghee melted
• 6 spring onions finely chopped
• 5 g fresh coriander leaves finely chopped
• 3 green chillies finely chopped
• ½ tsp sea salt flakes
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1-2 tsp kebab masala see recipe below
• Kebab Masala :
• 10 g dried fenugreek leaves
• 22 g chaat masala
• 2 g deggi mirch
• 1 g garam masala
• 1 g fine sea salt

Instructions

 

• First make the kebab masala :
• Preheat the oven to 100°C
• Sprinkle the dried fenugreek onto a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes
• Allow to cool completely
• Add all the ingredients to a spice grinder and ground together then decant into an airtight container or jar
• Store in a cool, dark cupboard
• Preheat the oven to 200°C and roast the cauliflower for about 30 minutes until cooked through (no need to season or drizzle with oil)
• While the cauliflower roasts, toast all the seeds in a hot dry frying pan for 2 minutes until fragrant
• Crush them in a pestle and mortar, then set aside
• Put the crushed spices in a large bowl with the melted ghee, spring onions, coriander and chillies
• Put the cauliflower into the bowl with the spices and gently toss until well coated
• Add the sea salt, lime juice and kebab masala, adjusting them to taste, then serve.

If you are looking for more quick, easy delicious meal ideas, I have a new e-cookbook, EVERYDAY TRAYBAKES, and it is now available as a digital download.

The aim of the 18 recipes in EVERYDAY TRAYBAKES is to spark fresh cooking inspiration with new ideas and interesting flavour combinations. From Asia to the Middle East and Mediterranean, while firmly remaining within the realm of easy cooking, the book is proof that delicious, wholesome meals do not need hours of prep. The recipes range from unpretentious weeknight family dinners, spur of the moment entertaining, easy breakfasts for a crowd and modern ideas with vegetables. No book of mine will be complete with a sweet ending and there are 4 sweet baking recipes that require no special baking skills, in fact the pudding is mixed in the dish you will bake it in.

Recipes include Thai Green Curry Spatchcock Chicken, Oven Baked Masala Omelette with Paneer, Salmon and Leek Traybake with Herb Dressing, No Boil Pasta Bake with Shiitake Mushrooms and Pangrattato, Sichuan Pepper Chicken and Potatoes, Rocky Road Squares and Vanilla Milk Soak Sheet Cake

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