Chana Gobi - Chick Peas and Cauliflower in a Tomato Curry Sauce

Cauliflower has been one of my favorite vegetables for decades and I adore Indian flavors, so it is no wonder that this is a go-to dish for me.  While it isn't your typical yellow curry, it is delicious.  Hats off to Madhur Jaffrey whose cookbooks taught me to soak the cauliflower in cold water prior to cooking it.  Her cookbooks are lovely and packed with recipes you can make to.  I suspect her influence is found in these recipes as well as those of the Moosewood Restaurant, my friend Rahul Kulkarni and so many others that taught me the essentials of great curries.

INGREDIENTS

1 T extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil or ghee

1 T black mustard seeds

1 T fennel seeds

½ onion, finely diced (I prefer about a 3mm dice here, but make it fairly fine)

1T ginger, minced

6 cloves garlic minced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

¼ t tumeric

1/3 t cayenne pepper

½ t salt

1 medium cauliflower, cored, sliced into ¾ to ½ inch slices and then broken into bite sized pieces

1 can garbonzo beans, rinsed and drained

2 T water

1 28 oz can diced or whole tomatoes and juice

¼ t curry powder

¼ t garam masala

zest of 1 lemon (optional)

RECIPE

Soak cauliflower in a bowl of cold water for at least ½ hour.  Drain. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans to remove any residual liquid that was in the can.  While the cauliflower is soaking, chop the onion and mince the ginger, garlic and pepper.  Then, get your spices ready.  The turmeric, cayenne and salt can go into one small dish and the curry powder and garam masala should go into a separate dish as the two groups will be added at different times.  

Heat a very large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Once, hot, add the olive oil, cumin and fennel.  Allow the seeds to fry for a few seconds then toss in the onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeno pepper.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the onion begins to brown.  Add the first spice mixture (turmeric, cayenne and salt) to your pot and stir fry for another minute or two.  Once those spices are well incorporated into your aromatics, add the cauliflower, garbonzos and water to the pot.  Mix thoroughly and then add the tomatoes.  If the tomatoes you have on hand are whole, hand crush them into the pot, removing any remaining skin or tomato cores as you find them.  Add the tomato liquid as well.

Allow the mixture to simmer for 7 or 8 minutes, or until the liquid is mostly evaporated and the cauliflower is done, but still rather firm.  Now, add in the curry powder, garam masala and lemon zest and stir it thoroughly through the dish and allow to cook for another minute.  (Note that if you are using a pan that is too small, you may want to cover the pot for 5 minutes of the cook time to ensure the cauliflower is done).

Turn off the heat.  Garnish with cilantro or chopped almond.  Serve over your favorite grain if you like.  This spice portfolio is also great with another traditional combo -- mushrooms and black-eyed peas.