Gobi ka Kheema/Grated Cauliflower Curry

 Cauliflower, Curries/Masalas, Diabetes Friendly, Phase 1
May 122013
 

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I have been in love with cauliflower lately. Being a vegetarian and trying to eat low carb is tough, but if and when you do so, if there is a vegetable that is versatile enough to sub in rice, soups, salads and curries – and even make pizza crust, it is cauliflower. So, when it was announced that for ‘Tried and Tasted’ event this time, that the featured blog is ‘Monsoon Spice’ by Sia, my obvious choice was this Gobi ka kheema. It is a simple and quick recipe to put together and extremely flavorful. Sia has a wonderful collection of recipes, and her style of writing is entertaining, with a personal touch. The only changes I made to this recipe is to use a fresh tomato puree, as opposed to blanching the tomatoes before pureeing them. It gives a fresh and tangy flavor to the curry.

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, grated – yields about 4 -5 cups of grated cauliflower(I used a food processor to do this)
2 medium onions, grated
1/2 cup frozen green peas
4 Tomatoes, pureed
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
salt to taste

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Method:
Break the cauliflower into large florets- keeping stems intact, discarding only the outer green leaves. Using a box grater or a food processor, grate the cauliflower. Also, grate the onion. Puree the tomatoes and set aside. Heat oil in a wide pan. Add the cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add the grated onion and cook until golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and continue cooking until the raw flavors disappear.

Now, add the grated cauliflower and continue cooking. The cauliflower cooks down quite a bit, so don’t worry if it appears to be too much. Also, don’t salt the cauliflower as it would give out too much water. Add in the spice powders – the turmeric powder, chilly powder and garam masala and continue sauteeing for another couple of minutes. Finally add in the tomato puree and mix to combine. Cook for another 5 minutes, finally add the salt and the frozen green peas. Cook for another 5 minutes until the flavors meld and the curry comes together.

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Verdict: The curry is very flavorful and absorbs the flavors of the spices and the tanginess from the tomatoes. The green peas add a texture and flavor variation to the curry. Declared as a good combination for rotis, by my meat eating husband is testimony enough to the taste of this curry. :)

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Garlic Mashed Caulfilower/Mashed ‘Faux’tatoes

 Cauliflower, Diabetes Friendly, Side Dishes
Apr 242013
 

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I wanted to come up with a side for my ‘Almond Crusted Tofu Parmesan’ dish. The chicken parmesan usually served in restaurants, usually comes with a side of mashed potatoes. Now, although mashed potatoes would have been a perfectly comforting side, it would take away the claim of the dish being healthy and guilt free. So, I decided to healthify the mashed potatoes and make a ‘faux’tato version of it using cauliflower. I’ve made a pretty basic version of mashed cauliflower, but all the variations that are out there for mashed potatoes you can incorporate in this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 small head of cauliflower OR 1 10 oz package of frozen cauliflower florets
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp butter
1/8 cup ricotta cheese + 1/8 cup greek yogurt or 1/4 cup of ricotta cheese/greek yogurt
milk, as needed
salt and pepper to taste
chopped scallions to garnish(optional)

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Method:
Chop the cauliflower into bite sized pieced. I have used both the white florets and the stems, excluding just the light green stems and leaves. Place the chopped cauliflower and the garlic cloves in the steamer and steam until soft. Remove, blot out any extra moisture using a paper towel. Don’t blanch the cauliflower in boiling water, as it would result in water retention and make your mashed cauliflower runny.

Place the steamed cauliflower and garlic(while still warm) in a bowl along with the butter, ricotta cheese and greek yogurt. Using an immersion blender, mash this mixture to the desired consistency adding milk as needed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle chopped scallions, and serve!

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Verdict: I was skeptical about how this would taste, but truly speaking I would have believed it if it was said to be mashed potatoes. The garlic adds a wonderful flavor and the ricotta and yogurt add protein as well as a tang to the dish. Creamy and dreamy, this is one side I was glad I paired with the tofu.

Sending this to the following events:
- Jagruti’s Gain Popularity event
- Spotlight: Show your Best Creation, event series by Ria
- Kids Delight – 5 Ingredients or Less, event series by Srivalli.
- Healthy me Healthy US event @ Mharo Rajasthan Recipes
- Easy to Prepare in 15 minutes at Aathidhyam

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Cauli Fried ‘Rice’ and SBD update

 Cauliflower, Diabetes Friendly, Phase 1, South Beach Diet
Mar 222012
 

Its been 7 weeks since I started on the ‘South Beach Diet’ and I figured that I needed to provide an update on where I am and how its going. I did phase 1 for a total of 4 weeks and as much as people can’t wait to get off of Phase 1, I had trouble letting go. I have lost 12 lbs now and am still seeing weight loss, although not as rapid as phase 1 was. I have graduated to adding whole wheat tortillas(I use the Low Carb, High Fiber tortillas) for lunch or dinner and also cereal bars/muffins for breakfast. I still do eat a lot of phase 1 recipes that I have grown to love, especially my greek yogurt-spinach poriyal combo.

I am posting below one of my life-saving recipes, while I was on Phase 1. As many other people from South India are, I am a sucker for rice..My friends and my parents know that I could stay without rice not more than 2-3 days. I start craving it and literally become cranky without it. With SBD I did have the cravings, but I realized the cravings were more for the accompaniments to rice – such as sambar, vathakulambu and kootu rather than rice itself. I loved rice so much – because it was a vehicle to relishing yummy foods that were not necessarily bad on their own.

Having realized this, I had to come up with a way to have all the things I loved, minus the rice. I had read about low carb dieters use cauliflower as a substitute for rice. Couple of weeks ago, I would have laughed at this, but not now. Desperate times called for desperate measures and over an hour of googling, I was ready to make cauli-rice. I followed the steps in the link above and really liked it. I wouldn’t lie and say it was as good as rice. But for someone who cannot have rice, it is a pretty good substitute.

The Cauli-Fried rice is my attempt and kicking the plain Cauli-rice up a notch – in terms of flavor and also in nutrition. Here is the recipe…
Ingredients:
1 cup cauliflower(preferably a whole head)
1 eggs(optional)
1 tsp oil
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sriracha sauce
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
a few scallion tops, chopped, for garnish
salt to taste

Method:
Grate or finely chop your cauliflower. I used a food processor chopping blade to do this, coss it would mince up the stalks of the cauliflower as well. You can do this via a hand held grater as well. Place the grated cauliflower in a bowl and cover with a wet paper towel. Nuke in the microwave for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Heat oil in a pan over super high heat. Wait for the oil to get to a smoking point. Add the onion, celery and the garlic, quickly stir fry and add the red and green bell pepper. Saute for another minute. push the veggies aside and add the egg. Scramble it. Add the red pepper flakes, sriracha sauce, soy sauce and a pinch of salt. Mix to combine and let all the liquid evaporate. This step is important, because you dont want the fried rice to be soggy.

Finally add the steamed cauliflower, stir fry together until the flavors meld and any moisture evaporates. Sever hot sprinkled with a few scallion tops.

Verdict: Spicy, hot and fried ricey, without the rice. A tasty compromise, I would say. Next time, will add some small cubed tofu for added protein. Would also make a great lettuce wrap filling.

I am submitting this recipe to our own event: ‘Serve it – Stir Fried’, happening here at OhTastenSee and Krithi’s Kitchen. Also to Bon Vivant – Savory Moments.

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