Cauliflower Coconut Curry
The Fine Cooking magazine from October/November has a nice feature on cauliflower. It includes ways to prep and prepare it along with a few recipes. This tart is one of those recipes. This curry is another. I have a thing for coconut and curry, and so I was drawn to this recipe immediately. I also love to find satisfying vegetarian dishes that we can work in to our meal schedule. My husband didn’t miss the meat at all. This one is a keeper.
There is quite a bit of chopping to be done, but it can all be done in advance and refrigerated until you’re ready to cook. Once that is taken care of, this dish comes together easily. You’re looking at 45 minutes cooking time in all, but more than half of that is simply simmering time. Thanks to that simmering time your house will smell amazing. The only downside there is that it will smell that way for hours, and waking up to the smells of curry you ate the night before isn’t amazing. But it is worth it!
This reheats really well, so it’s a good choice for those of you cooking for one or two. This will feed you for a couple of meals, and that’s definitely something I look for in a recipe these days. I love leftover night.
The spices are warm and subtle. The first taste is sweet and then the heat hits you at the end but is still more warm than spicy. I didn’t have black mustard seed, so I didn’t use them and I thought this was still wonderful. The coconut milk tones down the heat and adds sweetness as well as welcomed creaminess. I used a whole jalapeno with a few seeds and it wasn’t overwhelming at all. If you want it spicy make sure to use more of the seeds and membrane or even add a second jalapeno.
The garnishes are necessary, in my opinion. The yogurt is a nice cool contrast to the warm curry, the cilantro is the perfect herb to compliment the spices and the cashews add richness and crunch. We ate this with warm naan which is perfect for soaking up the sauce. Serving this on top of rice would also be delicious (and stretch it a bit). I hope you try this dish! My mouth is watering right now as I think about it and I’m considering getting some out of the fridge…and it’s 8 in the morning. So you know it’s good.
Cauliflower Coconut Curry
From Fine Cooking
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of butter + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (use ghee if you have it)
- 1 onion, cut into large dice
- 2 red bell peppers (you could also use orange or yellow)
- 1 jalapeno, chopped fine (as many or as few seeds as you’d like)
- 1 2-inch piece of ginger, chopped fine (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin seed
- 1 cinnamon stick (2 inches)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 can coconut milk
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into 1-2 inch florets
- plain yogurt
- chopped cashews
- fresh chopped cilantro
- naan or rice for serving
Directions
- Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, peppers, jalapeno, ginger, curry, cumin, cinnamon stick and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften and brown a bit.
- Add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes, water and raisins. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and cook until thickened, 10-15 minutes.
- Add in the cauliflower and mix together. Cover. keep the heat on low and cook until cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon stick. Season with salt and lemon juice. Serve with yogurt, cashews and cilantro.
