Cauliflower Curry

Tender cauliflower cooked in warm Indian spices.

This is probably not an authentic Indian curry, but I used the spices and cooking techniques I've seen/used in other Indian dishes.  I love the delicious spicy combination of ginger, garlic, chili, cumin, and turmeric found in Indian cuisine.  All the spices take a dish from bland to exciting and leave me feeling full and satisfied without meat or too many calories.  Not only does the spice combination taste amazing it's said to have many health benefits too.

Warm Indian spices make yummy #vegan Cauliflower #Curry  [Tweet this]

Cauliflower Curry

Cook time:  15-20 minutes
Servings:  4-5

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced pickled jalapeno (or fresh chili if you have it)
1/2 tsp turmeric
chili powder (to taste)
1 Tbsp coriander powder
Salt (to taste)
3-4 cups cauliflower florets
1 cup frozen peas (optional)
2 small carrots, chopped (optional)
1 tomato, pureed
1/4 cup water
1 tsp tamarind concentrate (optional)

1 tsp garam masala

Prepare all of the ingredients and have them at hand before cooking.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until very hot.  Add the cumin seeds until they sputter then add the ginger, garlic, and jalapeno.  Stir and cook until fragrant.

Add the dry spices (turmeric, chili powder, and coriander)  and cook for a few seconds then add the vegetables (you can use all cauliflower if you prefer I added peas and carrots for more color) with a good sprinkle of salt.  

Stir and mix well then add the water mixed with the tamarind concentrate (I use the tamarind to add more flavor and because I have it).  Continue stirring until the water cooks off and cauliflower is tender.

Remove from heat and mix in the garam masala.  

Serve warm over rice garnished with cilantro (with naan and chutney on the side if desired).

I served this curry with a cilantro coconut chutney (I happened to have all the ingredients on hand).  It was delicious.  I'll post the recipe next week so stay tuned.

Makes about 4-5 servings.

Enjoy.

For more Indian recipes check out:

Cauliflower & Chickpea Curry

Patta Gobhi Mattar (Cabbage & Peas)

Sambar           -

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Warm Up with Soup

7 delicious soups to keep you warm inside and out.

Soup is a great way to clean out your refrigerator.  You can make soup with all kinds of meat, vegetables, legumes, grains, and/or pasta.  Here are 7 of my soup recipes that are simple and delicious.  Many are meatless, vegetarian, or vegan and all will help keep you warm.

A #roundup of 7 delicious soup #recipes. Warm Up w/ Soup  [Tweet this]

Black Bean Soup

A creamy, flavorful, and meatless soup made with black beans and spices.  Filling enough for an entree.

Warm up w/ #meatless Black Bean Soup  [Tweet this]

Cauliflower and Chickpea Soup

A creamy soup made with chickpeas, cauliflower, coconut milk and warm spices.  Cauliflower and chickpea soup is a delicious and vegan meal.

Warm up w/ #vegan Cauliflower & Chickpea #Soup  [Tweet this]

Green Pea Soup

Healthy and easy frozen green peas pureed in a flavorful broth for a creamy and delicious, vibrant green, soup.

Warm up w/ #frozenpeas in Green Pea #Soup  [Tweet this]

Lentil Soup

A bold and spicy soup with hot Portuguese sausage and healthy lentils.

Warm up w/ #healthy #lentils in Lentil Soup  [Tweet this]

Minestrone Soup

A simple, vegetarian, Italian style soup made with vegetables, beans, pasta, tomatoes, and spices.

Warm up w/ #vegetarian Minestrone #Soup  [Tweet this]

Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup

A creamy, meatless, soup with mushrooms and wild rice.  It's warm comfort food for a cold night.

Warm up with #comfortfood Mushroom and #WildRiceSoup  [Tweet this]

Pureed Carrot Soup

A creamy, vegan, soup made with pureed carrots, onions, and beans in a vegetable broth with a hint of dill.  It's filling enough for a meal but also great with a small sandwich.

Warm up w/ #vegan Pureed Carrot #Soup  [Tweet this]

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Full Plate, Foodie Friends, Freedom, Foodiefridiy, Pretty Pintastic, 2 cup, Lou Lou Girls Whimsy, Wonderful, Tickle my Tastebuds

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Best of the Month November 2015

A recap of my most popular posts from November 2015.

I'm finally back after my winter/holiday break from blogging.  It was great to turn off the computer and just relax.  Now that the holidays are over I'm back and it's time for my best of the month November.  It's interesting to note all of my most popular recipes, from this month, are vegetarian.

All #vegetarian recipes are my BestoftheMonth Nov 2015  [Tweet this]

November was a good month.  All of my recipes received at least 200 views and I polished and re-posted some old (but great) recipes.  All 3 of my re-posts got many more views and are my top three best of the month.

2013's best of November:

Black Bean Soup

A creamy, flavorful, and meatless soup made with black beans and spices.  Filling enough for an entree.  Now has 926 views, 73 +1s, and 34 'yums'.

BlackBean #Soup: BestoftheMonth Nov 2013  [Tweet this]

2014's best of November:

Green Pea Soup

Healthy and easy, frozen, green peas pureed in a flavorful broth for a creamy and delicious, vibrant green, soup.  Now has 612 views, 40 +1s, and 6 'yums'.

GreenPeaSoup #vegan: BestoftheMonth Nov 2014  [Tweet this]

Now back to this year's best of the month:

Parmesan and Garlic Roasted Broccoli

A deliciously simple vegetable side of roasted broccoli flavored with parmesan, garlic and a dash of lemon juice.  This is a re-post of the same recipe from 2013.  It only had 58 views and now it has 1230 views 103 +1s, and 366 'yums'.  It's one of my favorite vegetable side dishes.

Parmesan&GarlicRoastedBroccoli #veggiesides: BestoftheMonth Nov 2015  [Tweet this]

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Oil

A Simple side dish of mashed sweet potatoes with coconut oil.  That's it and it is delicious.  This is another re-post recipe from 2013.  It now has 655 views and 68 +1s, and 35 'yums'.

MashedSweetPotatoes w/CoconutOil #veggiesides: BestoftheMonth Nov 2015  [Tweet this]

Green Bean Salad

Crispy green beans in a honey mustard vinaigrette with sliced almonds.  A simple and quick vegetable side for any meal.  Another re-post from 2013.  Now has 497 views, 35 +1s, and 13 'yums'.

GreenBeanSalad #veggiesides: BestoftheMonth Nov 2015  [Tweet this]

Spicy Edamame

Young soybeans, in the pod, sauteed in ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sriracha.  A spicy, salty, and nutritious snack.  490 views, 38 +1s, and 71 'yums'.

Spicy Edamame #healthysnacks: BestoftheMonth Nov 2015 [Tweet this]

Hoisin Baked Tofu Vermicelli

A vegetarian rice noodle salad with vegetables, herbs, and sweet and salty baked tofu.  258 views, 46 +1s, 7 'yums'.

HoisinBakedTofuVermicelli #vegetarian: BestoftheMonth Nov 2015  [Tweet this]

Check out my Bests of November from previous years:

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Bhindi (Okra) Masala

A vegetarian Indian dish made with okra and spices.  A delicious, healthy, and filling meal.

(Re-post of original from 1/11/13. Edited for grammar, updated pictures, tweeables, pinnable image, and like posts.  Had 96 views)

Okra.  It's one of those vegetables I only knew one thing to do with and that is batter and fry.  I grew up in North Carolina and we love our fried okra.  Every spring my dad planted a  garden in our yard and okra was one of the usual vegetables.  By summer, we would have so much okra, but I don't remember having it any other way than fried.  I'm not complaining I love fried okra it's one of those foods I look forward to whenever I go home.

There's more to #okra than frying: Bhindi (Okra) Masala #Indianfood [Tweet this]

Not long after moving to Honolulu and finding Chinatown, I found a market there that had okra.  I was excited and curious.  Fried okra isn't a common food here so how is it used?  It took me some Googling to find an Indian recipe site that had many dishes with okra as the main ingredient.  I like Indian food and I like okra so what could go wrong?  Once I tried Bhindi Masala I fell in love and it's much healthier than deep fat frying okra.  This is a recipe I make frequently.  If you like okra I urge you to try this recipe.

Like Okra? Try this #Vegetarian #Indianrecipe: Bhindi Masala  [Tweet this]

Bhindi Masala

Cook time:  20 minutes or fewer
Servings:  3-4

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp ghee, or oil of choice
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/8 tsp ghost chili masala, or hot chilli powder of you choice (if you can handle more heat by all means add more)
1 pound okra, chopped (about 3 cups)
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce, or juice of 1/2 a lime
Salt to taste

Heat ghee (clarified butter) in large frying pan (I think ghee adds better flavor, but it has 9g saturated fat per tablespoon and it's not vegan so you can use any oil that withstands high heat instead).

Add cumin seeds and stir cooking until they start to sputter.  Then, add the ginger and garlic.  Stir until just fragrant (it won't take long) and add the onions.

Mix the onions around for a minute or two until they soften.  Add the spices and let cook for a little while until fragrant then add the okra and salt.

Stir and let cook until the okra softens, add Worcestershire sauce (or lime juice) and keep stirring.  I add about 1/2 cup of water to deglaze the pan and make a bit of sauce then turn off the heat (the hot pan will evaporate most of the water, but it make things a little less dry as well as helps cool the pan).

Serve immediately over rice garnished with cilantro and with naan on the side.  Makes 3-4 servings.

Enjoy.

For more vegetarian Indian recipes check out:

Arhar Dal           -

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

Patta Gobhi Mattar (Cabbage and Peas)

Linked to:  2 Cup, Lou Lou Girls, Tickle my Tastebuds, Wonderful, Full Plate, Foodie Friends, Pretty Pintastic

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