Cauliflower: As Good as It Gets

Jayanta Paul, a chef from Mumbai (Bombay), cooked wonderful dishes for Maurya, a now-vanished restaurant in Beverly Hills. For brunch one Sunday, he prepared cauliflower so delicious that I begged for the recipe. Slightly sweet, with a sumptuous creamy tomato sauce, it would have fit right in at a Mogul banquet. 

I’ve lost track of Chef Paul, but I make his cauliflower often. Once I took it to a potluck dinner where there was a great spread of food, none of it Indian. Although it didn’t seem to fit, the cauliflower was a great hit and disappeared rapidly, while other dishes lingered. 

The recipe calls for dried fenugreek leaves (methi). These are readily available in Indian markets, but can be left out, or chopped parsley added for color, although the flavor is not the same.

JAYANTA PAUL’S GOBI MAKHNI
Cauliflower in Creamy Tomato Sauce

1 ½ pounds trimmed cauliflower
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 pound tomatoes
1 ½ teaspoons ginger paste
1½ teaspoons garlic paste
10 green cardamom pods
10 whole cloves
¼ teaspoon hot red chili powder, or to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons slivered ginger root
2 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves (methi)
2 tablespoons whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey
Chopped cilantro
   
Cut the cauliflower into florets. Wash in cold water and drain. Heat the oil in a non-stick wok or deep skillet. Add the cauliflower and 2 tablespoons water. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Place in a deep saucepan. Add 1 cup water, the ginger and garlic pastes (to make these, pound garlic cloves and sliced ginger root in a mortar until pulverized), the cardamom pods, cloves, chili powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, then turn into a blender and blend well. Strain through a sieve.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the cleaned wok or skillet. Add the slivered ginger root and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the strained sauce and fenugreek leaves and bring to a boil. Add the cauliflower and boil, uncovered, for 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the whipping cream and stir to blend. Add the remaining tablespoon butter and stir until melted and blended with the sauce. Stir in the honey. Turn into a heated serving container and garnish with cilantro.

Makes 4 servings.