Cauliflower, the humble vegetable that can miraculously turn into anything when you are watching your carb intake. Occasionally, you just want a cauliflower dish that looks and tastes like cauliflower. That’s where this Gobi Masala dish comes in handy.

I grew up eating Aloo Gobi, a traditional Indian dish that literally translates to potato cauliflower. Since I’ve been reducing my intake of starchy vegetables, I decided to make this dish without the aloo, and guess what? It tastes so bloody good.

This recipe is the perfect side dish with some grilled meat. I often eat it alongside tandoori chicken. It is possible to eat this as a main dish even if you do not consume meat.

What you'll need:

1 small cauliflower head cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tbsp of ghee/butter or avocado oil

1 medium sized onion diced

2cm piece ginger minced

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 chilli (more or less depending on tolerance) minced

1 tsp of cumin seeds

1 large tomato diced

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of turmeric

1 tsp of garham masala

1/2 tsp of cumin powder

1/2 tsp of coriander powder

1 tsp of amchoor (dried mango powder)

Optional:

Sumac

Coriander leaves

Before you get started:

You'll need to prepare the vegetables as follows:

Cauliflower:

Remove the leaves and cut the head into bite-sized pieces. After washing the cauliflower, drain the water into a colander. Alternatively, you could use frozen cauliflower.

Alliums:

As with most Indian recipes, you will be using onions, ginger and garlic. You can dice these by hand or place them in a food processor along with the chilli.

Tomato:

This recipe requires you to dice one large tomato. You can use cherry tomatoes halved or even 1/2 cup of tinned tomatoes. Just go with what you have or prefer.

Spices:

Indian cuisine is known for its abundance of spices. There's a reason it's so flavorful.

Anchoor (dried mango powder) plays a crucial role in this recipe. In addition to complementing the warming spices, it gives the dish a slight tart flavor. If you are unable to find amchoor, you can use sumac or even a squeeze of lemon juice.

Method:

1) Melt your fat in a pan and chuck in the cumin seeds until they start to pop and sizzle.

2) Then throw in your onion, ginger, garlic & chilli. Sauté in the pan until they are golden brown.

3) Add your fresh tomatoes and sprinkle with salt.

4) Let the mixture simmer until it becomes paste-like.

5) Now it's time to add all of your spices, except the amchoor and mix well.

6) Once the spices have infused into the onion/tomato mixture, you can mix in the cauliflower.

7) Thoroughly coat the cauliflower pieces with the spice mixture.

8) Add a couple of tablespoons of water then cover your pan with a lid, giving it the occasional stir.

9) Once the cauliflower is tender (you can check this by poking a fork in), add in the amchoor and mix well.

10) Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and sumac or lemon juice for a bit of extra zing.

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