Gobi Masala

This is a dish that we sorta of made up.  It started out as Gobi Matar (cauliflower and peas), but we modified it to our liking.  We left the spice blend from the recipe alone, but added a couple things.  To the recipe we added onions and chana (chickpeas), and increased the amount of tomato puree.

As for the spice measurements, we use a normal silverware teaspoon or tablespoon (not measuring ones), and are usually heaping a little.

Ingredients

Cauliflower, 1 head.  If it is a particularly large head increase the amount of spice. The amount of spices we are specifying is for a medium head.

Onion, 1

Frozen peas, 2 cups

Chickpeas, 1 cup

Coriander, Fresh, 2 tablespoons chopped

Tomato puree, 1 to 1.5 cups

Water, 1 cup (or more as needed)

Ginger paste, 1 teaspoon

Green chili paste, 1 teaspoon

Olive oil or Ghee, 1-2 teaspoons

Spices

Salt (to taste, maybe like 1 teaspoonish)

Cumin seed, 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons

Turmeric, 1 teaspoon

Chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon

Garam masala, 2 teaspoons

Amchur, 1 teaspoon (if you dont have amchur you can substitute half a lemon juiced)

To start we like to "mise en place." A french phrase which means "everything in place", basically have all the ingredients measured and prepared, so you can dump them in when needed.  Seen below we have our cauliflower cut into florets; the peas, chana, and tomato puree in a bowl; onion chopped, fresh coriander chopped; and 2 seperate bowls of spice, bc they go in at different times.  The coriander powder, turmeric, and chili powder go in first, and the garam masala and amchur go in at the end.

So now onto the cooking part!  We like to cook dishes like this in an kadia, or balti, the indian word for wok.

Start by heating up the oil or ghee, then add the cumin seeds.  Cook them until they darken a couple shades.  Then add the ginger paste, green chili paste, and the chopped onions.  Cook that for a 1 minute or 2 until the onions start to soften a little.

Now add the first spice blend, the coriander, turmeric, and chili powder.  Cook those for a minute or 1. 

Add the cauliflower, peas/chick peas/tomato, and water.  Stir it around a bit to get the cauliflower to coat.  Once every thing is mixed nicely and the cauliflower seems coated add the salt.  Some salt is very important, it really brings out all the flavors of the spice.  

Allow it to cook down for about 15-20 minutes until it reaches the thickness you desire.  Then add the fresh herbs (without the fresh herbs it tastes like something is missing), and the second spice blend of amchur and garam masala.   Let it cook for another 5 minutes or so

Then its done!  Let it cool for a little so it thickens.  Here it is served with a little bit of freshly made raita. Tasty and low calorie, Yum!