New England Fall Dinner: Cauliflower Curry.
Coming home from work on rainy November nights,
this is what I like to start cooking
(to save my soul).
Then the whole house smells warm & spicy, & the fact that it's chilly & dismal outside begins to seem almost like a good thing,
because it makes the inside just so perfect.
Want to truly appreciate these late fall Massachusetts nights?
Here's how.
FIRST, come home, turn on your best lamps
(good lighting is very important in winter)
pour a glass of red wine, & find some good music
(I made this to the Mountain Goats' Heretic Pride)
then,
Saute an onion, garlic, serrano chili peppers in butter & olive oil (heavier on the butter), add some curry paste (here I'm used Patak's Garam Masala, Hot) & salt & pepper & the various spices that make up basic curry (ie tumeric, cumin, coriander, chili, etc) to personal taste, add cauliflower & potatoes & a can of chickpeas, stir, add enough 1/2 & 1/2 to cover everything, bring to a boil, add spinach, turn down to low, simmer for a while while the house starts to smell warmer & warmer
(hells yes WARM is a smell)
Make whatever rice you prefer (I prefer jasmine or white basmati with this),
& serve with & naan & hopefully chutney
(I actually didn't have any, shame on me).
Best eaten cuddled up under a blanket on the couch in the company of a kitten, maybe watching Twin Peaks.
(if you're into that)
Conclusion: this meals also creates a whole lot of leftovers if you do it right,
so I've been eating it all week.
Good times = week of curry.
But I just ran out, so gonna have to cook something tonight.
Stay tuned for that, oh & everything else I've eaten & drawn in the way too long span of time since I've last posted.
This seems pretty close to the cabbage and chickpea curry stew I made and posted recently. I made the curry by caramelizing onions, then ginger and garlic until aromatic, then spices, then a can of tomatoes and some water + bay leaf and a little celery, then boil and simmer, then puree in food processor, then pass through chinois; then, in another pot, made a curry roux with EVO and butter (and of course flour), then added strained stock from above, boiled and thickened, then added chopped cabbage until totally wilted, then chickpeas--but I really wish I'd had some cod or other white fish to cook gently in the stew. Needed some fish.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the fish. Was cooking for a vegetarian so not possible in this case, but yes. I agree, taste wise.
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