Cauliflower and turmeric curry

This South Indian-style cauliflower and coconut milk curry is perfect served with a scoop of rice.

Cauliflower and turmeric curry. Credit: Freshly Picked with Simon Toohey

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 70 ml coconut oil
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 40 g ginger, minced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 long green chillies, thinly sliced (use less, and remove seeds, if you’d like a milder dish)
• 5 g turmeric
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 12 curry leaves
• ½ cauliflower, roughly chopped
• 1 tin chickpeas
• 250 ml coconut cream or milk (see Note if making from fresh)
• 1 lime
• ½ tsp salt
• Cooked white or brown rice, to serve

Instructions

1. Add the coconut oil to a wok or heavy-based pan.  Add in the fenugreek seeds and turn the heat on to medium-low. Bring the temperature up slowly.  As the fenugreek starts to sizzle, add in the shallot, ginger and garlic. Add chilli. Cook everything slowly as you are aiming for sweetness here. 
2. Add the turmeric and curry leaves and stir for 1 more minute, then season with salt.
3. Add cauliflower to pan. Drain the chickpeas and add along with the coconut cream. Simmer until cauliflower is cooked through but still has texture (about 10 minutes on low). 
4. Squeeze the juice of the lime into the pan and season with more salt if desired. Cook for a further minute and serve with rice.

Note

Simon made his own coconut milk/cream for this recipe. You can use canned coconut milk or cream (thin out the cream a little if desired). If using a fresh coconut: Hit the edge of the coconut with the back of a big knife and turn and hit again and turn until the coconut has cracked. With a spoon or scraper take out the flesh. If you have used a spoon, blend with 1 cup of water until the mixture is relatively smooth. Then strain through a cloth, squeezing out all the goodness. If you have a coconut grinder, grind out the flesh into a bowl and mix with a little warm water. Pass through a cloth or strainer. The strained flesh can be used for other recipes.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.