Cauliflower, Vegan, Tasty? Surely NOT!

I was wrong..it’s gorgeous.

As the cauliflower looked at me, my heart sank. The challenge was a quick vegan meal with cauliflower. Well roast beef and vegetables was out then. So let’s try something different. Our kitchen is always well stocked with herbs and spices as I do enjoy cooking and wondering around the continents of the world food wise. So dive into the pantry and explore was the next move.

The outcome was seriously tasty only took about 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook and serve. It fed 3 of us as a main meal, so if you are cooking on a budget it is really cheap. If I was cooking this again it could be done in less time, but I was listening to the radio and easily distracted, after all food is fun.

Ingredients

• 500g Cauliflower florets,
• 3 tablespoons Sunflower oil
• 4 black peppercorns
• 2 cloves
• 1 tablespoon coriander seed
• 1 small onion
• 150g desiccated coconut
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 2 large tomatoes chopped.
• Salt to taste ( in my case none)

Directions

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil until until almost smoking (I had it in a cast iron pan) then fry the peppercorns, cloves and coriander seed for about a minute.
• Add the onion and cook until brown. Add the coconut and wait for that to just start to brown
• Tip that into a blender add some water and blend to a paste. Put to one side.
• Heat the remaining oil until almost smoking (yes the oil needs to be hot) and stir fry the cauliflower for a few minutes. Now add the turmeric, chilli powder, tomato and salt if desired. Gently stirfry for another 5 minutes or so.
• Pour in 150ml of hot water and bring to the boil. Add the coconut paste you made earlier and simmer until the cauliflower is cooked to your liking. For me this was 12 minutes.

That’s it, serve and enjoy. The humble cauliflower is transformed into a tasty fragrant delight.