Cauliflower In Coconut sauce/गोभी की सब्जी नारियल के ग्रेवी में(Indian savory)

auliflower in Coconut sauce

Cauliflower is a compound flower. Small florets are attached to one common stalk. The vegetable is eaten before the buds get converted to flowers, thus it can be safely said that cauliflower is collection of large number of undeveloped buds attached to the same main stalk. This vegetable is rich in sulphur, calcium and iron. Due to the presence of sulphur it has typical flavor and taste. White color cauliflower is most common and consumed, though orange, yellow, purple variants also exist.

Cauliflower is cooked in spices, sauces, roasted, baked, boiled and converted to soup. All variations taste as delicious as they can get.

Whichever way we may cook this white beauty, we must never over cook it and make it mushy, because then the taste, flavor and texture is lost.

I love my cauliflower in peanut milk sauce, Hemp seeds sauce and coconut milk sauce. Each of these milks have different flavor and texture and I love them all. Coconut milk is rich in lots of micro nutrients and is very healthy but rich in fats as compared to peanut and hemp seeds milk.

Let us make cauliflower in coconut sauce.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 6 large Servings

Nutritional Facts: (Approx.) for 6 large servings

Calorie 460

Fats 56.2 gm

Sodium 96 mg

Potassium 1038mg

Carbs 15.6 gm

Fibers 4 gm

Sugars 13.8 gm

Protein 11 gm

Calcium 40mg

Iron 5mg

Phosphorous 192 mg

Magnesium 92mg

Ingredients Required To make Cauliflower in Coconut sauce:

• 200 gm Florets of Cauliflower
• 200 ml. Milk of coconut / 1 coconut
• 1 Medium size Potato (Optional)
• 4 Teaspoons Thick Curd (Not too sour)
• 1/2Teaspoon cooking oil (I use olive oil)
• 1 (1/2 + 1/2) Teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 1 (1/2+1/2) Teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1 Pinch of Asafoetida
• 1 Whole Red Chili
• 3 Stalks of Curry leafs / sweet neem
• 2 Green Chilies
• 4-5 Sprigs of Fresh Coriander
• Salt to taste

How to make coconut Milk:

• Remove the coconut kernel from shell and grate / cut to small pieces.
• Pulse the grated/ pieces of coconut with water (200 ml added in small portions) till it becomes smooth paste.
• Sieve the thick milk of coconut from the paste. Keep the thick milk aside. It should be between 100-150 ml.

 Fresh Thick Milk Of Coconut

• Take the remainder solid of coconut and pulse it again with 150 ml. luke warm water to extract whatever milk is left in coconut. This will be the thin milk of coconut. It will be nearing 130-140 ml. keep aside for further use.

Directions for making Cauliflower in Coconut Sauce:

• Cut the florets of cauliflower to long pieces. I prefer them thick and little bulkier.
• Wash the cut florets.
• Take 500 ml. water and 1 teaspoon salt in a big pan and boil it. 
• When the water comes to boil add washed florets in it and cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat or till they change color and become tender to touch.
• Drain water from the cooked cauliflower florets and pour chilled water on them to stop from further cooking with the remainder of heat in them.

El Dente Cauliflower

• Cut potatoes to 1 inch cubes and cook them in salt water like cauliflower. Only while cooking potato pieces make sure they are cooked el dente.
• Drain water and keep aside the blanched florets, discard water.
• Split green chilies and remove the seeds. Keep aside.
• In a wok take 1/2 teaspoon oil and heat.
• Add
• Mustard seeds
• Cumin seeds
• 2 Stalks of Curry leaves and split green chilies.
• Cook for 30 seconds on high/medium heat. The seeds will splutter and a wonderful aroma of spices and curry leafs will emanate.
• Add asafoetida and mix.
• Add cooked potato pieces and mix nicely. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes on low heat with stirring once or twice.
• Add cauliflower floret pieces and mix.
• Cover and cook on low heat for 1-2 minutes with once or twice stirring. The potaoes should become soft and cooked.
• Add thin coconut milk and cook on high flame with constant stirring till the liquid reduces to half.

Thin Milk Of Coconut added

• Add thick milk of coconut and cook on medium heat with constant stirring for 2 minutes.

Just before Curd To be Added

• If you are using canned coconut milk, then add 100ml. water to the vegetable, cook for a minute and then add coconut milk and cook. This will make sure that the sauce does not become too thick and sticky.
• Beat curd and add to the vegetable and give one boil.

Curd Added 

• Add salt to taste and few chopped coriander leafs. Mix, switch off the heat and cover the wok. Let the flavors mix nicely.

Caouliflower In coconut suace brfore Tempering

• Heat the cooked vegetable and take out the cooked cauliflower in coconut sauce in a serving bowl.
• Prepare the tempering by heating 1/2teaspoon oil in a pan.
• Add Mustard seeds
• Cumin seeds
• 1 Stalk of Curry leaves
• One whole red chili
•  cook 30 seconds.
• The color of chili will darken, mustard will split and the curry leafs will become crisp.
• Pour the tempering over the cooked vegetable and garnish with coriander leafs.

 Cauliflower in Coconut Sauce

Enjoy the yummy Coconutty cauliflower with Roti/Rice or crisp toasted bread.

Tips:

• Omitting potato from ingredients will reduce some caorie and carb/starch contents, instead of omitting potato you can reduce the amount.to half a potato.
• Make sure the cauliflower is cooked el dente while blanching. Otherwise while cooking with coconut sauce it will become mushy.
• To stir while cooking the cauliflower with coconut sauce is very important, as this makes sure that the sauce will not stick to the bottom of the wok and get burnt.
• Using luke warm water while taking out milk from coconut ensure complete extraction of the milk.
• Thinning the canned milk is necessary to make sure that the sauce has the correct texture and consistency.
• Even though it should not happen yet if at any stage you feel that the milk is curdling just add paste of 1 teaspoon of corn flour/ whole wheat flour/rice flour. 
• Curd should not be thin and too sour. It is added to give the subtle acidity to the sauce.

Suggested variations:

• Coconut milk powder can also be used instead of freshly extracted milk/canned milk. Just add warm water to the coconut milk powder mix nicely to get smooth paste and then add water to get the correct consistency for milk. I use 200ml. water for 50 gm coconut milk powder.

Gobhi-Beans-Ki Bhange Wali Sabzi/गोभी बीन्स की भांगे वाली सब्जी (Caulifllower-Beans In Milk Of Hemp Seeds)

Gobhi-Beans-Ki Bhange Wali Sabzi

This is a special savory of Kumaon (Uttarakhand) and can be seen served in winter season in most of the families, at least few times a month. The other variation of this savory is made by using ground nut milk for gravy, or using vegetables like Colocasia tuber or Taro tuber in Bhanga gravy. It is an absolutely delicious savory to be enjoyed with whole wheat Indian bread (Roti) or Madua (Nachani) Roti. When my mother used to make it and serve with piping hot roti topped with dollop of ghee, we used to feel heaven has descended on our plate with all its taste. This year my 83 year old mother came visiting us and we created the same scene, only difference was I was doing the cooking and my mother was enjoying and blessing me. Thanks mom for visiting us and allowing me to serve you, like you had done when we were small.

Bhanga are the seeds of Hemp which comes under Marijuana family and are cultivated in Himalayan region in India, for its seeds. Though these plants have extremely low THC, yet now they are grown under government regulation. The seeds are not having any component (THC) which can cause addiction and are extensively used in winter season in Kumaon for making savory and chutney. Hemp seeds are nutty in flavor; they are rich in fat and Omega-3 oil. Hemp seeds contain large variety of Amino acids which are the building blocks of Protein. Hemp oil and hemp milk acts as antiaging agent and is very good for heart also.

Since it is impossible to get these seeds in other states of India, thus I sometimes replace bhanga with ground nut. Though the tastes do not get replicated completely for obvious reasons, yet the outcome is absolutely yummy.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes

Servings: 4 large servings

Nutritional Value: (Approximate)

Calories: 160

Sodium: 603 mg

Potassium: 600

Carbs: 19.8gm

Fibers: 7.2 gm

Sugars: 6.58gm

Protein: 8.84 gm

Ca, Fe, Vitamin C

Ingredients Required for Making Gobhi-Ki-Bhange-Wali Sabzi:

• 250 gm Cauliflower Florets (Phool Gobhi cleaned)
• 100 gm French Beans
• 50 gm Potato (Optional)
• 75 gm. Hemp Seeds (Bhanga)

 Hemp Seeds (Bhanga)

• 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Mustard oil / any cooking oil except coconut oil
• 1 Whole Red chili
• 1 Pinch of Asafoetida
• 1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 Twigs of Fresh Green Coriander

For Tempering (Optional)

• 1/2 Teaspoon oil
• 1 Whole Red Chili
• 1/2Teaspoon jambu (Optional)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin seeds

Direction for Making Gobhi-ki-Bhange-Wali Sabzi:

• Cut Cauliflower to 1 inch pieces and wash them nicely.
• Remove the viens of beans and cut to 1 inch long pieces.
• Peel potatoes and cut them to 1 inch pieces and keep in water to make sure they do not de-colorise.
• Grind bhanga seeds by pulsing in a mixer and then add 100 ml.water and pulse at high speed for 1-2 minutes.

Bhanga seeds Pulsed to fine Powder

Pulsed to Paste after adding Water

Thick Milk of Bhanga

• Sieve the thick milk from the ground bhanga seeds.
• Put all solid in container along with 100 ml. water and pulse again 2-3 times at high speed. All kernel will get converted to milk. This will be thinner milk.
• Sieve the thin milk in separate container.

Thin Milk Of Bhanga

• Discard the remaining husk.

Solid to be discarded

• Break the red chili to pieces and remove the seeds.
• In a thick bottom wok take 1/2ml. of oil and heat it.
• Add cumin seeds and broken red chili pieces.
• Cook till the seeds splutter and chili pieces change to darker color.
• Add hing (Asafoetida) and cook for 3-4 second.
• Add potato pieces after draining water from them.
• Cook with constant stirring for about 4-5 minutes.
• Add Cauliflower and beans pieces and stir nicely.

Gobhi, beans and aloo added to spices 

• Add turmeric powder mix nicely by stirring.

Turmeric  added

• Sprinkle 10ml.water and cover the wok.
• Cook on low heat with occasional stirring for about 10 minutes or till the potato pieces become soft.

Ready for adding Hemp Milk (Bhanga milk)

• Add the thin milk of Bhanga seeds and cook without covering till the liquid reduces to half.

Thin Milk Added

• Add the thick milk and cook on low flame with constant stirring for about 10-15 minutes.

Thick Milk Added

After 5 minutes

After 15 minutes

• Reduce the heat to low and add salt to taste and mix.
• Switch off the heat and cover the wok. If you wish to have the vegetable with more gravy add 20ml.water and give a boil of high flame.

Gobhi-Beans-Ki Bhange Wali Sabzi

Gobhi-Beans-Ki Bhange Wali Sabzi

• Prepare the tempering by heating 1/2teaspoon oil; add cumin seeds, jambu and red chili pieces to hot oil. Cook for a minute. The aroma of spices will start coming. Tempering is ready.
• Remove the vegetable in a serving bowl, pour the tempering over the cooked vegetable and garnish it with washed and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy the delicious savory from Kumaon with Atta Roti, Ragi roti or Rice roti.

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/roti-indian-bread-no-oil-dry-so-low-on.html

Gobhi-Beans-Ki Bhange Wali Sabzi

Tips:

• Make sure vegetables are cooked before adding bhanga milk.
• Salt should be added when the consistency of vegetable has reached as per your requirement. After adding salt only one boil is sufficient.
• Oil is required only to cook the spices so do not over do the oil part.
• Omiting potatoes will reduce the carb content and some calories.

Suggested Variations:

• Bhanga can be replaced with ground nut milk which can be made using same process as told above. Ground nut milk replicates the flavor to quite a large extent. Coconut milk has a strong flavor and does not replicate the tatste of bhanga.
• Green chilies can be slit and added to get the spicy touch.
• Ground nut milk can be used to replace hemp milkThe calific values will change slightly.