Cauliflower Chaat for One

Name: Cauliflower Chaat for One
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: indian
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1/2 small head cauliflower, cut into florets; Salt to taste; 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger; 2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño pepper; 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro; 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice; 2 teaspoons chaat masala; 1 cup cilantro; 1/2 jalapeño pepper; 1/4 small white onion; 1/2 small garlic clove; 1 tablespoons plain, full-fat Greek yogurt; Pinch of cumin; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; Salt and pepper, to taste; 1 tablespoon roughly chopped roasted almonds; Cooked rice or store-bought flatbread, for serving

Recipe from Anita Lo

Adapted by Tejal Rao

Cauliflower Chaat for One — Melina Hammer for The New York Times

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(706)
Comments: Read comments

This recipe for a single portion of cauliflower chaat comes from the chef Anita Lo. It gets its flavor from store-bought chaat masala, a South Asian seasoning tangy with dried mango and black salt. The recipe doubles easily, but if you’re cooking for one, pick a small head of cauliflower and use about half of it. Use the rest to make pickled cauliflower, or sauté it in the same way and then take the seasoning in a different direction. —Tejal Rao

Featured in: The Joy of Cooking for One

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Ingredients

Yield:1 serving

For the Cauliflower

3tablespoons vegetable oil
½small head cauliflower, cut into florets
Salt to taste
2teaspoons finely chopped ginger
2teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño pepper
1tablespoon chopped cilantro
½teaspoon lemon juice
2teaspoons chaat masala

For the Sauce and Serving

1cup cilantro
½jalapeño pepper
¼small white onion
½small garlic clove
1tablespoons plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
Pinch of cumin
1teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
1tablespoon roughly chopped roasted almonds
Cooked rice or store-bought flatbread, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Cook the cauliflower: Heat the oil in a sauté pan on high heat, until the oil starts to smoke in small wisps. Add the cauliflower florets and lower the heat to medium-high. Sprinkle with salt and allow the florets to brown in the pan, then stir and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for another minute, then add ginger and jalapeño. Stir well, add cilantro, lemon juice and chaat masala, and stir again. Remove pan from heat.
Step 2
Prepare the sauce: Place all ingredients plus 2 tablespoons water in a small food processor and purée until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides and get everything incorporated. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Step 3
Drizzle sauce over the cauliflower and sprinkle with almonds. Serve with rice or flatbread.

Ratings

4 out of 5

706 user ratings

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Comments

rbrownprop6 years ago

These are but one example of each: chaat masala 1/4 cup cumin seeds 1 tbsp black peppercorns 1/4 cup dried mango powder 2 tbsp black salt 1 1/2 tbsp salt 1/2 tsp asafoetida garam masala 1/2 cup cumin seeds 1/2 cup cardamoms 1/4 cup black peppercorns 1/4 cup coriander seeds 3 tbsp fennel seeds 2 tbsp cloves 10 cinnamon sticks , 50 mm. (2”) each 1/4 cup bayleaves 2 tbsp caraway seeds 1 tbsp nutmeg powder , optional 1/2 tbsp dried ginger powder

Kish6 years ago

You can replace the chaat masala with curry powder and double the lemon added to the cauliflower. Slightly different taste but works very well. You should be able to find regular or hot or madras curry powder in most Safeways these days.

Betsy6 years ago

if local markets don't have it, you can make chaat masala. there are lots of recipes online w/ lots of variations, & there are decent substitutions for the more exotic ingredients. e.g. dried thyme is a quite decent substitute for ajwain, a common chaat masala ingredient. Instead of tamarind powder you could use some lime juice and brown sugar to get a similar sour/sweet flavor. Most dishes using chaat masala, are more like home-cooking than not, and invite improvisation.

Margie SS4 months ago

This was excellent. I roasted the cauliflower and jalapeno in the oven and then finished on the stove w/the rest of the ingredients as written. I thought I made the sauce as written but realized too late that I forgot to add water to the sauce....and glad I didn't see it as it wasn't needed. Incredibly easy weeknight meal.

Ray5 months ago

I screwed parts of this up (including not blending sauce - I just stirred it up, somehow missed that step), and I still thought it was pretty good. Some things I noticed and wondered if I did wrong: The cauliflower cooking in the pan seemed really dry. More oil? It browned up OK, and cooked through eventually, but I kept wondering if there should be a little liquid. I think my chaat masala was really salty. I salted the cauliflower very lightly when it went in the pan, and I shouldn't.

Kts6 months ago

Burlap & Barrel has an amazing Chaat Masala! I use it often, and highly recommend it! It’s perfect in this dish.

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