Ingredients
Cauliflower – 1 (cut into big florets)
Russet potato – 1 (diced into cubes)
Catfish fillet – 2 (cubed into nugget size)
Onions – half (chopped)
Garlic – 2 cloves (grated)
Ginger – 1 inch (grated) or 1tsp of ginger paste
Garam masala – 1tsp (equal quantities of whole green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon ground in a coffee grinder)
Salt – to taste
Turmeric – 1 tsp (half for the fish and half for the vegetables)
Sugar – a pinch
Paprika – a pinch
Green chillies – for garnish
My friends have often asked me how to make cauliflower tasty and yet not overcook it. The traditional Bengali way of cooking cauliflower is to apply salt and turmeric, and then fry it in oil before making a curry out of it. Needless to say, this method is not suitable for some of us who like to know how many calories they are consuming. So, I experimented with a different method (roasting) that I will share in this recipe today.
As a teenager, one of the few fish dishes that I liked was one named 'aloo -phulkopi diye maacher jhuro' or fish scrambled with potato and cauliflower. The Bengali name is always more exotic, eh? This served as an excellent dish when accompanied with Roti, which the average Bengali loves to eat on winter evenings and believes causes the consumption of less calories than rice. We can go on and on about this interesting topic of debate but lets save that for another day.
While making dinner these days, I often have to keep in mind the little butterfly at home. Yes, no longer a caterpillar, the little butterfly will often ask me what I am making for her dinner and gets very upset if what I am cooking is not upto her liking. So, I have to come up with creative ways of making her like what I am cooking!
On one such winter evening, when I was preparing to make catfish with some cauliflower and potatoes came the question: "What are you making for me, mamma?" The guilty iMom quickly answered without much thinking: "Fish nuggets. Would like some?" A happy smile indicated yes.
Relieved, I went on to apply salt and turmeric on the catfish fillet, cut them into small cubes, heat a non-stick pan and pan-fry the catfish 'nuggets'. The little princess soon got busy with her plateful on fish nuggets, roti and vege chips (read lettuce). Weird combination? Tell me about it!
Meanwhile, I tossed the cauliflower florets and diced potato chunks in olive oil, salt and turmeric and put it in a pre-heated oven for roasting at 400F for 30 minutes. This left me enough time to cater to my daughter and ensure she ate everything on her plate.
Half an hour later, I returned to my kitchen. In a wok, I heated some more oil, added some crushed garlic and sauteed some onions till they became translucent. I added ginger, the roasted cauliflower and potatoes with salt, turmeric and a pinch of sugar and paprika each. I let this cook by itself covered (occasionally adding drops of water if the mixture got too dry in the wok). When the vegetables were cooked, I added the fish, green chillies, home-made garam masala and cooked for another 5 minutes.
The Bengali was happy that night to eat fish and roti -- not caring much about the calories.
