Growing up in India, cutlets and patties (also known as pattice), both vegetarian & non-vegetarian (not to forget, the samosa ) were made often, and sometimes on a daily basis, when we had guests over for a party.
Patties and cutlets formed an important part of the thaal style of eating meals. In my sub-culture, during special occasions, food is served from a large stainless steel elevated circular plate, known as a thaal, around which 7-8 people sit together and enjoy a truly exotic meal. Exotic because the meal can go upto 10 courses for very special occasions, with a specific order to serving the dishes. Savory & sweet dishes are alternated and all the courses usually end with a serving of assorted fruits and nuts. You have to experience this style of enjoying Indian food yourself, to truly appreciate and understand what the thaal style of eating is all about.
Writing about my sub-culture and its traditional food and recipes is another blog post altogether, so I’m going to leave you with this much, just to give you some background into my recipe for Veggie patties.
Thaal – an elevated stainless steel plate around which a family of 7-8 people sit and enjoy a 6-8 course meal
Vegetable Patties
This recipe for Vegetable Patties serves 5-6 adults as an appetizer.
You will need:
- 5 medium sized yellow potatoes
- 1 small bag or 2 cups of frozen, assorted veggies (carrots, peas, corn, beans)
- About 1/4 cup thick, white cheese sauce – for the recipe, see here
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 slices stale bread, with borders removed
- Italian Bread crumbs for coating
- Vegetable oil for shallow-frying
- Salt & pepper to taste
Method:
- Boil the potatoes, peel, mash and keep aside
- Boil the mixed frozen veggies, mash well and mix into the mashed potatoes
- Crumble and mix in 2 slices of stale, dry bread
- Add in the white sauce, chili powder and mix well
- Add salt to taste and pepper, of you want the patties spicier. I suggest adding lesser salt since the breadcrumbs will be seasoned
- Once the mixture for the patties is ready, keep a plate with the Italian breadcrumbs and a baking sheet, ready for making the patties
- Make small balls of the mixture, around the size of a meatball. Gently flatten each ball after you’re done rolling it
- Cover the flattened patty with the breadcrumbs, on both sides and keep aside on the baking tray
- Finish making all the patties and keep aside in the fridge for about 30 minutes
Veggie patties on a tray
- After 30 minutes, start shallow-frying the patties. Heat some oil in a large frying pan
- Fry on medium heat till the patties are golden-brown on each side
Shallow-fry the patties till golden-brown on each side
Serve with some Coriander chutney or Tomato ketchup
Extra Tip: To make these Patties non-vegetarian, you can add some shredded chicken or about a cup of dry and cooked, mince beef or lamb.
World over, when someone mentions the word curry, in most cases, the mind brings up images of a spicy Indian dish you once enjoyed with rice or naan. Most non-Indians I’ve met (and even a lot of Indians for that matter) wonder how to get the thick, creamy consistency of curries that Indian restaurants dole out. And most Indian recipes online don’t provide an easy way to achieve that.
This post will teach you how to make an Indian curry base, that can be used in most curry-based recipes. The base is truly versatile in that it can be used for a variety of dishes, including chicken, shrimp, vegetables, cottage cheese, or any other fish or meat, and for a thick or a thin gravy. Mostly used as a base for North Indian dishes, you can also prepare it in advance, freeze it and reuse. It can be stored in the freezer for upto 2 weeks.
How to use the curry paste:
The curry paste, substitutes a mixture of onions, tomatoes, ginger paste & garlic paste, which are cooked in oil, till tender, and which is used as a starting point in most North Indian curry recipes. Depending on the dish you plan on making, begin with heating a tablespoon of ghee (clarified butter) or vegetable oil. You may need to add whole spices such as cumin seeds, bay leaves, mustard seeds etc after the oil / ghee is heated, depending on the recipe. Reduce heat to medium-low. Thaw the curry paste in advance, if frozen and add to the heated oil / ghee at this point. The following is a rough chart that tells you how much curry paste you need for a recipe:
- Yogurt-marinated meat recipes: In most Indian recipes, meat is marinated in a mixture of yogurt, salt and dry spices overnight, or for a few hours before cooking. For yogurt based recipes, use about 1/4 cup of the curry paste per person. Yogurt based meat recipes give you a curry that has a lots of gravy. It is usually eaten with some zeera-rice or naan.
- Seafood and Vegetarian recipes that use coconut milk: Some Indian seafood and even Thai recipes use coconut milk as a base for the curry. If coconut milk will be added at a later stage in the recipe, use about 2 tablespoons of the paste per person you plan to cook for. See OneLifeToEat’s Coconut shrimp curry recipe to see what I mean.
- Recipes that involve using heavy cream: Recipes for dishes such as Butter-Chicken and Paneer-Makhani use heavy cream at some point in the preparation, to add to the quantity of the curry. Use about 2-3 tablespoons of the curry paste per person here.
- Recipes that do not use yogurt, coconut milk or heavy cream: In these cases, use about 1/2 cup of the paste per person, if you want lots of gravy. Use 2-3 tablespoons of the paste per person, if you want less gravy.
Once the curry paste is reheated, add all the dry spices and cook well in the paste, on medium to low heat. If you feel the paste is getting too dry, add some water (not more than 2 tbsp at a time). After the spices are well cooked, add the marinated meat or cottage cheese or vegetables to the cooking pot.
At this point, the recipe will usually require you to allow the cooking process to begin. Follow the recipe as directed, from this stage onward.
Special tips:
- If you fall short of the gravy once you’re done cooking, you can always add some chicken or vegetable stock to the curry to increase the quantity. Reheat the curry with the stock to make sure the spices are well incorporated.
- If you want extra color in your gravy, add readymade tomato paste to the curry paste, either when blending it, or later, when making the curry.
How to make the curry base:
To make around 2 cups of the curry paste, you will need
- 2 large onions, finely chopped
- 4-5 medium sized tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 4 tablespoons canola oil
Method
- In a large pot, heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- When well heated, fry the roughly chopped onions on medium heat. Make sure not to brown the onions.
- When the onions are softened and translucent, add the ginger-garlic paste. Mix well and allow to fry for about 30 seconds
- Then add the chopped tomatoes
- When the tomatoes are soft and well incorporated with the onions, turn off the heat, and empty the contents of the pot in a food processor
- Add 1/4 cup water to the mixture and blend into a paste
- Allow to cool. Then store in a box and freeze or keep in the fridge for use within the next day
Palak Paneer or Spinach cooked with Indian cottage cheese is usually found in the menu of most Indian restaurants. My version of the dish is lower on fat and I’ve modified it to make it quick to prepare. It is a simple, nutritious meal, ideal to make when you’re pressed for time. Not only is it really creamy and delicious, the combination of super-food Spinach and the Cottage cheese together make a nutritious meal, high on Calcium, Protien & Fiber, when eaten with Chappati’s or Whole wheat bread.
Serves 2 people.
Spinach with Cottage Cheese / Palak Paneer
You will need:
- 1 bag of baby spinach; finely chop the spinach, julienned
- 1 packet of unfried cubed paneer (or Indian cottage cheese)
Paneer Packet
Cubed Paneer
- 1 small or ¼ size finely chopped red onion
- 2 finely chopped small roma tomatoes
- ½ tbsp of tomato paste
- ½ tbsp ginger paste
- ¼ tsp of cumin powder
- ½ tsp of chilli powder
- ½ tsp of coriander powder
- ¼ tsp of amchur powder (or dry mango powder)
- ½ tbsp of fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
- Salt to taste
- Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Method:
- In a medium size cooking pot add canola oil to heat. When its warm add the chopped red onion and sauté until golden brown.
- Add ginger paste and cook for a minute until the ginger gets incorporated with the onion.
- To this mix add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook this mixture until the oil separates.
- Then add all the dry spices. Mix well.
- Now add the chopped spinach and cook until the leaves wilt and get semi-cooked
- Then add the cubed Paneer and add the vegetable broth. Reduce heat and let the mixture cook through until it begins to simmer and the oil has surfaced to the top.
- Finally add the lemon juice, salt to taste and fresh coriander leaves.
Serve hot with rotis or naan!
In all my wishful thinking about ‘what I would do when I grow up’ as a child, NEVER did I think I would be maintaining a weblog on Indian food. OneLifeToEat was born out of a passion for good eating and a desire to share great recipes with friends. What started out as a pursuit of personal interest, is now much more. I write for OneLifeToEat’s readers and their encouraging comments and feedback, time and again. One such reader has truly surprised me with tagging me for The Kreativ Blogger Award. Sarah Melamed of Food Bridge included me in her list of 7 Kreativ Bloggers (scroll down to see the list). Thankyou Sarah! Sameera & Sabera, the authors of OneLifeToEat are flattered and honored! Read here for the origins and purpose of this award.
The Kreativ Blogger Award comes with some rules:
3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7 Interesting facts about me
- I was in the choir (Sopranos) in school. When I sing now my ears hurt because I’m so off-tune.
- I once followed a Bollywood Actor in Mumbai. I spotted him on the street while running an errand, and followed him for 3 blocks, before he entered another building.
- I learnt how to ride a bike at age 22. Yes. Age 22.
- The first time I successfully made something delicious was a few years ago – an omelet for my Father.
- My first paycheck was Rs. 400 (roughly $9 at current rates) for some copywriting I did for a website.
- I got my first job without an interview. I topped a test and was given the job.
- I’ve lived in the twin cities for more than a year now but have never been to The Mall of America!
My list of 7 Kreativ Bloggers (in no order)
Angeli of MyCaribbeanFood
Nupur of One Hot Stove
Mehnaz of Strawberry Ghetto
Margit of Intercultural Musings
Neha of Flying Suitcase
Emily of From the Gen Y Perspective
Protik of Various Rambling Thoughts
I put ‘Shrimp curry’ on my menu for this week – after I saw a packet of jumbo shrimp on sale at the grocery store – with no idea as to how I’d make it. After some trolling on the internet, looking for a good, spicy, indian-ish recipe (what mostly came up were thai-style curries), I came across one that was almost what I was looking for. Almost. Using this recipe as an inspiration, I’ve created my own version, to make it simpler to prepare, as well as to suit my taste and cooking style.
Serves 4
You will need:
- 24 ounces of shrimp – raw or cooked – deveined, shelled and thawed
- 1 can of coconut milk – approx. 13.5 ounces
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 4 tablsepoons vegetable oil + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, separated
- 2-3 dried bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Paprika powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup water
- Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 large lemon
- a handful of chopped cilantro leaves for garnishing
Method:
- In a large pot, heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- When well heated, fry the roughly chopped onions on medium heat. Make sure not to brown the onions.
- When the onions are softened and translucent, add the ginger-garlic paste. Mix well and allow to fry for about 30 seconds
- Then add the chopped tomatoes with the tomato paste. The paste adds color to the curry.
- When the tomatoes are soft and well incorporated with the onions, turn off the heat, and empty the contents of the pot in a food processor
- Add 1/4 cup water to the mixture and blend into a paste
- In the same pot you used before, heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil on medium heat
- Once well heated, reduce heat to low and then add the Bay leaves, and allow to fry for a minute
- Then add the blended onion and tomato paste
- Allow the paste to re-fry for 30 seconds or so
- Put in all the dry powdered masalas
- Mix well, allowing the spices to cook well
- After a minute of stirring, add the coconut milk and mix everything well together
- Add salt to taste, and allow the gravy to simmer on low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add some warm water if you feel the curry is too thick
- Just before serving, add the shrimp and allow it to cook in the curry (if using raw shrimp)
- If you are using cooked shrimp, add it in the gravy just before serving, but do not let it simmer on heat. Turn off the heat and let the shrimp heat up in the curry itself.
- Season with lemon juice and garnish with Cilantro leaves
- Serve with steamed white rice
This post marks OneLifeToEat’s venture into Indian baby food. Hope this recipe helps all you creative mothers out there!
I’ve met countless mothers who are bored to death of the limited recipes they have in stock for making food for their babies and toddlers. And then I’ve met some who are adventurous enough to expose their children to international cuisines right from a young age, but never find the right recipes that suit a child’s delicate palette. After a chat with a friend who voiced similar concerns, I came up with this modified daal recipe for children, where I’ve tweaked the Indian staple, to add vegetables to make it extra yummy, and extra nutrilicious. Lentils or Daal are high in Protein and Carbohydrates, and essential for a growing child’s needs.
Suitable for children 3 years and up
You will need:
- 2 cups yellow lentils. (To see what they look like, see here)
- 4 cups water
- Assorted veggies of your choice – carrots, green beans, sweet peas and russet potatoes or sweet potatoes (add any others you stock at home)
- Chopped small red onion or quarter chopped, large red onion
- 1 Small tomato, chopped OR 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- Salt to taste
- Finely chopped Coriander leaves / Cilantro for garnishing
The Method:
- Soak 2 cups of yellow lentils overnight. In the morning, boil them with 4 cups of water for about 45 min to an hour. If you own a pressure cooker you need not soak them. You can pressure cook them for 15 minutes on medium heat (about 3-4 whistles) and they are ready to serve. Pressure cookers are available at an Indian grocery store but I have seen them at Bed Bath & Beyond. The ones available at BB&B are from Mexico and in fact they are safer than the Indian one! They take the same amount of time to cook though.
- Once the lentils are cooked through, mash them with a potato masher and keep aside. Do not discard the water, it’s actually very nutritious.
- Microwave in a bowl all the veggies that you like.
- In a small pot heat some olive oil. Once well heated, add the onions and fry on medium heat till they are translucent.
- Then add the tomato paste or chopped tomatoes. Mix well and let it soften with the onions.
- Add the spices: ¼ tsp turmeric powder, ¼ tsp cumin powder, ¼ black pepper, ¼ tsp sugar and salt to taste. The cumin powder and black pepper is actually very good for kids, it helps with their digestion and turmeric has anti-bacterial properties.
- Add the boiled lentils and veggies to this mixture and let it simmer for 10 minutes. You may blend all the ingredients in a blender, like a puree. If you find the lentils a little dry you can add ½ cup of water or I generally add some vegetable broth. It actually tastes better and its great for the kids too.
- Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with soft rice. You can add a dollop of butter on the rice & daal mixture, for extra taste.
A Paratha is a type of Indian bread, that literally means – layers of cooked flour. It has a thick, chewy, crunchy texture is usually eaten with pickle, yogurt, or a lightly spiced vegetable and sometimes with Chhole (Chickpea in spiced gravy). Other types of Indian breads include the Roti also known as Chappati – which is a thin, roasted, circular bread made of wheat flour – and the Poori – thin, refined flour (Maida) dough, which is then deep fried.
Paratha’s are usually stuffed with vegetables and sometimes even mince meat. Aloo Paratha’s (Potato stuffed Paratha’s) are my personal favorite because it reminds me of home. My mother served it for breakfast at times and when I was a child, I often woke up to the fresh fragrance of roasting dough, and the sound of sizzling ghee (clarified butter) in my summer holidays.
In this recipe, I take you through the process of making a Paratha, step by step, from scratch. While it does look complicated, I have tried to explain how to roll the dough (atta) in the best and easiest way possible, followed by the next step, which is stuffing the paratha. It takes some practice to get this right, but it’s worth the effort. I hope you enjoy the experience!
The following recipe makes about 4 paratha’s and feeds 2 people.
Method:
Wheat Flour
* 1 cup warm water
* 3-4 tablespoons full-cream milk
*1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Take a large, deep bowl and put all the flour, oil, milk & salt in it. Mix coarsely with your fingers.
Mix the flour, oil, milk and salt mixture coarsely with fingers
- Now slowly add the water, 4-5 tablespoons at a time, while mixing well with your fingers. Keep adding water till the flour and water have mixed to form a soft, but firm mass. In case you add too much water by mistake (It happens!), add flour to the bowl, little by little, continuously mixing the dough, till it reaches a soft consistency.
- Now pummel the dough with your fist into the bowl for about 2-3 minutes.
Pummell the dough
- Once done, keep the dough aside for about 1/2 hour before making the paratha’s.
Step II – For the potato stuffing:
* 3 medium sized potatoes washed, boiled and peeled
* 4-5 tablespoons chopped onion
* a handful of chopped coriander
* 6-7 leaves of mint, finely chopped
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
* 1 teaspoon Dhania – Jeera powder (available ready in Indian stores)
* 1 teaspoon Chaat masala (available in Indian stores)
* Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Mash the potatoes well, in a large bowl. Add Onion, chopped Coriander & Mint and all the dry spices along with the lemon juice. Mix everything well together.
Assembling the Paratha: You will need -
* A rolling pin and a rolling stone – if you don’t have a rolling stone, roll out the paratha on your clean kitchen counter
* Some dry flour in a flat, large bowl or box
Method:
- Take a small quantity of dough (about double the size of a golf ball) and knead it into a ball with both your palms.
- On a rolling stone, flatten the ball of dough with your fingers. Cover it with some dry flour, on both sides
- Start rolling the pin across the ball of dough, with some pressure, so that it the dough now looks like a flat oval
- Turn the oval around, so that it is now horizontally lying in front of you on the rolling stone, and roll the pin from top to bottom, toward you, to flatten out the dough in the other direction, to make a circle
Flattening out the dough
- Once you have a roughly circular, fairly thick piece of dough, you can begin the stuffing.
- Hold the rolled out dough in the palm of your left hand, and take a spoonful of the potato mixture. Place it between the circular piece of flattened dough
Place the potato mixture in the middle of the dough
- Now, carefully, close the dough around the potato mixture, and seal the stuffed ball of dough.
Seal the ball of stuffed dough
- Put 1/2 a tsp of ghee / Oil to heat on a non-stick pan on medium high, at this point
- Put the stuffed dough back on the rolling stone and gently roll out the dough in a circle, flattening it out, in one direction at a time
Roll out the stuffed dough
- Continue to gently roll out the dough till you can see a very thin layer of dough covering the potato stuffing inside.
The rolled out stuffed paratha
- Check if the pan is hot enough, and place the paratha to cook. Allow to cook on medium heat, for at least 2 mins on each side, or till the dough is cooked golden-brown.
Cook the paratha till it is golden-brown on each side
- Enjoy the paratha fresh off the pan, with some spiced yogurt, or Mango pickle.
Having people over but don’t want to toil in the kitchen to make some yum finger-food? Having ‘one of those days’ at work and dread the prospect of oily, greasy takeout?
My low-fat chicken kebabs are not only easy to make, but will satisfy your deepest craving for great-tasting fried food, that can be eaten as a snack, an appetizer at a home party or potluck, and even as a quick healthy meal for your children when had as a sandwich. Best enjoyed with a cuppa hot chai on a rainy evening 
Chicken kebabs
You will need:
* ½ cup of finely chopped cilantro
* ¼ cup of grated pepper jack cheese
* 3 tbsp of tomato paste
* ½ tbsp of finely chopped garlic
* ¼ tsp of cumin powder
* ½ tsp of Indian chilli powder
* ½ tsp of coriander powder
* ½ tsp of Shaan Sheekh Kabab masala (is available at any Indian grocery store or can be omitted if not available and can be replaced with ¼ tsp of garam masala)
* ¼ tsp of freshly ground black pepper
* Vegetable oil for frying
* 2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
* Salt to taste
How to prepare:
- Mix all the ingredients above and make small round chicken balls. Similar to the size of spaghetti meat balls.
- Refrigerate the kebabs for at least 2 hours. This helps in marinating the spices and helps the kebabs bind together, so that they do not fall apart during the pan frying process.
(Special tip for busy moms: When planning your menu for the week, you can marinate the chicken and store in the freezer to cook the next day)
- Shallow fry each kebab with a little canola oil for 4 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
Shallow-fry kebabs in a non-sick pan
Fry till kebabs are golden-brown each side
- Serve hot with coriander chutney or spicy Sriracha sauce on side. I usually serve the kebabs with hot, buttered baguette slices when I have children over.
When I was a child, I despised eating all vegetables. I remember how my mother used to spice up common veggies in interesting preparations, just to make them more palatable for me and my sisters. Tindora Bateta, eaten with fresh chappati’s, was one such veggie dish that I ate, simply because my mother made it taste so good!
Tindora Bateta is a vegetarian dish common in the Western, Southern & North-East parts of India. Growing up in Mumbai, I often saw my Gujarati & Maharashtrian friends bring it to school for lunch. Bateta, is Gujarati for Potatoes. The Tindora is a tropical vegetable that grows widely across India’s coastal regions. As is with most vegetables, the Tindora has nutritional properties, that are believed to reduce blood glucose levels, and is hence highly recommended to diabetics.
Tindora
The Tindora essentially, when eaten cooked, and without any seasoning, has a bitter taste. To make many Indian veggies palatable (such as the Karela & the Parwal), they are usually fried, cooked with potatoes, and seasoned with a range of spices. I learnt how to make Tindora Bateta from the ultimate cook on the planet – my Mother. It is a quick, simple and no-nonsense method. Hope you enjoy it!
You will need:
* 1/2 pound of Tindora – available in any Indian grocery store
* 3-4 medium sized potatoes, boiled, peeled and diced
* 1/2 medium sized onion, finely chopped
* Vegetable Oil for frying
* 1 tsp cumin seeds
* 1 pod of Garlic, minced
* 1 small thai green chili – sliced half lengthwise
* 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste (available, bottled, in all Indian grocery stores)
* 3/4 tsp chilli powder
* 1 tsp Dhania-zeera (Corriander & Cumin seed) powder
* 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
* 1/4 tsp Chaat masala powder
* Salt to taste – abt 1 tsp
* Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 a lemon
* A handful of Corriander leaves, finely chopped, for garnishing
The Method:
- Slice the Tindora like so:
Sliced Tindora
- Heat Oil in a shallow frying pan, for deep frying
- When the oil is well heated, Deep Fry the sliced Tindora in 2 batches, on high heat, till they are golden brown
- Drain the oil from the fried Tindora on a kitchen towel
- In a separate pan, spoon in 3 tbsp of oil, from the oil you used for deep frying
- When the oil is well heated, put in the whole cumin seeds
- When they start to splutter, throw in the sliced green chili, minced garlic and chopped oinion
- Let the onion fry till they are slightly browned
- Once browned, lower the heat and put in the ginger-garlic paste
- Let the paste fry in for abt 30 secs, before adding all the dry spices
- Mix the spices well into the onions and add in the diced boiled potatoes and the fried Tindora slices
- Mix very well, add salt to taste and turn off the heat
- Garnish with Corriander leaves and mix well again
- Before serving, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon
Tindora Bateta
- Eat with fresh hot chappati’s, or as an interesting side dish to the quintessential Daal-Chawal
This simple vegetarian recipe is as quick, healthy fix, and is one of the most commonly known Indian recipes in the west. Tastes best with fresh Roti’s or Paratha’s.
You will need:
* 3/4 head of a cauliflower – separate and wash the florets
* 3-4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
* 1 clove of Garlic – chopped
* 2 green chilies – sliced half
* 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
* 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
* 1 medium sized red onion – finely chopped
* 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
* Vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 2 teaspoon Cumin & Coriander powder (Dhania – Zeera powder)
* 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
* Salt to taste
* 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
* 1/2 teaspoon Chat masala powder
Method:
- In a medium sized pot, fill fresh water till it is half full and put to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, Cook the separated and washed Cauliflower florets in it for exactly 8 minutes.
- After 8 minutes, drain the cauliflower in fresh cold water in a strainer
- While the Cauliflower boils, in a frying pan, put about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to heat. Once well heated, fry the potatoes till they are crispy and light golden in color.
- Place the fried potatoes on a kitchen towel, to absorb any extra oil
- In a large pan / pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil
- Once heated, add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds
- As soon as they begin to crackle, throw in the chopped garlic and slit green chilies
- After a few seconds, add in the chopped onion
- Allow the onion to fry on medium heat till they brown a little
- Now add in the ginger garlic paste and all the dry spices
- Mix well and allow the spices to temper for about 30 seconds
- Finally, add in the fried potatoes and the boiled cauliflower
- Mix well and allow the veggies to fry in the pot for another minute or so
- Turn off heat, and garnish with a handful of fresh chopped Coriander leaves
