This is another classic, cruciferous veggie recipe from the Punjab region in the north of India,  but I have put a twist on it by using purple sweet potato instead of the small red potatoes that my grandmother used to use.  I had these beautiful purple sweet potatoes so I couldn’t resist using them.  My recipes often evolve depending on what ingredients I happen to have on hand.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large head or 2 small heads of cauliflower.  I have two small heads here that were grown by my neighbor, Billy
• 2 purple sweet potatoes (you can use whatever potato you have on hand)
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 2 green chilies
• 10 curry leaves (optional, if you don’t have these leave them out)
• 2 inches of ginger
• juice of 1 small lemon (in the photo the yellow cube in the center is a cube of frozen lemon juice.  When I get a lot of lemons from my neighbor’s tree, I juice them and freeze them into cubes for use later.)
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon of nigella seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala
• 3 tablespoons of grapeseed oil
• salt and pepper to taste

PREP:

• Using a paring knife, break up the cauliflower into medium sized florets
• Slice the purple sweet potatoes into disks
• Peel the ginger and mince it
• Finely mince the green chilies
• Remove the curry leaves from their stems.  The curry leaves are used whole and they are edible.
• Remove the cilantro leaves from their stems.  Set aside a handful of leaves for garnish.  Chop up the remaining leaves and stems to use them in the cooking process.

COOK:

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• Coat a heavy stainless steel skillet with grapeseed oil.  Turn the flame to medium and heat the oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the cauliflower and purple sweet potato first.  Then add the, ginger, chilies, curry leaves, cilantro and all three seeds.
• Toss everything together and sauté until the seeds are toasted and the vegetables are slightly brown.  This should take about 5 minutes.
• At this point, sprinkle on the powdered spices and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Sauté for another 5 minutes so that the spices have a chance to toast.
• Now add the lemon juice.  Turn the flame to low and cover with a lid.  Cook covered until the veggies are tender.
• Once the veggie are cooked, turn off the flame.  Taste the dish and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.  Keep the lid on till you are ready to serve.
• When you are ready to serve, remove the lid and toss in the reserved cilantro leaves for garnish.

Transfer the veggies to a serving platter.  We usually serve it family style.  If I am throwing a formal dinner party, I will serve it as part of a plated dish.  It can be served with any protein you like.  Below it is served with my Amritsari Masala Fish.

Most Indian people are vegetarian, so they serve it with dal and plain yogurt.  I have posted my Autumn Dal recipe if you would like to refer to it.  You can buy yogurt from the store, or if you would like to make your own yogurt see my  Mom’s Yogurt recipe.

I would appreciate your feedback.  Please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts.