Fifty Weeks, Fifty Curries: Week Forty-Five: Cauliflower Gashi
I was all set to write here about how cauliflower was my favorite vegetable to have with a meal, but after a bit of reflection that's not really true. My favorite vegetable is definitely asparagus. Of course, I'm not willing to buy asparagus trucked thousands of miles out of season, so I only it for a couple months during the summer except for a few occasions when I get it at restaurants. Cauliflower comes in at second, though. The way that softlykarou usually makes it, baked with balsamic vinegar, is incredibly good, but it's just as tasty raw with hummus or, more relevant to the whole point of this blog post, mixed into curry.
So unlike eggplant curry, where I was coming into it with a significant negative bias which ended up being confirmed, here I ended up assuming I would like it and I was right. You can say that's evidence of biased results on the evaluation of these curries, and I would say that you are absolutely correct. Creamy potato curry is coming up and I'm 99% sure I'll hate that too!
Actually, it's about ethics in amateur food blogging.
Delicious cauliflower. Though honestly, my gaze is drawn to that startato on the corner.
This curry was really creamy, but not so creamy that I didn't like it. Like I mentioned last week, I have a lot of food texture issues--last week's Japanese lesson, I spent about two thirds of the lesson explaining the foods I dislike instantly based on texture alone and why that is--and things that are too creamy often run the knife edge of being too watery-thick for me to like. I didn't have that problem this week, though, maybe because once again, softlykarou just used coconut milk when the recipe called for an hour-long process to rend coconut flesh down into coconut milk. What's the point of even doing that, anyway? Is it actually worth the time, because I don't think we've ever found it to be better than just using canned coconut milk.
Regardless, eight tablespoons of oil and a bunch of coconut milk made a pretty nice base that the potatoes thickened up just enough to provide a nice consistency without making the curry mealy. The cauliflower had enough crunch that it provided a good snap between some of the bites, and there was a bit of toasted coconut thrown in for flavor. There wasn't much spice, but cauliflower gashi makes up for the lack of heat with a nice, homey taste. Definitely the kind of thing I'd eat on cold winter mornings; or at least, on cold winter mornings in places where I didn't have central heating.
Thanks again to tropicanaomega for the new blender, which makes mixing curries a whole lot easier.
Words from the ChefCauliflower is one of my favorite things to have in curry, so I've been looking forward to this curry for a while. I've noticed that I actually tend to have a preference for vegetarian curries over meat curries. I think the flavors come out more or that there are more textures, but it may just be me. I'd make this curry any time, it was filling and delicious. The starch from the potatoes mixed well with the coconut milk, making for a firm but creamy gravy. The potatoes were also cooked just right, fork tender *pats self on back*. Having it with a green veggie like brussle sprouts instead of the rice the book suggests was a good choice for us. In the past when dorchadas and I have had potato dishes with rice, it's felt like a heavier meal for both of us. Plus I believe there's rarely such a thing as too many veggies!
Cinnamon stick added for color.
The brussel sprouts were a great idea, if I may say so myself.
As the erudite softlykarou states, we tend to avoid more than one bready or starchy item in a meal. When I order a burger, if it comes with fries I usually don't get a bun, and if it would be impossible to eat without a bun I usually get a salad. Any of these curries that are supposed to be served with rice, I'll generally speak against it if that would lead to rice and potatoes or something similar. Here, softlykarou roasted the brussel sprouts so that they were deliciously crispy, making them the perfect counterpoint to the creamy curry.
And I had roast chuck with sauerkraut on the side, because you know. Hey, everything should have more sauerkraut in it.
Seriously, look at those brussel sprouts. Look at them.
This doesn't quite rise to the level of egg kurma in that it creates a vegetarian meal that I feel satisfied eating, but it was still the centerpiece of the meal even with all the sides I piled around it. We're having Thai curry tomorrow and then leftovers on Tuesday, and softlykarou mentioned that means I could have another all-curry meal if I wanted. And I'm actually pretty tempted, though I know it would be too much food. Thai curry is already pretty hearty the way we make it and adding this on top of it might be overkill. On the other hand, it might be worth it...
Would I Eat It Again?: Yes.
Do I Prefer It to the Usual Thai Curry?: No. It's good, but it's still not substantial enough for that.
What Would I Change?: I can't actually think of anything I dislike about it. It's perfect for what it is, and that's not an insult. This is a side dish for me, but one of the best ones out of this book.
So unlike eggplant curry, where I was coming into it with a significant negative bias which ended up being confirmed, here I ended up assuming I would like it and I was right. You can say that's evidence of biased results on the evaluation of these curries, and I would say that you are absolutely correct. Creamy potato curry is coming up and I'm 99% sure I'll hate that too!
Actually, it's about ethics in amateur food blogging.
Delicious cauliflower. Though honestly, my gaze is drawn to that startato on the corner.
This curry was really creamy, but not so creamy that I didn't like it. Like I mentioned last week, I have a lot of food texture issues--last week's Japanese lesson, I spent about two thirds of the lesson explaining the foods I dislike instantly based on texture alone and why that is--and things that are too creamy often run the knife edge of being too watery-thick for me to like. I didn't have that problem this week, though, maybe because once again, softlykarou just used coconut milk when the recipe called for an hour-long process to rend coconut flesh down into coconut milk. What's the point of even doing that, anyway? Is it actually worth the time, because I don't think we've ever found it to be better than just using canned coconut milk.
Regardless, eight tablespoons of oil and a bunch of coconut milk made a pretty nice base that the potatoes thickened up just enough to provide a nice consistency without making the curry mealy. The cauliflower had enough crunch that it provided a good snap between some of the bites, and there was a bit of toasted coconut thrown in for flavor. There wasn't much spice, but cauliflower gashi makes up for the lack of heat with a nice, homey taste. Definitely the kind of thing I'd eat on cold winter mornings; or at least, on cold winter mornings in places where I didn't have central heating.
Thanks again to tropicanaomega for the new blender, which makes mixing curries a whole lot easier.
Words from the ChefCauliflower is one of my favorite things to have in curry, so I've been looking forward to this curry for a while. I've noticed that I actually tend to have a preference for vegetarian curries over meat curries. I think the flavors come out more or that there are more textures, but it may just be me. I'd make this curry any time, it was filling and delicious. The starch from the potatoes mixed well with the coconut milk, making for a firm but creamy gravy. The potatoes were also cooked just right, fork tender *pats self on back*. Having it with a green veggie like brussle sprouts instead of the rice the book suggests was a good choice for us. In the past when dorchadas and I have had potato dishes with rice, it's felt like a heavier meal for both of us. Plus I believe there's rarely such a thing as too many veggies!
Cinnamon stick added for color.
The brussel sprouts were a great idea, if I may say so myself.
As the erudite softlykarou states, we tend to avoid more than one bready or starchy item in a meal. When I order a burger, if it comes with fries I usually don't get a bun, and if it would be impossible to eat without a bun I usually get a salad. Any of these curries that are supposed to be served with rice, I'll generally speak against it if that would lead to rice and potatoes or something similar. Here, softlykarou roasted the brussel sprouts so that they were deliciously crispy, making them the perfect counterpoint to the creamy curry.
And I had roast chuck with sauerkraut on the side, because you know. Hey, everything should have more sauerkraut in it.
Seriously, look at those brussel sprouts. Look at them.
This doesn't quite rise to the level of egg kurma in that it creates a vegetarian meal that I feel satisfied eating, but it was still the centerpiece of the meal even with all the sides I piled around it. We're having Thai curry tomorrow and then leftovers on Tuesday, and softlykarou mentioned that means I could have another all-curry meal if I wanted. And I'm actually pretty tempted, though I know it would be too much food. Thai curry is already pretty hearty the way we make it and adding this on top of it might be overkill. On the other hand, it might be worth it...
Would I Eat It Again?: Yes.
Do I Prefer It to the Usual Thai Curry?: No. It's good, but it's still not substantial enough for that.
What Would I Change?: I can't actually think of anything I dislike about it. It's perfect for what it is, and that's not an insult. This is a side dish for me, but one of the best ones out of this book.