Showing posts with label North Indian. Show all posts

Tinda Masala

I missed blogging last week. I am ready with my excuse - I was in Hyderabad on office work. I was put up in a hotel for an entire week and had to eat all my meals there. Hyderabad is definitely the chilli and I also think spice capital of India. I had my eyes watering and complaining that the food is too hot, while the Hyderabadis were surprised at my low spice tolerance. And I thought I ate spicy food!!!

By the time I returned home, all I wanted were the boring simple home food. Some cabbage or beans, may be? I was like that for a week. Finally as the weekend neared, I dared to go near some of the SPICES when I found these lovely TINDA in the market.

Tinda is known as apple gourd. It is native to the Indian sub continent. It resembles a guava or a green apple but is neither sweet nor does it have the texture of either of the 2 fruits. The closest in taste and texture is the bottlegourd or the lauki. It is basically a vegetable with a very mild taste and it tends to take on the flavour of what it is cooked with. I've added spices to the Tinda Masala , but in very little quantity.

Tinda Masala is a very simple recipe and can be even prepared by a novice in the kitchen. It is VEGAN and GLUTEN-FREE...

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1) Chop the Tinda into chunks and chop the tomatoes roughtly.
2) Heat oil in a kadhai / pan and add the cumin seeds.

3) Once the cumin seeds brown, add finely chopped tomato and fry for 1-2 minutes until the tomatoes soften.
4) Now add the Tinda and cover and cook on low heat. Add a little water if you feel the tinda will stick to the bottom of the pan.
5) When the tinda is almost done, add all the spices and salt. Cover and cook until the tinda is cooked through.

6) Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve with rotis.

Tinda Masala

Tinda Masala is a dry curry made using tinda or apple gourd, tomatoes and spices. Vegan and Gluten Free.

Recipe Type: Side
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients:

250 gms of Tinda
1 large Tomato
3-4 tsp of Oil
1 tsp of Cumin seeds / Jeera
1/2 tsp of Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp of Red chilli Powder
1 tsp of Coriander Powder
1/4 tsp of Garam Masala or Kitchen King Masala
A handful of fresh Coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method:

You can peel them or leave it as is. Remove the seedy pulp if the seeds are too large, else, you can let it be. Then, dice the Tinda into big chunks.
Heat oil in a kadhai / pan and add the cumin seeds.
Once the cumin seeds brown, add finely chopped tomato and fry for 1-2 minutes until the tomatoes soften.
Now add the Tinda and cover and cook on low heat. Add a little water if you feel the tinda will stick to the bottom of the pan.
When the tinda is almost done, add all the spices and salt. Cover and cook until the tinda is cooked through.
Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve with rotis.

Vegetable Jalfrezi Recipe | How to make vegetable jalfrezi | Mix vegetable curry [Video]

Vegetable Jalfrezi recipe with step by step photo and video instructions. Vegetable Jalfrezi is a mixed vegetable curry with a tomato based gravy. Vegetable Jalfrezi is gluten free and can be made to fit a vegan or plant based diet with simple replacements.

In a hurry? Jump to Video or Jump to Recipe

mix vegetable gravy paneer jalfrezi indian

Guests coming over and you wanna impress them? Or are you just bored of your usual dinner fare? Jalfrezi can be your answer. Try it !

I saw this lovely photo of Jalfrezi in a magazine, it had me salivating. That one photo was my inspiration to try my hand at Jalfrezi. Jalfrezi has made its presence felt worldwide. It was voted to be UK’s most popular Indian curry a few years ago. And who would believe making it was so easy.

The only effort needed is actually in cutting the vegetables, but you can totally skip it by buying already cut veggies from the supermarket or using your food processor. And you can relax doing your crossword or watching your favorite show on TV, while it simmers slowly. All it needs is like a check around 5-10 mins. Open the pan, peek, stir, close and back to what ever you were doing. Lovely, isn't it?

The best part is, you can add any vegetables you fancy or use up all your leftover vegetables at the end of the week to make it. I would however recommend adding baby corn as I felt it gives it an added crunch. To make it vegan, replace the paneer with Tofu or totally skip it, you won't be missing out on anything.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook, tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo @oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

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Vegetable Jalfrezi

Vegetable Jalfrezi is a popular Indian mix vegetable curry with a tomato based gravy. Vegetable Jalfrezi is gluten free and vegetarian. It can be made vegan by either skipping the Paneer or swapping it out for Tofu.

Recipe Type: Curry
Cuisine: North Indian
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 3-4

Ingredients:

1 large Onion
3 Tomatoes
0.5 cup Cauliflower florets
0.5 cup Broccoli florets
1 Carrot
8-10 Green Beans
8-10 Baby corn
0.5 Capsicum (or a mix of colored Capsicums/Peppers)
2 Tbsp chopped Coriander leaves
50 gms Paneer or Tofu
1 Tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
2 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup
1.5 cups Water
3 Tbsp + 2 tsp Vegetable Oil
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder (Haldi)
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala or Garam Masala
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Sugar or Jaggery (Optional but recommended)
1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a kadhai. Cut the paneer into batons and fry them lightly until golden brown on all sides. Remove from heat and keep aside.
2. Add the remaining oil to the kadhai and add the cumin seeds.
3. Add the finely chopped onions and saute until golden brown.
4. Add in the ginger garlic paste and saute until fragrant.
5. Puree the tomatoes and add in the kadhai.
6. Cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until the oil separates.
7. Add in the ketchup and mix well.
8. Now the vegetables like cauliflower, carrot and beans which take a little longer to cook.
9. Add water.
10. Cook on medium heat until the vegetables are almost done.
11. Now add the remaining vegetables like baby corn, broccoli, capsicum.
12. Add the turmeric powder, kitchen king masala, red chilli powder and salt.
13. Cook until the vegetables are done and the curry has the desired consistency. If it is too thin, you can cook it a little longer.
14. Add the paneer to the gravy.
15. Add sugar/jaggery to suit your taste.
16. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis or rice.

Step by Step Recipe with Photos:

1) Cut all vegetables except the onion and tomato into baton sized pieces. Cut the paneer /tofu similarly Chop the onion finely. Puree the tomato.

2) Heat oil in a large pan and add the cumin seeds.

3) Once they brown slightly, add the onions and saute until they are translucent. Add the ginger garlic paste and mix well.

4) Add the tomato puree.

5) Add ketchup.

6) Cook on low heat until the oil separates. Approximately 8-10 minutes.

7) Now the vegetables like cauliflower, carrot and beans which take a little longer to cook.

8) Add water. Cook on medium high heat until the vegetables are almost done.

9) Now add the remaining vegetables like baby corn, broccoli, capsicum.

Add the turmeric powder, kitchen king masala, red chilli powder and salt.

Cook until the vegetables are done and the curry has the desired consistency. If it is too thin, you can cook it a little longer.

10) In the meanwhile, heat 1 tsp of oil in a non stick pan. When the oil is hot, add the paneer / tofu.

11) Fry until the paneer is slightly brown.

12) Add the paneer to the gravy. Add sugar/jaggery to suit your taste.

13) Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Palak Mooli | Spinach with Radish

I’d heard of Aloo Palak and Aloo Methi, but never of Palak Mooli. Over lunch, one Rajasthani colleague mentioned that they make palak mooli. I generally make mooli sabzi with its own greens, but never with any other greens. The greens mellow down the spiciness of the mooli. But finding fresh mooli with its own greens is quite a task in Bangalore. The only people who sell it are the ones with the carts. If you buy mooli from supermarkets, then they definitely won’t have the greens. This sabzi works well then. I immediately picked up mooli and palak the next day and decided to give it a try. I must say I like this more than the Aloo Palak…

Palak Mooli | Spinach with Radish

A Rajasthani dry curry made with white radish and spinach

Recipe Type: Side
Cuisine: Indian / Rajasthani
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 2 Servings

Ingredients:

1 Mooli / White Radish / Daikon(longer than 6 inches, else, you may need 2 small ones)
2 Cups Palak / Spinach
1 Onion
1 Tomato
3 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
2 cloves Garlic
1/2" piece Ginger
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1-2 tsp Red Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Amchur powder(Optional)
Salt

Method:

Chop the onion finely.

Crush the garlic and ginger and chop finely ( or grate them )

Wash the palak leaves and chop them finely.

Peel and cut the mooli. I slit the mooli lengthwise twice and then cut into slices.

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds.

Once they splutter, add the cumin seeds.

Once the cumin seeds brown, add the onion, ginger and garlic.

Fry until the onions are slightly browned.

Chop the tomato and add to the oil.

Fry for 1-2 mins until the tomatoes have softened.

Add the mooli and the palak.

Add the turmeric powder and red chilli powder, mix well.

Cover and cook until the mooli is done.

Add salt and amchur powder.

Mix well.

Serve hot with rotis.

Bombay Pav Bhaji

The reason I call this the Bombay Pav Bhaji is because I eat and make 2 kinds of Pav bhajis and it gets confusing about which one I'm talking about. The other one being the Goan Pav bhaji ( recipe will be posted soon). The Bombay pav bhaji is the red coloured pav bhaji most commonly eaten across India in restaurants or small chaat carts / gaadis . As a kid, eating out meant small snacks in the evenings, as restaurant culture had not yet caught on as it has today. We would go on my dad's Bajaj scooter to our favorite chaat cart/ gaadi in the market to eat Pav bhaji. With very low tolerance for spices, I was generally stuck eating just butter pav. But as I grew up, the spice tolerance also grew and I was able to enjoy this spicy red bhaji with the greasy yet amazingly tasty butter pav. I'm sure a lot of us have similar memories of the 1990s. Till date, whenever I go home, I make it a point to go to the same gaadi and eat the same pav bhaji. I don't know his secret recipe that makes it so yummy, but I do make it my way at home... The recipe that follows is the way I make it at home...

Bombay Pav Bhaji

A popular Bombay street food consisting of spicy mix vegetable mash and bread rolls/pav.

Recipe Type: Snacks
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

3 medium Potato
1 cup chopped Tomato
3/4 cup chopped Onion
1/2 cup chopped Capsicum
1/4 cup chopped Carrot
1/2 cup Cauliflower (broken into small florets or chopped)
1/4 cup Green peas
3-4 cloves or 1 Tbsp paste of Garlic
1" piece or 1 Tbsp paste of Ginger
2 Tbsp Pav bhaji masala (In case you don't have this available, use Garam masala - 1/2 tsp, Coriander powder - 1 tsp, Amchur/ Dry mango powder - 1/4 tsp, Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp)
A pinch of Garam masala
2 Tbsp Butter
Red chilli powder - To taste
Salt - To taste
A handful of Coriander leaves
Lemon wedges

Method:

Boil and peel the potatoes

Boil the carrot, cauliflower, peas and capsicum.

Grind the ginger-garlic into a fine paste.

Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a kadhai or pan

Add the onions and fry until golden brown.

Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes and fry until soft and cooked.

Add all the remaining vegetables and mash them.

Add all the spices and salt.

Add a little water to achieve the desired consistency

Boil for 5-6 mins

Add 1 tbsp of butter on top

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves

Serve hot with some lemon wedges, chopped onion and buttered Pav

Bharwan Bhindi | Stuffed Okra Fry

It was a hatrick of stuffed bhindi two weeks ago. Bhindi(Okra) is our least favorite vegetable at home, so it is brought into the house once every blue moon. The way I can eat it, is the way hubby dearest hates it. The way he likes it, I don't. So tired of these bhindi wars, when I was grumbling to my friend about cooking bhindi, she gave me a couple of recipes. I tried her first one, and both of us seemed to like it. Next day, I tried something a colleague at office suggested, that tasted a little better... and finally i tried stuffing the bhindi with coconut and coriander as per Tarla Dalal (a variation also suggested by my friend), this version was our favorite of the 3 we tried...

Bharwan Bhindi | Stuffed Okra Fry

Okra/Bhindi stuffed with spice powders and pan fried.

Recipe Type: Side
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Yield: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

20-25 Bhindi or Okra
3 Tbsp grated fresh Coconut
2 Tbsp fresh Coriander leaves (chopped)
1 Tbsp Chickpea Flour or Besan
1/2 tsp Jaggery or Sugar
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Amchur (dry Mango powder)
2Tbsp Oil
1-2 tsp Water
Salt

Method:

Trim the bhindi and make a slit lengthwise on one side of the bhindi.

Mix together all the ingredients for the stuffing.

Stuff the bhindis with the stuffing.

Add at least ½ - 1 tsp per bhindi.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a flat pan or a tava with high edges.

Place the bhindi in a single layer in the pan. The bhindi should not overlap each other.

Pour the remaining 1 tbsp oil over the bhindi.

Keep turning the bhindi until they are cooked.

Serve hot with rice or roti.

Corn Tomato Bharta Recipe | How to make tomato bharta [Video]

Corn Tomato Bharta recipe with video instructions. Corn Tomato Bharta is a vegan curry made with flame roasted tomatoes and sweet corn. This smoky curry is gluten free and vegan.

In a hurry? Jump to Video or Jump to Recipe

Grilled juicy Tomatoes. Boiled Sweet Corn. Fresh Spices. A marriage made in HEAVEN!

The sweetness of the corn marries well with the tanginess of the tomatoes and the sprinkling of spices, just make this Corn Tomato Bharta so delicious.

It was fate that make me sample this Corn Tomato Bharta. We planned to eat at a particular restaurant but the long winding queue of people waiting to be seated, made us change our mind and go to a new place. Since, we'd never heard of Corn Tomato Bharta, we decided to take a chance and try it. Try it, we did. Love it, we did.

How can I sample something new and not try to make it myself? I tried many versions and finally settled on this recipe.

What is a Bharta?

Bharta is a curry or sabzi made by grilling a vegetable directly on open flame or coals. The most frequently grilled vegetable is eggplant or brinjal to make Baingan ka Bharta.

Tomato Bharta is a village recipe in which the tomatoes and onions are grilled over coals until they are soft and then mashed to make the curry. Here, I have pureed the onions and tomatoes and cooked them further to make a spicy gravy. I have also added sweet corn for flavor and texture.

Tomato Bharta is very similar to the Bengali / Bangladeshi Tomato Vorta and the Trinidad Tomato Choka.

You can also grill the tomatoes in the oven or roast on a frying pan with little oil in it.

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Corn Tomato Bharta Recipe | How to make tomato bharta

Corn Tomato Bharta is a vegan curry made of fire roasted tomatoes and sweet corn. Tomatoes and onions are roasted on an open flame, charring them and adding a smoky flavor. The onions and tomatoes are pureed and cooked along with spices to make the base of the curry. Boiled sweet corn is added for the slight sweetness and texture. Corn Tomato Bharta is vegan and gluten free.

Recipe Type: Side
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Yield: Serves 2-3

Author: Anupama

Ingredients:

3 Tomatoes
1 Onion
1 cup Sweet Corn
3-4 Garlic cloves
0.5" Ginger
2 Tbsp Oil
1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1-2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped
Salt to taste
Water as required

Method:

1. Grill the whole tomatoes over an open gas flame until the skin is charred and the tomato softens or rrill the tomatoes in an oven for 20 mins. Turn them every 7-8 mins.
2. Allow the tomatoes to cool, then peel and puree them.
3. Grill an onion on the open flame until the skin is charred or it can also be grilled along with the tomatoes in the oven.
4. Once the onion is cool, peel it. Blend it along with garlic and ginger into a smooth puree. Add a little water to help the blending if required.
5. Boil the corn until done. Takes around 4-5 mins in the microwave.
6. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds
7. Once the cumin seeds brown slightly, add the onion-ginger-garlic paste and fry until it turns light brown
8. Add the tomato puree and add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder.
9. Cook until the oil separates or for 8-10 mins on low flame while stirring frequently
10. Add water to achieve the desired consistency and cook for another 2 mins
11. Add the salt and corn and simmer for 1 min
12. Serve hot with rotis

If you liked this, you may also like:

Punjabi Dum Aloo

Double Beans Masala

Amritsari Chhole

Dalia Pulao | Broken Wheat with vegetables

I always thought Dalia was a sick man’s food. Until my sister convinced me it was actually tasty. I bought broken wheat from the store but still stared at it with apprehension. Then almost a month after buying it, I decided it was high time I used it. Pleasant surprise! That’s what it was. It tastes very much like uppit/ upma. And it is supposed to be very healthy as the broken wheat is hardly processed.

Dalia Pulao | Broken Wheat with vegetables

Thick porridge made using broken wheat and vegetables.

Recipe Type: Breakfast
Cuisine: North Indian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Yield: 2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

½ cup Dalia/ Broken Wheat
1 cup mixed Vegetables(French beans / carrots / capsicum/ green peas)
1 small Onion
1 small Tomato
2-3 Green Chillies
5-6 Curry leaves
2 cups Water
3 tsp Oil
1 tsp Cumin seeds
½ Tbsp Lime juice
A handful of Coriander leaves
Salt

Method:

In a pressure cooker, add 1 tsp of oil and lightly roast the broken wheat for around 1 min. (You can skip this step)

Remove the broken wheat into a plate

Add the remaining oil in the cooker and add the cumin seeds

Once the cumin splutters, add the curry leaves, chopped onions and chopped green chillies

Fry until the onions are done

Add the tomato and fry for 1 min

Add the remaining vegetables and fry for another 1 min

Add the 2 cups of water and salt

Add the broken wheat and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles or 10 mins.

Add the lime juice and freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve hot

Dal Makhani

Friday nights call for something special. With the heavy rains, eating out was out of question. Who's ready to battle Bangalore traffic when it rains? So it was time to make something easy and special at home. So here comes Dal Makhani. Although the name suggests makhan aka butter, it really does not have too much. Infact, I made it without any butter. You can add a spoonful at the end.

Ingredients:

Whole black urad dal - 1/2 cup
Red kidney beans / Rajma - 2 tbsp
Tomato - 2 medium
Onion - 1 medium or 2 small
Ginger - 1" piece
Garlic - 1-2
Coriander powder / Dhania powder - 3-4 tsp
Cumin powder / Jeera powder - 1-2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp
Oil - 3 tsp
Salt
Water

Method:

Soak the urad dal and the rajma for around 6-8 hours.
Pressure cook them in water until soft. Urad dal cooks very soon, around 3-4 whistles or 10 mins. Rajma, however, takes much longer. It took me around 45 mins on low
flame after 1 whistle to cook rajma.
Also, while cooking rajma, do not use the water that it was soaked in. Use fresh water.
Puree the onion along with the ginger and garlic
Puree the tomato
Heat oil in a kadhai and add the cumin seeds
Once they brown, add the onion paste and cook for 2-3 mins
Add the tomato puree and all the spices and cook on low flame for 10-12 mins. Add 1-2 tbsp water if it starts burning.
Add the urad dal and rajma.
Add salt and water.Adjust water according to the desired consistency.
Cook for another 5-7 mins.
Serve hot with rice or roti

Aloo gobi

Sunday nights bring out mixed emotions… Weekend isn’t yet over but the week is visible at the horizon. Sunday nights confuse my brain, should I be happy that it is still the weekend? Or should I be sad that Monday is approaching? Whenever I am in confusion or in sadness, I find solace in food (hence, the weight issues). So food has to be simple, so as not to add to the confusion, and tasty, so it improves my mood. Aloo gobi is a perfect meal for Sunday nights. Easy to make and yummy too. It is a recipe that can seldom go wrong. So go ahead and add a teaspoon of life to aloo gobi…

Ingredients:

Cauliflower – ½ large or 1 small

Potatoes – 2 medium

Onion - 1 medium

Garlic – 2-3 cloves

Ginger – 1” piece

Green chillies – 1-2

Oil – 4 tsp

Cumin seeds / Jeera – 1 tsp

Kasuri methi – 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder / haldi – 1 tsp

Red chili powder – ½-1 tsp

Garam masala – ½ tsp

Coriander powder / Dhania powder – 2 tsp

Cumin powder / Jeera powder – 1 tsp

Hing – a pinch

Coriander leaves – a handful

Method:

Wash the cauliflower in warm water and salt and split into small florets

Peel and cube the potatoes

Cook the potatoes with water and salt until almost done (around 6-7 mins)

Heat oil in a kadhai and add the cumin seeds and chopped green chillies

Add crushed ginger and garlic and chopped onions. You may use ginger garlic paste instead.

Fry until the onion turns translucent.

Add kasuri methi, hing, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder and cumin powder

Fry for 1 min

Add the cauliflower florets and mix well

Cover and cooke for 7-8 mins until the cauliflower is almost done

Add the potatoes and salt and cover and cook until both potato and cauliflower are done

Serve hot with roti.

Gobi Mussallam

Gobi mussallam is actually an entire head of cauliflower or gobi cooked in a tomato and cream based gravy. I searched the internet for this recipe but nothing looked similar to the one I eat at a restaurant near my house. So I decided to use the ingredients mentioned and just make it with instinct. Well, that worked, and I got a yummy gobi mussallam. I did not use an entire head of cauliflower as I was looking at making a smaller quantity, so I just cut it into florets and used.

Gobi mussallam

Steam and fry the gobi

Fry onion, ginger, garlic paste along with the whole spices

Add tomato and all the powder spices and cook for 15 mins

Add milk and cook until desired consistency is reached

Cauliflower cooked in a creamy tomato gravy

Serve hot with roti or rice

Gobi Mussallam

Head of cauliflower cooked in a tomato and cream based gravy. Vegetarian cauliflower curry.
Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: North Indian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Yield: Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1/2 large or 1 small Cauliflower
3 Tomatoes
3 Onion
4 cloves Garlic
1" piece of Ginger
1/4 cup Cashew nuts (Optional)
4 tsp Coriander powder / Dhania powder
1-2 tsp Cumin powder / Jeera powder
1 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder / Haldi
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1 Bay leaf /Tej patta
1-2 Clove / Lawang
1 Star anise
4-5 Peppercorns
1 small piece Cinnamon / Dalchini(about 1.5")
1 Cardamom / Elaichi
1 cup Milk
5-6 tsp Oil
Salt
4-5 Almonds (Optional)
A handful of Coriander leaves

Method:

Soak cashew nuts in warm water. If you don't have cashew nuts you can skip this.
Break cauliflower into large florets.
Soak cauliflower in hot water with 1 tsp of salt added to it for around 2 mins.
Steam or boil the cauliflower until almost done. It should not be completely cooked and it should still be crunchy. I steamed it for around 3-4 mins.
Remove the cauliflower and pat them dry using a kitchen towel
Heat 3 tsp of oil in a kadhai and fry the cauliflower until they slightly brown
Remove the cauliflower form heat and keep aside
Puree the onion, ginger and garlic in the mixer
Puree the soaked cashew nuts using a little water
Puree the tomatoes
Heat the remaining oil in a kadhai and add the onion paste
Add the bay leaf, clove, star anise, peppercorns, cinnamon and cardamom and fry until the onion turns slightly brown. Add more oil or a little water if the paste starts sticking to the bottom of the kadhai
Add tomato and cashew nut puree
Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder and garam masala and cook on low flame for 10-15 mins. Keep stirring to avoid the paste from burning or sticking to the bottom of the kadhai. I cooked for almost 15 mins.
Add the milk and salt and continue cooking on low flame until the gravy obtains the consistency needed. I cooked it for around 5-10 mins more.
Add the cauliflower and cook for 2 mins
Garnish with chopped almonds and finely chopped coriander leaves
Serve hot with roti or rice