Coconut flavored Cauliflower,Potato and Green peas curry.......

Without coconut or coconut milk...surprised...well read on to know how this happened. I am one of those people that never stocks coconut milk at home..since I rarely use coconut milk in my cooking,it is not something I miss.

Normally cauliflower for me as a curry normally means dry Indian curry like the aloo gobi or a gravy curry usually with a tomato base.This week I had a hankering for something different and I thought of making cauliflower curry with a coconut flavored gravy base.As I did not have coconut milk, I just went ahead and used milk and some coconut extract to give it that coconut milky taste instead.

This was the first time I tried using coconut extract in a savory side dish,normally I reserve that for baking ,but in this case it worked.I made up this recipe as I went along and was very happy with the results of this experiment.

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and method to make the coconut flavored cauliflower and potato curry

2 medium red onions cut fine
4 medium white potatoes diced ( keep the skin if the potatoes are newer)
4 heaped cups cauliflower florets
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder ( or according to taste)
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional )
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 cups of water
1 cup milk
1 tsp coconut extract

3 tbsp olive oil

handful of cilantro leaves (cut fine ) for garnish

Dry roast the cumin seeds and fennel seeds together until they are slightly browner and keep aside.

When the seeds are cool grind together to a fine powder

Heat olive oil in a large heavy pan and add the chopped onions to this and saute until onions are transparent.

Add the cauliflower,peas and potatoes ,salt to taste, chilli powder and water and let it simmer together until the veggies are cooked.

Add garam masala and ground cumin + fennel seeds powder.

Let this simmer for another minute or so.

Lastly add the milk and the coconut extract and on a low to medium heat simmer for a couple of minutes.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice, roti or bread.

Serves about 4.

Notes:

Substitute coconut milk instead of milk and coconut extract in case you like that.

In case you like the taste of fennel and want it to be more pronounced in this dish you can increase the quantity of fennel seeds in this recipe. The quantity I used gave this dish a very subtle flavor of fennel.

If you want a subtle flavor of coconut instead of strong flavor reduce the quantity of coconut extract to half a teaspoon

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This is my entry into Culinarty Original Recipe Event being hosted by Lore