Recipe: Gobi Masala

I hosted my book club Sunday night and thematically served an all vegetarian, Indian-with-a-hint-of-Anglo meal (we read "The Indian Clerk," historical fiction but very much based on reality - the story of the Cambridge don and mathematician G. H. Hardy's encounter with the genius-but-unschooled mathematician and upper caste vegetarian Srinivasa Ramanujan, brought to Trinity College from South India and treated as an exotic specimen of "Hindoo calculator" by Hardy and his colleagues).

The menu: hariyali tikki sandwiches; chhole (chickpea curry) served with imli chutney and brown basmati with browned onions and peas; avial (yogurt curry); gobi masala (cauliflower) with chapatis; chopped raw mushrooms, mild radishes, and baby japanese turnips tossed with chaat masala and lemon and lime juice; red onion salad; and butternut squash raita. One of the book club members brought lemon almond whole grain tea bread and we had that with Concord grapes for dessert.

Gobi Masala for 8 (served alongside other dishes)
One head cauliflower, washed, trimmed and broken into bite-sized florets
One bunch collards, washed, ribbed, and shredded (I've used other mild greens, too)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tbsp. ground coriander seed
salt to taste

1" piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 tsp. red chilli powder

two small tomatoes, chopped
1/4 Cup hot water

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a wok or shallow sauce pan (make sure it's large enough that you can easily toss the quantity of vegetables). Saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the turmeric and ground coriander seed and saute until fragrant. Add the vegetables, salt, fresh ginger, and red chilli powder and toss to combine. Saute until every piece of cauliflower is coated with the mixture of onions, ginger, and spices. Toss in the chopped tomatoes, combine well, add the hot water, cover and let steam for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are well cooked, checking every now and then to stir/toss. Finish by removing the lid and allowing some of the excess water to evaporate, stirring.