At a house-sitting gig, I perused Yamuna Devi’s excellent cookbook, The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. Then I scrounged the fridge and found almost all the ingredients to make “Gobhi hari matar sabji” or Sauteed cauliflower and green peas. It was the perfect combination — Nancy’s excellent kitchen and cookbook recommendation, combined with Barry’s parents’ home-grown cauliflower and peas.
3 T butter
1/2 T minced fresh ginger
1-1/2 t cumin seeds
1 head of cauliflower, cleaned and separated into flowerettes
1 t turmeric
1/2 t paprika
Pinch cayenne
Handful of minced fresh flat leaf parsley
2 C peas
3 T water
1 t salt
1/3 C heavy cream
In a very large skillet with a lid (cast iron is great!), melt the butter and saute the cumin seeds and ginger until fragrant. Stir in the cauliflower, turmeric, cayenne, and paprika. Cook until the cauliflower is browned, then add the water and reduce heat to low. If the peas are fresh, simmer the cauliflower mixture for about 10 minutes and add the peas for another 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Otherwise, wait until the cauliflower is done to stir in frozen or cooked peas, parsley, salt, and cream. Heat through and serve with flatbread (found some Trader Joe’s whole wheat nan in the fridge, too!) or rice.