Cauliflower Dum

Name: Cauliflower Dum
Yield: Serves 4 to 5
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon turmeric; ½ teaspoon garam masala (or store-bought); 2 to 3 tablespoons coriander leaves (optional); 1 teaspoon minced garlic or garlic mashed to a paste; 1 or 2 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; ¼ cup ghee, vegetable oil, or peanut oil; Scant 1 cup water; 2 teaspoons minced ginger or ginger mashed to a paste; 1 medium cauliflower (about 1½ pounds); 1 teaspoon salt; 2 green cayenne chiles, stemmed and slit lengthwise; Scant 1 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or canned); About 1 cup grated onion; 1 tablespoon coriander, preferably freshly ground; ¼ teaspoon cayenne

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 5

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Mangoes & Curry Leaves

By Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Published 2005

About

This North Indian dish of cauliflower coated with a thick, mellow tomato-onion sauce is really a treasure. Dum cooking means slow cooking in a tightly sealed heavy pot, a form of steaming. Flavors intensify during the slow cooking, and the cauliflower is transformed into a meltingly tender vegetable. You can dum cook on the stove top, but we usually prefer to bake this so that the stove top is left free for other cooking, and so we can forget about it until it’s ready.