Cauliflower Bake

Cauliflower/Phool Gobi/Hoo-kosu/Poo-kosu – one of my favourite veggies right from childhood is something that can cheer me up in no time. Do you agree that some veggies cheer you up, while some others depress you? Yeah, so cauliflower is one of my personal anti-depressants (we’ll talk about the depressing veggies some other time, not now). After a long and tiring day with my students at college couple of days back, I was wishing for a Cheering Charm from the world of Harry Potter! How I wish they were for real 😉

This baked dish is pretty easy and takes just about 25-30 minutes to make. Give just another 5 minutes to prepare the Garlic bread (since your oven is already hot from the bake, no need to pre-heat!), and dinner is fixed in a good half hour! Nice eh? Perfect for weekday dinners, when you’re tired and need something yummy to make you feel better.

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower – 1 no (large-sized; cut into bite-sized florets and soaked in salt-water)
• Onion – 2 nos (large-sized; grated/minced)
• Tomatoes – 2 nos (large-sized; grated/minced)
• Ginger – 1″ long piece, freshly grated
• Garlic – 5-6 pods, grated/minced
• Green chillies – 3 nos, finely chopped/minced
• Sour cream/Hung-curd – 4-5 tbsps
• Coriander/Cilantro – a handful, finely chopped
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 2 tsps
• Cheddar Cheese – 1/4 cup

Procedure:

• Pre-heat the oven to 230C/450F.
• In a wok, heat the oil and saute the onions, ginger and garlic till the onions are cooked tender.
• Add the green chillies and tomatoes. Cook till tomatoes are mushy.
• Add salt and cook another minute or two.
• Drain the cauliflower of all water and add to the wok. Stir well and cook covered for about 10 minutes, till the cauliflower pieces are firm but near done.
• Stir in the coriander and remove from flame.
• Add the sour cream and stir well.
• Transfer to a microwave-safe dish. Top with cheese and bake  till the cheese gets bubbly, about 10-12 minutes. Give it a standing time of another 3-5 minutes.
• Serve hot with freshly prepared Garlic bread. Lip-smacking!