My mother has always had this vast, Aladdin’s cave of herbs and spices that she viewed as essential in food and equally essential in our cooking education. An old coffee grinder, that is likely older than me, serves as a spice grinder for an array of whole spices that live on the top shelf before being toasted, ground and decanted into the jars for the ground spices on the bottom shelf.
In my childhood memories I can still remember being taken to the Bangladeshi food shops in Yorkshire, so that she could get spices you couldn’t find in supermarkets in those days, bulk bags of rice, beans, pulses and the occasional trip the butcher – As welcoming as my parents have been my diets, my parents have never been vegan. Thanks to this, my education in spices and flavour started in those spice shops in Yorkshire. On one memorable occasion I wandered off while my mother was paying and started to play in the chilies section so a glowing woman in a sari taught me why that was a bad idea and why each shiny fruit was different. On special occasions we would make biriyani, which could take all day, as the center piece of the table. Other days, we would be challenged to see just how creative we could be in the kitchen and I have one memory of one of my siblings making a parsnip pie with garam masala and chilli (possibly other things as well). I, being the horrible child that I was, refused to eat it as it both had parsnips in it, which I hated, and was too spicy. Everyone else loved it.
In traditional Indian households pressure cookers often play a central role in the cooking as they can enhance the spices and push in flavours, so it is in this dish. There’s no need for cream or yoghurt substitutes as the cashews add the same smoothness of those additives and they also act to thicken the sauce. I would suggest to pay attention to the instructions to turn off the pot after sauteing as the pot may need to cool down before coming up to pressure. As you’re working on minimum liquid these suggestions are in place to avoid the burn error message (or overheat on older models).
Even now I tend to be somewhat of a whimp when it comes to heat in my food so I would encourage you to spice yours to suit you. If you want a touch more heat maybe add another Kashmiri chillie, if you want a lot more heat then I’d add a green chillie at the garlic and ginger stage.
- Makes: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 60ml Oil*
- 300g Onions, Sliced
- 4-5 Whole Cloves
- 4 Green Cardamon
- 1 Black Cardamon
- 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1/2 Star Anise
- 2 Kashmiri Dried Red Chilies
- 5 Garlic Cloves, sliced
- 6g of Ginger (aprox), peeled & chopped
- 2 Tins of Chopped Tomatoes (400g each)
- 1/2 Cup cashews
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Oil
- 1 Large Cauliflower
- 1 Tbsp Ground Coriander
- 1 Tsp Paprika
- 1/2 Tsp Tumeric
- 2 Tsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves
- 1/4 Tsp Cayenne
- 1 Large Onion, chopped into large chunks
- 1 Tsp Garam Masala
- 250g Cooked Black Beans**
- Handful of fresh chopped Coriander
Directions
Press saute on the instant pot and add the oil, reserving a tablespoon or so for later on. You can prep the onions while you wait for it to heat, adding them when the oil is hot. Cook the onions till they start to brown, stirring very occasionally this should take a little over 10 minutes. Add the whole spices and saute for a few moments until fragrant. Now throw in the garlic and ginger and saute for a minute or so.
Turn off the instant pot at this stage and add one of the tins of tomatoes, the cashews, salt and aprox 1/2 a cup of water. Use the liquid to deglaze the pot and stir well, make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom. Seal the pot and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
Allow the pressure to release naturally. This sauce should now be blended till completely smooth and then set to one side.
When prepping your cauliflower I would suggest cutting the florets into small to medium pieces, putting the leaves to one side for another day, while trimming the stem and cutting it into at least bite size chunks. Clean out your instant pot liner, put it back into your instant pot and turn on the saute setting while adding the tablespoon of oil you reserved earlier.
When heated, add the onion and cauliflower and briefly saute until the cauliflower starts to take on a little colour. Now, apart from the garam masala, add all your ground spices, including the fenugreek leaves and stir well. Turn off the instant pot before adding the last tin of tomatoes along with 1/2 a cup of water and stir well. Seal the lid and set to cook at on high for 1 minute.
Its important that the pressure is quick released as soon as it is ready otherwise you’ll end up loosing some of the texture of the cauliflower.
At this point stir in the sauce we prepared earlier, the garam masala, black beans, and coriander leaves. Simmer gently for a minute or so until fully heated though and all the flavours have gotten to know each other. Taste to check for seasoning, add more salt if needed and serve with rice.
Notes
* I like groundnut oil for its high smoke point but it can be fairly pricey so feel free to go with what you have on hand.
** I batch cook my beans in the instant cooker from dried as I prefer the texture and find it cheaper but if you want to use tinned, this is about the same as one tin of black beans, drained and rinsed.
Allergy Notes; this recipe is naturally gluten free and vegan but nuts are an issue here. I’m afraid this is another one of those recipes where a substitute for the cashews just won’t work as they’re quite key to the dish. Sorry about that!
