My butter chicken recipe reimagined…

Sam came down the stairs and immediately asked what I was making. The smells drift up the stairs and into his room whenever I am cooking or baking. I guess it’s good that I can cook well because if I were a terrible cook or burned everything, that would suck for Sam.

I told him I was making my butter chicken but reimagined. “Oh no! What are you ruining it with? Please don’t tell me cauliflower!” So I didn’t tell him. Lol. “Why?” he asked. I said, “Because dad and I love cauliflower instead of chicken in different flavored “wings,” I thought I’d try it for butter chicken.”

Next, he spewed out a bunch of reasons why cauliflower shouldn’t be used to replace chicken, how terrible it is, and finished his rant with, “I’ll argue with you to the death on this one.” 😂

Now, remember, Sam is my good eater and isn’t picky; however, he can’t forget the night about five years ago when I “tricked” him with General Tso’s “chicken.” He was so upset and disappointed that it wasn’t chicken he didn’t eat dinner that night, not even the perfectly steamed jasmine rice. I still laugh when I think of him marching upstairs to his room.

Nevertheless, I continued making and writing my recipe, and I told him I already had something else for him and to fucking relax already.

I am a carnivore through and through. Marty and I followed a strict vegetarian diet for two years in our twenties. I was creative, and all the food was delicious, but after a while, I started craving meat. I didn’t know at the time, but he was too. Then, I confessed how much I missed eating different meats to him. “Halle-freaking-lujah!!” he cried.

We went to the Sirloin Saloon that night, and both ordered steak. As the server placed the steak in front of me, I drooled! I shit you not!

My hands started shaking when I picked up my steak knife and fork. I had to steady my hand as I brought the piece of steak to my mouth. It was one of the biggest realizations of my life; I was a meat eater.

To say we were both running in and out of the bathroom a lot while we reintroduced different meats and seafood back into our diets would be an understatement of serious magnitude. I know that is TMI (too much information), but since I am writing in my honest and authentic self, it’s purely factual.

Ok, enough reminiscing, time to talk about the delicious Indian Butter Cauliflower dish. It was as good, if not better, than my original recipe with chicken. I added a few more spices and replaced dairy with coconut oil and milk. So it’s vegan, not just vegetarian. I have a few vegan and vegetarian friends that will be very happy with this recipe. Arthur, I am talking about you and Kami. 😉

I started by cutting a whole cauliflower head into bite-size florets. I made a marinade for the cauliflower with canola oil, yogurt, Indian spices, and kosher salt. I used nonfat vanilla yogurt because it’s what I had on hand to mix in Klausie’s food, but any version of plain or, I guess, vanilla yogurt works.

I coated all the pieces well with the marinade and let them sit in the refrigerator for an hour, covered with plastic wrap. That gave me time to get out the other ingredients and throw basmati rice in my trusty rice cooker, it was belly dance night, so the rice cooked while I was shimmying away.

I started the recipe by browning the marinaded cauliflower in a saucepan with coconut oil. I let it cook until I got an excellent fond on the bottom of the pan. This is a crucial step in adding flavor to the dish.

I added diced onions and let them cook for a bit, then added minced garlic and ginger. Once the onions were golden brown, I added Indian spices and kosher salt, then let them cook for less than a minute.

I added tomato sauce and water and then scraped the fond from the bottom of the saucepan. Next, I added a little tomato paste and coconut milk on low heat and stirred it into the sauce. I threw in the browned cauliflower and covered the saucepan letting the sauce simmer for 20 minutes.

I checked for seasoning and if the cauliflower was tender. I added chopped fresh cilantro, also known as coriander. I know many people don’t like cilantro because it tastes like soap to them, but if that’s not the case, I strongly urge you to follow the recipe and use it.

I let the sauce cook for another 5 minutes uncovered on a very low simmer, not letting it boil. I took it off the heat and let it cool. I popped it into the refrigerator for several hours to “chill out.” Dumb pun, I know.

Marty reheated the sauce covered on low heat until hot. I served the Indian Butter Cauliflower over basmati rice, which was fantastic. The chicken wasn’t missed for a single second. It was perfect since it packed a ton of flavor but wasn’t a heavy dish to eat at 8:30 pm.

Surprisingly enough, I wrote down what I used to share the recipe if I was happy with the result. You don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to enjoy this dish.

Would I make it with frozen cauliflower? Never. The texture would be mushy, and the marinade and browning would be a wet mess producing zero fond, an essential part of the recipe on the bottom of the saucepan.

Without further adieu, here is my new recipe. I hope you try it and love it as much as we did. If you are like Sam, you can replace the cauliflower with bite-size chicken pieces. 😂

Indian Butter Cauliflower

Ingredients

Cauliflower marinade:

1 large head of cauliflower cut into bite-size florets
1 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
2 Tbsp yogurt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp coconut oil

Curry sauce:

1 onion diced
3-4 cloves of garlic minced depending on their size
1 Tbsp fresh ginger minced
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, more or less depending on your spice level
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 15 oz can of water
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 15 oz can coconut milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 – 1/2 cup of fresh chopped cilantro
Steamed basmati or jasmine rice

Directions

Cut the cauliflower into bite-size pieces. Mix the spices and yogurt. Coat the cauliflower florets thoroughly. Place in the refrigerator to marinade for at least an hour.

While the cauliflower is marinating, chop the onions, and mince the garlic and ginger. Mix the spices and kosher salt and place in a small bowl.

In a saucepan with a lid, on medium heat, melt the 1 Tbsp coconut oil and brown the marinated cauliflower florets. When you have a nice fond on the bottom of the pan, remove the cauliflower and set it aside. The cauliflower will become tender by cooking in the sauce.

To the saucepan, melt 1 Tbsp coconut oil on medium-low heat and add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and ginger. Cook until the onions become golden brown, taking care not to burn the garlic and ginger in the process.

Add the spice mixture and kosher salt to the pan and sauté for 45 seconds, not letting the spices burn. Add the tomato sauce and water. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, scrape up the brown bits or fond from the bottom of the pan. Stir to combine.

Stir in 1 Tbsp tomato paste and coconut milk. Combine. Add the browned cauliflower florets to the sauce. Stir well to coat the cauliflower in the sauce. Reduce the heat to low and bring it to a simmer. Cover, and let cook for 20 minutes. Check for cauliflower doneness and seasoning. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste.

Add chopped cilantro and cook uncovered for another 5 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Serve over rice.

When cooking ahead, let cool and place in refrigerator until ready to use up to 2-3 days. Reheat. Serve over rice.

Serves 4.