A Gobi by any other name...

As I venture into the land of Indian cuisine, I feel as if I have my chefs hat on, a wooden spoon in my back pocket and an apron on, in a dark room, fumbling around in a state of disorientation. I have made one or two things before but I am such a newbie. If there was an Indian Cooking Club I would join it just for the sheer adventure. And the amazing learning curve that I would be on. I have ventured into other cuisines in similar fashion emerging somewhat triumphant. At the very least able to eat my meals with others and enjoy it. I call that success. Like my venture into Mexican at the hands of friends and boyfriends. Or the venture into Mediterannean with the help of an Egyptian boss and Lebanese coworkers... and restaurants.

After a while I learned that Mexican was not so very different from Italian, a few spices different and maybe a few techniques but tomatoes dominate both cuisines. You start to see similarities after a while. Mediterranean that also has its similarities but there were a whole bunch of spices I didn't know about, like za'tar and dukkah. Of course I continue to learn but at least there is light in the room.

Now, here I am, with some asofatida (hing) in my pantry and some curry leaves in my freezer and thats about as far as I got. Well, beside the garam masala and curry of course but they have become quite a bit more mainstream than they were before. (and try as I might I will never like fenugreek. Maybe but right now, not so much).

All this to say that I name this dish unsure of how accurate I am here. I think I know gobi is cauliflower, right? So if you know more than I about Indian food, which really is not a far stretch, given my newbie-ness, let me know if my title is inaccurate.

Gobi Masala
a newbie take

1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cardamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
pinch of asofatida
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups tomatoes, I used grape tomaotes as that is what I had on hand
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
3/4 cup peas
1 head cauliflower roasted

Chop a head of cauliflower into small pieces. Lay on cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Roast in the oven at 450 until golden. Remove and set aside.

In a dry saute pan, place spices and let them dry roast until they become fragrant. Add tomatoes and water. Let the tomatoes cook down a bit until they begin to fall apart. Add peas and finally cauliflower. Remove from heat and enjoy.