miasma

Chop up a med-small yellow onion and about 1-2 square inches of peeled ginger (cut the ginger in 1/4 inch slices across the fibers rather than lengthwise.) Put these in a blender with 7 tbsp water and set aside.

Cut 2-3 small/medium tomatoes in half, cut out the skin around the stem.

Boil the tomatoes in water that comes up just to their edges. This is par boiling and results in the skin of the tomatoes sliding off.

See, it's already begun to peel. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon, discard skins, and chop into half-inch bits. Try to keep the juice. Set aside.

Grind up 1 tsp cumin and 1 tsp coriander then add 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/8-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1 & 3/4 tsp salt. Set aside.

Peel 6-8 cloves of garlic and chop finely.

Sauté the garlic in 5 tbsp of vegetable oil til it starts to "catch", i.e. turn a little bit brown.

Strain cauliflower, then sauté with garlic for about 2 minutes, then remove to bowl with slotted spoon.

Purée onion and ginger.

Pour purée into same pan and cook for about a minute.

Add the tomato and spices to the purée. Stir and fry this mixture on medium heat til it turns a medium brown color.

Like this :)

Add the cauliflower back in, along with about 1 tbsp lemon juice. Stir it around so the paste covers the cauliflower, turn down the heat, put a lid on it, and wait about 10-15 minutes.

This should give you ample time to put on a pot of basmati rice and mix up a little raita: raita is basically plain yogurt that is mixed with herbs like parsley or cilantro and/or light vegetables like carrot or cucumber. Sprinkle with paprika for a little zing and color.

My favorite way to eat this dish is with the cauliflower and gravy ladled over the rice and topped with raita and garam masala.

I'm saying. It is freaking delicious!!! Thanks Madhur Jaffrey! (Her recipe calls for a bit of hot green chilli - but I find the dish sufficiently spicy without the extra hotness. Ymmv.)