Fry

The Other White Meat, Cauliflower Stuffed Like A Chicken

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April 21, 2013
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The Other White Meat, Cauliflower Stuffed Like A Chicken
Photo by Alan Berger
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

There's a traditional Indian chicken recipe called Murgh Musallam. It's a complicated recipe that involves skinning a whole chicken, marinating it in a spice paste for 2 hours then making a fried spice paste, and when the chicken has had it's go-round in the first marinade, it's then rubbed inside and out with the second fried spice paste. One then wraps the whole bird up in aluminum foil and bakes it for an hour and a half. This dish is freaking delicious. It is also something that is not done every day. You can see why. This is a special occasion company dish.
That's the trouble with this dish made using chicken. Cauliflower however, that's a whole different story. There are a lot of recipes for Gobhi (caulfilower) Musallem, some are more complicated than others. This one which originated with Julie Sanhi, is one of the best I've tried. I tweaked it a bbit, and It was so simple it was ready to serve in less than an hour. Always a good thing. —Kathy Gori

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • The Stuffing
  • 1 Cauliflower
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 and 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
  • 4 serrano chilies seeded and finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed
  • 1/4 teaspoon kashmiri chili or cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander
  • 2 tablespoons ground blanched almonds
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon flour or gluten free flour
  • 6 sprigs cilantro
  • The Sauce
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 can of tomatoes pureed
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1/2 cup water
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Directions
  1. The Stuffing
  2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the leaves, stem and core the cauliflower, making sure to leave it intact.
  3. Steam the cauliflower for 8 minutes.When the cauliflower is tender, take it out and put it into a baking dish to cool.
  4. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet or kadhai. When the oil is hot add in the onion and fry it until it's lightly browned.
  5. Add in the shallots and ginger, and fry them for a couple of minutes.
  6. Add in the chopped serrano chilies and give them another minute in the pan.
  7. Add all the other spices, the ground almonds and the flour. Cook everything for another 2 minutes or so.
  8. Add in the water and stir until you have a thick paste.
  9. Take the stuffing paste off the stove and let it cool .
  10. To stuff the cauliflower, push half of the spice paste mix in among the florets.
  11. Spread the rest of it over the top and sides of the cauliflower. Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top.Pop it into the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes
  1. The Sauce
  2. In a skillet or Kadhi, heat 3 tbs of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot add in the onions and fry them until they are lightly browned.
  3. Add in the cumin and fry it for another minute.
  4. Add in the tomato puree, salt and water, bring the sauce to a boil.
  5. Reduce the temperature to simmer and cook it gently over a low heat for about 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and add in the chopped cilantro.
  6. To serve this baby up, put the cauliflower on a serving platter, and cut it into wedges. Ladle some tomato sauce over each wedge.
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