Wednesday, March 03, 2010

An Education From Stalks

We all know that a cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with education, right?

"Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education."


So here's a lot of education for you, about four cups of the stalks.


Waste not, want not, we say. Waste I didn't, but would I want it?


As it turned out, (a resounding) YES!

The recipe is from here. The measurements are mine.

Cauliflower stalks, chopped up: 4-5 cups
Jeera/Cumin seed: 1 tsp
Asafoetida, a pinch
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder: 3/4 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Amchoor/dried mango powder: 1 tsp
Garam masala powder: 1 tsp
Oil: 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves: To garnish

Heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add the asafoetida.

Now add the chopped up stalk, salt and all the spices except the amchoor and garam masala. Mix well.

Cook covered on low heat till stalk turns tender.
(When it felt like this was taking ages, I transferred it to a pressure cooker and pressure cooked it for three whistles with half a cup of water.)

When the pressure falls, open the pressure cooker and add the amchoor and the garam masala. Mix well and simmer till any residual water evaporates. Garnish with the coriander.


This cauliflower fed us for three days. Call it kima (mince) or upma, here's another thing I made with it.







The stalks are off to Susan who's hosting Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging this week, now administered by Haalo.

27 comments:

  1. An interesting take on the cauliflower. :-) The stalks are often used in the Bengali dish of mixed vegetables (chorchori) ... would love to try out your way too. :-)

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  2. Mmmmmm, interesting. After this post of urs, I would feel guilty to throw the stalks :):) Very nice recipe, worth a try.

    Chitchat

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  3. Great recipe and good info...

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  4. Sra,
    liked both the recipes ,cailiflower stalk recipe and the keema or shredded cauliflower recipe.Thats how gobhi ka paratha is made with shredded cauliflower..just add spices according to your choices.
    hugs and smiles

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  5. HeHe!! See what some "edumacation" (as my daughter says they need if she finds somebody talking stupid! :D) can do for all beings!

    Dishes are great, I love the taste of stalks of Gobi in Saagu and Pulao too, gives it a texture and yummy taste instead of mushy gobi flowers tend to become.

    My "edit post" isn't working since Monday, can't get into it. So no posts from me until they fix it! I am so frustrated.

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  6. I say "yes," too!

    Had *no* idea cabbage was dumbed-down cauliflower. I guess I have to crack open "Veggies for Dummies." : D

    Thanks for the WHB recipe, Sra!

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  7. You just made me realize how much of those I wasted..

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  8. I am gonna come and live with you to learn all these tricks in not wasting food, you are so good like that.
    I would have just thrown it away, next time i am keeping them and making dishes like you did.

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  9. You mean the stalk is actually edible??? I've never even thought of using them in a dish.

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  10. Sra, they are so much better than cabbage (of course the eduction helps). The curry looks good too. An aunty visited us and offered to cook cauliflower and little did I realize she is going to literally use every single part and she did with delicious results. I feel guilty every time I toss the stalks in the compost.

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  11. I have some cauliflower stalks, lots actually, waiting to be put into Charchari(as Sharmila said). But all other Charchari appropriate veggies are missing so I am thinking will give this a try

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  12. I always save and use every bit of broccoli stalk but am not that diligent with cauliflower stalks for no conceivable reason. Hope to give this recipe a try sometime looks real good.

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  13. There will be no compost in this world, if everyone eats all the green without throwing in bin. Brilliant use! I am ending to the other bog now!

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  14. SOmetimes these caulis come with such fresh crisp stalks that i feel very bad to throw them away - I have made two varieties of instant pickles with them - one with vinegar, salt, peppercorns and mustard and the other with the regular pickle spices and pouring hot mustard oil over the top...i like your take on them, so next time i have fresh stocks, i know what to do.

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  15. A truly different dish. I love the colors. When you pressure cooked, did it get too soft SRA? Like fall apart soft?

    Mom used to make bhajjis with the stalk

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  16. Errrr, no, I did not know that cabbage is cauliflower with an education :) I like that idea.

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  17. My maid was the one who introduced me to cooking stalks - even my Mom who never spares anything that grows never did that!

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  18. I would want that cauliflower too. We love our education , sorry cauliflower, too much to say no to it. :)
    You keep telling me you're not a great cook, but I find that difficult to believe!

    Been missing out on so much here. Hopefully will be more regular.

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  19. LOL! I love the quote and your dish! Delicious!

    Paz

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  20. Eating stalks too ? How did it taste ? I think it miht taste like the stalk of cabbage ! I love the looks of the stir fry Sra!

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  21. I love cauliflower stalks...I usually just throw them into gobi when I'm making it but this is an interesting idea to make it the focus of dish.

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  22. stalks.. i love them..broccoli, spinach thandu, and tho cauliflower is not so much of a fav, the stalks are yummy!

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  23. Cute intro to this post. Cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies. I really like the way you prepared this!

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  24. this is a great take and intirguing use of cauliflower stalks. I usually freeze them then use them for soups and stock. nice one!

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  25. Folks, thank you so much for taking the time to comment. An achy back prevents me from sitting at the computer for too long these days.

    Shankari, it wasn't crumble-soft, it held its shape.
    Ni, you're right - it did remind me of cabbage.

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  26. Hmmm, not sure if I agree. Methinks cauliflower is the one with the education. Cabbage has always appeared to be quite an oaf to me, like the kid that gets held back at school every year.

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