serves
6
prep
1 hour
cook
1 hour
difficulty
Easy
serves
6
people
preparation
1
hour
cooking
1
hour
difficulty
Easy
level
It’s taken me a long time to feel easy around use of black cardamom. Its aroma is forthright, all charcoal and campfire and smoky, dark night. For me, this spice is the man on the motorbike – sexy and slightly terrifying in its upfront appeal.
And yet what has ultimately seduced me about this aromatic is its undeniable sweetness. In the pan and correctly balanced, black cardamom’s dirty overtones soften. Take off the helmet and beneath is a delicate thread of smoky warmth.
Bringing forward black cardamom’s ethereal qualities requires a little insider knowledge.
First up, this spice needs to be buffeted. By this, I mean black cardamom needs companion spices that will rein in its big flavour just a little.
In this gobi sabji, I make use of other strong aromatics like clove and star anise to provide a little healthy aromatic competition. Star anise is an echo of black cardamom’s warmth, while clove’s medicinal element hears itself in black cardamom’s acrid undertone. Creating these kinds of fluid taste profile exchanges is a huge part of effective spice balance; doing so spreads and lengthens the intensity of spices, smoothing the taste experience.
And yet what has ultimately seduced me about this aromatic is its undeniable sweetness. In the pan and correctly balanced, black cardamom’s dirty overtones soften.
The cauliflower itself also plays an important role: its dense structure and complex taste notes (cold, creamy, earthy, bitter, neutral) mean it can carry a very heavy spice load.
Cauliflower also retains its shape through multiple cooking stages. This recipe calls for twice-cooked cauliflower. Wet-roasted or fried in the first instance, and then cooked on very low heat in ghee and spices for up to an hour. Cooking for this length of time gives black cardamom the opportunity to mellow and soften. Cauliflower will hold its shape throughout.
A few points to note:
Black cardamom pods are used whole. Their intense flavour is too much when crushed, at least in this dish. When reheating, I always remove the pod so that the flavour does not go through the dish twice and overpower with smoke.
Black cardamom and green cardamom are not interchangeable. Green cardamom’s taste notes run to menthol and eucalypt, the husk-green pod classified as a cool rather than a warm spice. (Identify cool spices by smelling – if they clear the back of your nasal passage, even gently, put them in this category.)
But the two cardamoms do work well together. My ratio? Around two or three green pods to black cardamom’s one.
Sarina Kamini is - spices tell her their secrets and she shares theirs with you. Don't miss her column, , on SBS Food. Keep in touch with in touch with her on Facebook and Instagram .
Ingredients
- 1½ medium cauliflowers, cut into small florets
- olive oil for roasting
- vegetable oil for frying
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1½ tsp Himalayan fine pink salt
- ⅓ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli
- ¼ tsp ground red chilli
- 1½ tsp cumin seed
- 2 tsp dried ground coriander
- ½ knuckle of jaggery (palm sugar)
- 1 black cardamom pod
- 1 star anise
- 2 clove
- 3 green cardamom pods
- ⅓ tsp ground ginger
- 2 cm fresh ginger grated
- ⅓ tsp sumac
- ⅓ tsp garam masala
- fresh coriander
- fresh pomegranate seeds (optional)
Pre-frying the cauliflower will make for a richer result. Watching calorie counts? Pre-roast with a drizzle of olive oil instead.
Instructions
1. If roasting cauliflower in the oven, preheat the oven to 180˚C.
2. Place all cauliflower florets in a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 1 hour, or until browned.
3. If shallow-frying cauliflower, heat vegetable oil in a pan to high heat and fry florets in batches until browned. Drain on kitchen paper.
4. In a separate large pan, add ghee, salt and all of the spices, excluding the garam masala, the fresh coriander and the pomegranate seeds. Turn onto low heat and warm through until the ghee is melted, the jaggery is liquefied (press with the back of a spoon to smooth out any chunks) and the spices are aromatic. This should take no longer than 1 or 2 minutes.
5. Add the pre-roasted cauliflower and stir through the spices. Cook slowly on a very low heat for up to 1 hour, or until the cauliflower is beginning to fall apart and all the ghee from the pan has been absorbed by the vegetable. It should be soft and molten in colour.
6. Add the garam masala just before serving and stir through the frying pan, cooking for a further minute on low heat.
7. Serve in a share bowl, dressed with fresh coriander and pomegranate seeds.
Note
• Jaggery can be bought in Indian stores. A knuckle of jaggery is around the same size as a knuckle of ginger.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
It’s taken me a long time to feel easy around use of black cardamom. Its aroma is forthright, all charcoal and campfire and smoky, dark night. For me, this spice is the man on the motorbike – sexy and slightly terrifying in its upfront appeal.
And yet what has ultimately seduced me about this aromatic is its undeniable sweetness. In the pan and correctly balanced, black cardamom’s dirty overtones soften. Take off the helmet and beneath is a delicate thread of smoky warmth.
Bringing forward black cardamom’s ethereal qualities requires a little insider knowledge.
First up, this spice needs to be buffeted. By this, I mean black cardamom needs companion spices that will rein in its big flavour just a little.
In this gobi sabji, I make use of other strong aromatics like clove and star anise to provide a little healthy aromatic competition. Star anise is an echo of black cardamom’s warmth, while clove’s medicinal element hears itself in black cardamom’s acrid undertone. Creating these kinds of fluid taste profile exchanges is a huge part of effective spice balance; doing so spreads and lengthens the intensity of spices, smoothing the taste experience.
And yet what has ultimately seduced me about this aromatic is its undeniable sweetness. In the pan and correctly balanced, black cardamom’s dirty overtones soften.
The cauliflower itself also plays an important role: its dense structure and complex taste notes (cold, creamy, earthy, bitter, neutral) mean it can carry a very heavy spice load.
Cauliflower also retains its shape through multiple cooking stages. This recipe calls for twice-cooked cauliflower. Wet-roasted or fried in the first instance, and then cooked on very low heat in ghee and spices for up to an hour. Cooking for this length of time gives black cardamom the opportunity to mellow and soften. Cauliflower will hold its shape throughout.
A few points to note:
Black cardamom pods are used whole. Their intense flavour is too much when crushed, at least in this dish. When reheating, I always remove the pod so that the flavour does not go through the dish twice and overpower with smoke.
Black cardamom and green cardamom are not interchangeable. Green cardamom’s taste notes run to menthol and eucalypt, the husk-green pod classified as a cool rather than a warm spice. (Identify cool spices by smelling – if they clear the back of your nasal passage, even gently, put them in this category.)
But the two cardamoms do work well together. My ratio? Around two or three green pods to black cardamom’s one.
Sarina Kamini is - spices tell her their secrets and she shares theirs with you. Don't miss her column, , on SBS Food. Keep in touch with in touch with her on Facebook and Instagram .
