06 November, 2008

Kasuri Methiwale Gobi ki Subji/Subzi: Sweet Romance

Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Ki Subji

Tall, dark and handsome…
Rich, powerful and charismatic…
Beautiful, fair and simple…
Young, virgins and innocents…

You don’t need to appoint detectives from Scotland Yard to figure out what I am talking about. This is how almost all the heroes and heroines of Mills & Boon novels. For all those people who are twitching their nose in disgust at the mention of M&B, did you know it’s been a whole century since Mills and Boon began publishing? Yes, 100 years of romance and romance alone and surprisingly even now at 21st century it has vast readership by selling 130 million books a year in 26 different languages. And did you also know that the company turnover is over £21 million and it has 1,600 writers dedicated to writing romantic novels?

The documentary on BBC channel on a Century of Romance: Mills & Boon triggered the memories of my teen days when I read first M&B book which was stuck in between Hardly Boys and Nancy Drew novels I was addicted to. It was the story of rich, powerful business man falling in love with a pretty secretary of his. And since then I have had read hundreds of similar stories with the same storyline with almost similar characters. The men are always rich, handsome and powerful millionaires or billionaires who are either successful business men or doctors or Arabian sheikhs or business tycoons with a smile that would set every (submissive) female specie’s heart ablaze.

I have lost the count of numer of times I have had read M&B novels, tucked safely in between thick text books of logistics or graphic designing, at boring college lectures. They were notoriously famous among girls as the books were small enough to hide comfortably between any texts books which almost resembled large print oxford dictionaries and dream of their prince charming between coding and programming. Since the book was small with 40 to 50 thousand words, it was easy to finish in a session or two. Well, you don’t need to use your mind when you read M&B novels, just turn pages and finish it and pass it on. Ever wondered why these books were so famous? Do share your stories and thoughts with us :)

Moving on to recipe part, I have different things to romance these days, food and cooking. What did you think? Tsk, tsk… Anyways, I have been seen lately romancing with Dudhi which ruled our kitchen for the past few months and also other vegetables which make regular appearance in our kitchen. But Gobi/Cauliflower is one vegetable which I buy reluctantly, mainly it stinks!!! Did I say that? Hmmm… It does stick when over cooked and I know you too know that!!! Even when I buy Gobi I disguise it among other vegetables, especially I like to pair it with potatoes which makes it much bearable. And I absolutely hate over-cooked cauliflower. But this time hubby dear was particular about cooking it alone without pairing with other veggies. Well, it took me more than one week to think and decide and by yesterday I was almost ready to give up and cook Aloo-Gobi if not for very intriguing recipe posted by dear Indira of Mahanandi.

Indira’s recipe of Gobi Kasuri Methi with Raisins sounded too interesting to be ignored. Kasuri methi rules my kitchen and I usually buy big packs of it from India instead of buying here which hardly gives any flavour. So I was all set to try this recipe and with in few minutes I was chopping cauliflower into medium florets. My recipe of Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Subji/Subzi uses three main ingredients cauliflower, kasuri methi and raisins used by Indira but my recipe is slightly different from the original. I skipped coconut and added little bit of garam masala and aamchur powder. And I also used fresh ginger and garlic along with sweet onions and tart tomatoes. While kasuri methi gives a mild, pleasantly bitter taste, sultanas soaked up in spicy tomato gravy gives it a nice sweet bite to this absolutely delicious Subzi/Subji. Thank you Indira for this delicious inspiration and I am packing this bowl of delicious Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Subji/Subzi to dear Zu for her T&T-Mahanandi event.

Cauliflower, Kasuri Methi & Sultanas

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Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Subzi/Subji (Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower Curry cooked with pleasantly bitter Dried Fenugreek Leaves and sweet Sultanas)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-25 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Inspiration: Mahanandi
Ingredients:
1 medium Cauliflower, cut into medium florets
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 can or 3 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 inch Ginger, peeled & finely chopped
3-4 large Garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ cup Sultanas or Raisins
1 tbsp Kauri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves
½ - 1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ - 1 tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida (Optional but recommended)
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Ki Subji

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and hing. When cumin starts to sizzle and change golden red, add finely chopped ginger and garlic and sauté them for about 30 seconds. Then add finely chopped onions and sauté till they turn golden brown, about 2-3 mins.
Mix in kasuri methi, garam masala, kitchen king masala and turmeric powder and fry for half a minute. Add canned chopped tomatoes or finely chopped tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium flame till they turn pulpy.
Now add ½ - 1 cup of water, salt to taste and aamchur powder and mix well. Mix in cauliflower florets and cover the lid. Let it cook for 10-12 minutes on medium flame, stirring in between, till cauliflower is almost cooked.
Uncover and mix in sultanas or golden raisins and let it simmer for another 5-7 minutes. Mix in finely chopped coriander leaves and serve the delicious Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Curry with any Indian Breads or steaming bowl of Rice and enjoy.

33 comments :

  1. Well Sia you took me back to my teenage time with the M&B talk.
    I remember reading them a lot, we friend used to take turn in reading, so if one had a M&B it got passed from one girl to another.
    When mom told me to sit and learn i used to keep the M&B inside my workbook and read them, untill she caughter me. My sister was mentioning to me about it in my last visit to India.
    After reading so much M&B i went and fell in love with T,W& H :-)))))

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  2. Wowie! Am I first? Sia, anything with kasuri methi should taste fab! Another winn:)

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  3. M&Bs were a mainstay during my high school days(I was in a hostel) but for some reason was not popular during college days and I forgot about them.

    The smell of cauliflower does not bother me but the rest of the family hate mushy cauliflower. The curry looks awesome but I am not sure about raisins in any dish but I see you have not added heat either.

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  4. wow sia, kasuri methi N methi is a lovely combo .. I wanna try this .. looks lovely

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  5. LOL..you brought back naughty memories with that Mills and Boons write up. I think it was my first inro to "passion" and boy, I remember being taken aback! The methi gobi sounds yummy, can't deal with raisins in savory dishes though.

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  6. Lovely,love the post and gobi but hate M&B though I too would have tried it to escape boring lectures. :D

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  7. this looks absolutely fantastic. I have some gobi left... will try this surely!

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  8. Is Gobi stink? so about cabbage ?This combo with sweet raisin and gobi sounds interesting and delish!

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  9. ooooo, this sounds delish.i make aloo with kasoori meethi. must try this one out too. loved the addition of raisins.

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  10. Awesome looking cauliflower! I can tell this tastes delicious! I like your story about reading the books in classes, too ;)

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  11. Sia, M&B were a part of my growing up, used to hide them college text books and would read in college. Thanks for the memories looking back it seems so silly yet sweet. yummy receipe as always :)

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  12. Lovely combination!! I love cauliflower and get it pretty often..
    u r right about the overcooked part tho':-(. always use a candle when i cook cauliflower,or cabbage.

    I use kasuri methi, but raisin is a good addition.
    Soma(www.ecurry.com)

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  13. Hey sia thats very nice combo wth raisins.. superb photos :)

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  14. ha ha so you read those novels hiding them between books, ha! Those were the days, right!

    Kasoori methi might have given the cauliflower a unique flavor, I guess! Looks so delicious.

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  15. Hi sia
    Lovely intro...yup there is something abou M&B which makes u read it so many times (giggles)...i have read the same book too many times!he he. I was popularly referred to as 'M&B girl'

    Lovely dish. looks delicious!

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  16. Hmm back in the memory lane. Wish i could smell the aroma of this recipe. With raisins and florest hmmm mouth watering. Iam drooling over.

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  17. M&B! Ah, those glorious teen years :-)

    Btw, we love gobi too much to mind the stink...btw, does it really stink??!! ;-)

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  18. Love this kasuri methi gobi, looks delicious!!!

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  19. Kasuri with methi ..hmm wonderful dish...

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  20. Hi Sia, after long time here and really enjoying the look and feel of your recipes. your blog looks so colorful and vibrant. have to catchup with so many recipes of urs.

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  21. Sia, you have me cracking up here! I can't remember the last day or year I heard some refer to a Mills & Boon Book! (lol)

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  22. M&B books,I remember reading couple of those , I had a GF who was crazy about such novels.
    Kasuri methi in gobi ,I can smell the aroma here,Tasty!

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  23. Hmm we make Gobi Kasoori almost similar way,except that we use chillies,curd and no raisins !
    And most imp.i need to saute florets first,can't use them directly in recipe.
    Pics are really tempting and i can pick out all raisins to eat them after lunch/dinner :-)

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  24. Looks yummy Sia.

    I have something for you in my blog :)

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  25. Neat idea to add raisins to cauliflower! Looks delicious! :)

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  26. He he..you said it right Sia,M&B alwyas used to get tucked in comfortably into our fat text books..We frinds too did the same..wanna see who all are those naughty girls??well It's there in my latest post he he :)..
    Already I am nostalgic these days and you again took me back to those wonderful days :)

    Cauliflower dish sounds classic!..addition of raisins to Gobi is new to me!..

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  27. I haven't read an M&B yet... someday I suppose... I tried 3 times and fell asleep by page 5 and wondered how my cousins, friends and hostelmates read so much of it.

    You're in that phase? Where you put kasuri methi in everything? :-) I'm out of KM... will try it when I buy it.

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  28. Oh Yes! I remember those M&B days... this recipe looks lovely. I've been meaning to cook cauliflower now that it's in season.

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  29. M&B! Another era all together. Brings back a memory of one of my mother's friends (from then) whose husband was a fan of them (?) while she wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole!! :D

    We love our cauliflower, but its doodhi we don't like. :)
    I love your picture with the raisins peeking out. Should try this.

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  30. I have tried this recipe from Indra's blog.. Its really very nice aroma from kasuri methi.. i had skipped raisins.. Next time shall try with raisins..
    Mouth watering picture Sia !! Yummy !!

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  31. I remember reading those M&B's though all of them are the same..something abt powerful men and damsels in distress......
    Nice dish I'm totally into methi too.

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  32. Hi Sia,

    This is to die for and I am going to make this dish many more times. For the first time the cauliflowers were not cooked to death and the kasuri methi and raisins added a totally new dimension to the vegetable. And on top this dish is very quick to make. I had to add some crumbled aloo since i added a bit too much water. Thanks for sharing this simple yet mind-blowing dish with us...

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