Cauliflower and (Sweet) Potatoes

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Many years ago, I was introduced to Indian food.  I loved it!  Having grown up eating some kind of meat, fish or chicken with every meal, it was hard to imagine a meal with NO animal meat–that is, until I learned about Indian cuisine.  Wow! I never knew vegetables could taste so good.  My mother never made anything like this!  What a delightful experience when vegetables are prepared in the Indian style.  I found out that there are about 40 different kinds of lentils!  The only time I’d eaten  lentils was in lentil soup!  (I’ll go into more detail about lentils when we introduce them in Phase 3 of the Gundry program.)  How things have changed for me from that first day forward!

While Indian food isn’t a favorite of Ed’s, he does enjoy it on occasion.  (Especially since it satisfies so many of our new dietary restrictions.)  This dish is usually made with cauliflower and regular white potatoes. (It was also one of my daughter’s favorite Indian meals, so I made it regularly.)  I especially love the smell and color of so many of the Indian spices.  They are so healthy, too!  Turmeric, in particular.

Since white potatoes are not on the Plant Paradox program, I decided to try something a little different.  I substituted sweet potatoes for the regular ones.  It actually adds a lot to the presentation, as you can see from the photo.  Normally, Indian food is served with bread (naan) and/or rice–both of which we are not currently eating.  Naan is not gluten free, so it’s off the menu as it is.  But in Phase 3 of the Plant Paradox program, we are allowed to introduce Indian Basmati rice (in very limited amounts).  We are not quite at that point, so when I made this dish, I spirialized some carrots.  (But I didn’t show them in the photo since I wasn’t happy with the effect.  Too much orange, lol.)  Soon I plan to include Basmati rice to our menu, which will add a wonderful texture and taste.  In the meantime, I do use Riced cauliflower, which is okay for many dishes–but not very appropriate for this cauliflower and sweet potato meal.

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. coconut oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled, and chopped fine

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. turmeric powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 head cauliflower washed and cut into bite-size pieces

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

fresh (or dried) coriander leaves to garnish (optional)

Put Oil in large sauté pan, and cook onion till slightly translucent, then  add garlic and stir.  Cook a minute or two then add the ginger.  Stir and cook a minute or two, then add the spices.

Stir mixture and let cook again for a couple of minutes.  Then add the cauliflower and sweet potato pieces.  Stir well to mix all the ingredients together.  Cover and let cook on medium heat till cauliflower and sweet potato are tender (approximately 15-20 minutes).

Spoon over rice (if using), and garnish with coriander leaves, if desired.

Enjoy!

 

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