Gobi Mattar "Khichadi"

I'm not a huge fan of cauliflower. In fact, I never ever ate Gobi Batakanu Shak back at home. I did not like the smell of the flower nor the taste. I admit I was very narrow minded. One day we went out to eat and we had this delicious tandoori cauliflower dish, and it was divine. Ever since then, I have been open to eating cauliflower. Thank goodness for that. Otherwise, I would have never tried this dish that I made today. I saw a picture for this recipe and it looked so mouth watering good. The only difference is that the recipe called for tomatoes, and I did not add tomatoes. There is always the next time ... For now, though, here is the recipe for our latest experiment featuring Gobi!

1 medium cauliflower
1 potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, grated
1" piece ginger, grated
4 green chilies, diced
1 tsp cumin seeds
Pinch of asafoetida powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Sugar (optional)
Salt to taste

1. Wash the cauliflower and separate into florets. Pulse them through the food processor until they become bite size pieces. Keep aside. [You can also grate or chop the florets by hand.]
2. Heat oil in pot. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Then add the asafoetida powder followed by the onions, green chilies, ginger and garlic. Mix well and cook until onions become translucent.
3. Next, add the potatoes, salt and turmeric powder. Cook the potatoes for a few minutes before adding the peas.
4. After about 2-3 minutes, add the red chili powder and coriander powder. I added sugar at this step as well because it was a bit too salty. Sugar is optional.
5. Finally, add the cauliflower. Mix well and let cook on medium-low heat for about 5-7 minutes.
6. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with roti, cucumber raita or cool and refreshing chaas.

This dish tasted absolutely delish! Because the cauliflower was so small, it kind of resembled khichadi and tasted just as good. I give it 4 stars because B suggests I add some type of dal to it the next time around - maybe urad dal or channa dal.