Schezwan Cauliflower


Schezwan Cauliflower
Believe it or not but this and the fried rice recipe that follow were taught to me by an ex sous chef from the House of Ming, Taj , Delhi. A decade back, House of Ming was considered one of the best chinese restaurants in the city, and perhaps India. I learned this during a cookery workshop I attended with some friends at his house in Delhi. This is how it goes:
Cauliflower florets 8 to 10
Maida 1/4 cup
cornflour 1/4 cup
water 1/3 cup approxiamately
1 tbsp Chilli garlic paste (This one minus cumin is versatile and great)
2 tbsp light soya or 2 tsp dark soya
bell pepper 1 small
Spring onions 2
Ginger, garlic chopped 1 tsp each
green chillies slit 2
2 Shallots/1/2 Red onion
Method
1. Blanch the cauliflower lightly and keep aside
2. Make a thick, pakora type batter with maida and cornflour.
3. To get a deep brown colour in the restaurant, they add soya sauce to the batter. I skipped this.
4. Here's his chef's tip: The proportion of maida to cornflour depends on the texture desired. For a crispy, crunchy effect keep cornflour proportion high ( around 40 to 60% and for a more spongy texture, keep maida : cornflour ratio 3:1)
5. Dip the blanched cauliflower in this batter and deep fry.The remaining batter can be thinned with 1/2 cup water to be added to the sauce.
6. For the schezwan gavy, fry the dried chillies, followed by ginger garlic and green chillies. Add shallots, bell pepper and chilli paste.Add soya and the thinned batter and boil.
7. Taste the sauce to check for seasonings
8. Turn off the flame and and add the fried cauliflower. Mix gently and serve with fried rice.

4 comments:

  1. Bookmarked immediately...love the sound of this!

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  2. Was going thru your posts ...and I must say ...what recipes ...more so ..what pics...that too of every step !! Am drooling on every luscious pic and dish by now :-)
    And I liked the Japanese dish ...do they turn crispy on the outside after pan frying? Do u think we can steam them too ...like momos?

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  3. hi sharmila,
    the jap gyozas are crispy outside and soft inside... and yes, we can steam, boil or deep fry them too. Will post those soon too. Till, then do try the pan fried one..its truly yummy:P

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  4. seems easy n gud to taste..

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