INGREDIENTS (in order of appearance):
Olive & Sesame Oil
Crackling Whole Spices: Black Peppercorn, Cumin Seeds, Cardamom Pods, Fenugreek Seeds, Star Anise
Brazil Nuts
Pecans
Celery
Asparagus
Habanero/Scotch Bonnet Chilli
Green Pepper
Kiwi Fruit
Mushrooms
Courgette
Kale
Fish Sauce
Herbs: Mint
Powdered Spices: Chilli, Paprika, Garam Masala, Curry, Coriander
Water
Chopped Tomatoes
Greek Yoghurt
Result: Positive
Yes, your eyes do deceive you! That is not carbohydrate-oozing rice circulating the dish, but nutritious crumbled cauliflower!
The idea came to me in a dream.
It’s just lucky that I happen to like vegetables anyway, especially cauliflower, so I’ve discovered replacing my beloved rice with my beloved cauliflower is a “fun” (none of this is really any fun for me) and effective means of tricking my brain into thinking this nightmare hasn’t happened to my life.
As explained previously, I’ve reluctantly started a low-carb diet due to my not-improving Type 2 Diabetes. My doctor was very clear: cut out carbs or start injecting yourself with insulin. And that was that. I suppose there was a silent third option, which is to do nothing and lose a foot, but we didn’t hop down that road.
I hit a wall with this new diet a couple of days ago, when I felt I’d rather starve to death than eat another stick of celery, but I’m plowing on now. I’ve found a few more acceptable ingredients to bring into the kitchen, so I’ll be experimenting with those soon enough.
Greek Yoghurt has saved my sanity, as per usual. I used to eat it plain as a snack anyway, so buying in pots of the stuff and adding it to curries and mixing it with tuna chunks as a snack has broadened my menu a tad.
I believe “tikka masala” was an invention of the Imperialist British, who simply stole India for awhile. Tikka masala is not meant as the base of an entree, but as a marinade for a meat sharing starter. Or something. But, being a stubborn sort, us villainous Brits said: “Hey, this is nice, we think we’ll keep the recipe and have it as a main with rice on a Saturday night after being in the pub all evening!”.
And history was made.
A naughty treat to some, a national dish to others, and completely baffling to actual Indians, this is my pale imitation regardless. It’s basically just one of my normal curries but with yoghurt mixed in at the very end as I waited for the rice… erm… cauliflower to boil. I’m also going back and forth over whether to cut out meat entirely, so this was a test to see how I coped with just nuts as a protein.
The cauliflower and duel-nut replacements worked nicely (pecans smell amazing when they’re frying!), with the former being probably more authentic than a rice side dish. I’m now getting used to halving a whole cauliflower and finely grating off small florets with a knife, as new ways of working do take time to perfect. They are bloody messy things!
A delicious, sour dish overall, which soothed my emotional pain and spiced up my heart!
Let me know how you get on if you try out this combination!
Do stay in touch, darlings.
Toodles!
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