Cauliflower Shorva (Stew)

Shorva or shorba is a stew with chunks of vegetables or meat. I made cauliflower shorva with tomatoes, cauliflower and yogurt. I already posted tomato shorva, bottle gourd shorva, chicken shorva & mutton shorva recipes. I mentioned how shorva is different from a soup and a curry in my chicken shorva post. I planned on posting cauliflower shorva many times and it never quite worked out.

I made it as part of my Telugu meal for Buffet on Table. Now with this post, all the recipes on that platter are published. I am not going to to do a separate post for bagara rice again as that is one of the first recipes I posted in my early days of blogging. I was meaning to redo that post. I might consider redoing it sometime down the road but for now I am settling with a new picture.

When I made the meal almost a month ago, I was cooking 2-3 items at a time and simultaneously noting down the ingredients. In that hurry, I forgot to list down all the measures for this recipe. Quantities for some the ingredients I listed below are approximate. Next time I make it again, I will note down all the quantities and update if any of the ingredient measurements are off.

Serves: 3 - 4

Ingredients:

¾ of small head of Cauliflower or 2 ½ cups Cauliflower Florets
3 tbsp. Oil
½ cup Onions, chopped
3 small Green Chilies, slit and cut into two
2 - 3 tsp. Ginger Garlic Paste
2 - 3 tsp. Coriander Powder
1 ½ - 2 tsp. Chili Powder (adjust to heat tolerance level)
1 - 1 ½ tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
Turmeric Powder
1 small - medium Tomato, chopped or ¾ cup chopped Tomatoes
¼ - ⅓ cup Yogurt, lightly beaten
1 tsp. Poppy Seeds (powdered, with coconut flakes)
1 ½ tsp. Coconut Flakes (powdered with poppy seeds)
⅛ tsp. Garam Masala (powder of 1 clove + seeds of 1 cardamom +small piece of cinnamon)
1 cup Water, less or more depending on the required consistency
Cilantro ~ Kothmir to Garnish

Preparation:

Cut the cauliflower into small florets. Chop other vegetables and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add onion and saute until soft and light golden color.
Add green chilies, ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute until ginger is roasted in oil.
Add coriander powder, chili powder,turmeric and mix well.
Add cauliflower florets and stir fry until spices coat the florets. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes until cauliflower is lightly roasted.
Add tomatoes, salt and stir. Cover and cook until tomatoes are soft and mushy. Reduce the flame if tomato and cauliflower pieces burn.
When tomatoes are soft, reduce the flame to low or even better, turn off the heat. Add beaten yogurt and stir immediately. It is important to stir immediately or yogurt will break into whey.
Turn on the flame of the stove to medium - medium high, staute for a minute or two.
Add water, poppy seeds coconut powder, garam masala powder and stir. Bring the shorva to a boil, cover and cook until cauliflower florets are tender and shorva reaches desired consistency.
Turn off the heat, garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or roti.