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Recipes and resources for today's Good Food

Indian-style Cauliflower Soup with English Peas
by Ameila Saltsman
Makes 6-8 servings

  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp kosher or sea salt
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
  • 1 head cauliflower, cleaned and trimmed into florets
  • 4-6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 cup shelled English peas
  • Fresh lime
  • 2 Tablespoons each chopped mint, chives, and cilantro
  1. In a wide pot, heat oil or ghee over medium heat. Add cumin seeds, stir and cook until brown, 1-2 minutes. Add turmeric, coriander, cumin, red pepper and salt and cook until fragrant 30-60 seconds. Add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute more.
  2. Stir in cauliflower and about 1/4 cup water and cover pot to par-cook the cauliflower.
  3. After 5 minutes add the broth. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer soup until cauliflower is very tender, 15-20 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat. Puree the soup, adding a little water if it seems too thick, and season to taste with salt.
  5. Return soup to medium-low heat, add the peas, and simmer just until they are tender but still bright green.
  6. Give the soup a squeeze of lime and serve the soup topped with a sprinkling of chives, mint, and cilantro.


    Dr. James O. Hill is the author of The Step Diet Book: Count Steps, Not Calories, To Lose Weight and Keep It Off Forever, published by Workman. He is also the co-founder of America On the Move.


    Matt Holzman went to the USS John Paul Jones, a naval destroyer. If you'd like to learn how to cook like a sailor, go to the Recipe Repository of the Naval Logistics Library.


    Patrick Kuh is the restaurant writer for Los Angeles Magazine. The Top 25 LA Restaurants issue is on stands now. Patrick spoke about:

    Beacon (310-838-7500) at 3280 Helms Avenue in Culver City
    Josie (310-581-9888) at 2424 PIco Boulevard in Santa Monica
    Mission 261 (626-588-1666) at 261 South Mission Drive in San Gabriel
    Teresitas Restaurant (323-266-6045) at 3826 East 1st Street in Los Angeles


    Louisa Chu is the winner of the best food blog, 2004. She is also living in Paris, having recently finished her education at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. You can read her blog at www.movable-feast.com. Louisa also talked about the following food blogs:

    Chez Pim
    101Cookbooks.com
    AccidentalHedonist.com


    Emily Green is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. In her non-work life she has started The Garden Project at 24th Street Elementary in the West Adams area of Los Angeles. If you'd like to donate money or get involved with the Garden Project, call 323-732-4875.


    Carl Chu is the author of Finding Chinese Food in Los Angeles, published by Crossbridge. Carl talked about Young King Restaurant (213-487-6154) at 3100 West Olympic Boulevard in Koreatown. The dishes he mentioned include chow mah min, fried soft chicken, and an appetizer called "combination plate".