I love a good curry, nothing is quite as satisfying. So this week I decided to try and lighten up my usual routine of curry and basmati rice, and substitute the rice for cauliflower. Rosie over on The Londoner inspired me with her “cauliflower rice.” I’ve actually read about her cauliflower rice several times (here and here), so I’m a bit surprised that it took me this long to try it; but finally my curry-iosity got the best of me, and I decided to give it a whirl.
It’s actually quite simple – you just take your whole head of cauliflower and run it through your food processor using the small shredding disc, and voilà, rice! You ring it out a bit in a kitchen towel to get the extra moisture out, and then it is ready to use. I decided to still follow the directions for my basmati rice, because I really do love the spices in it; but instead of boiling the rice, I just sautéed the cauliflower.
I tried this Cooks Illustrated basmati rice recipe a few years back, and ever since, it has been my go-to. The only difference is that I do use water instead of the chicken stock, but today, I didn’t have to use anything.
With the cauliflower ready to go, it was time to get crackin’ on my curry.
As you may have noticed hiding out in the background, my curry is also a Cooks Illustrated recipe, and really the best I’ve ever had. The Mr. thinks it’s better than any restaurant (although I think that he’s a bit partial).
If you like curry, I really suggest you gives this one a whirl, it really has all the right flavors and spices.
my curry bubbling away
After a good simmer, roasting the chicken, and “rice” complete, it was time to feast.
I have to admit, Rosie is completely right, the cauliflower rice is killer! We were both so surprised how creamy and flavorful it was; much better than we had expected. We had kind of expected it to just taste like a bowl of cauliflower, but it really did transform itself into a delightfully spiced rice. I think that perhaps if you go into it expecting it to taste like rice, it will disappoint, but going into it thinking it was just going to taste like cauliflower, it really exceeded our expectations.
We both agreed that it will be a part of our regular rotation. Looks like my curry-iosity paid off.