In what appears to be a 4 – 5 year trend, I picked up Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking off the bookshelf thinking that it's been some time since I last tried this cookbook, maybe I should give it another try?
This after an initial recipe attempt in 2010 – Potatoes Smothered in Shallots – which I declared "incredibly bland" and "fairly," and a more encouraging 2015 attempt of Gujarati-Inspired Dal, which has since become a kitchen staple (albeit with several modifications).
Sadly, this latest 2019 effort more approximated the 2010 Sahni experience than the 2015 one. Perhaps because I again followed the directions fairly closely or maybe because this cookbook just isn't my cup of tea.
In any case, the recipe I settled on – Cauliflower with Scallions and Black Mustard Seeds – was both a little too long to cook and a little too boring to ever really want to make again.
It took longer than I expected to cook in that it took not only a long time for the cauliflower to become tender on the stove-top, but also for the water to evaporate in the dish to produce a non-soupy consistency (approx. 15 minutes after removing the cover from the steamed cauliflower). This after I tried to drain some of the cooking water out to expedite the process. And then the final result was a slightly too-mushy cauliflower from overcooking.
The flavors of the dish were also just…fine. The curry leave flavor didn't come out until I reheated leftovers. The mustard seeds, turmeric and scallion flavors all did come through, but they didn't really wow me. If anything, it was too much mustard seed and turmeric – slight bitterness mixed with each of their distinctive aromas – and not enough other balancing flavors.
So while this didn't require a lot of hands on time, I don't think this will be a recipe repeat unless I am looking for something relatively benign for a crowd.
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