Growing up, cauliflower was a staple on our weekly menu — sometimes paired with peas, other times with potatoes. Most often it was prepared as a dry sautéed dish, though occasionally it appeared in a lightly spiced curry sauce.
Cauliflower is wonderfully versatile: it cooks quickly, absorbs spices beautifully, and retains a pleasant crispness even when fully cooked. This makes Cauliflower Peas (gobi matar) an ideal weeknight dish – simple, satisfying, and full of flavor.
How This Dish Comes Together
This recipe builds flavor in layers, starting with sizzling cumin seeds — a foundational technique in many Indian dishes. If you’re new to this step, check out my guide on properly blooming cumin seeds to get the most aroma and depth.
From there, a base of onions, ginger, and tomatoes creates a lightly spiced coating for the cauliflower and peas, which are then gently steamed until tender-crisp.
This dish is best enjoyed when the cauliflower retains a slight bite and the spices cling lightly rather than forming a heavy sauce. It pairs beautifully with roti, paratha, or simple rice and dal.
Cauliflower Peas
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil or other oil
- 1 Cauliflower separated into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup Green peas
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tbsp Ginger Juliennes
- 1 cup Onions diced
- 1/2 cup Tomato Puree or 2 diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1/2 tsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves
- 1/2 tsp Salt adjust to taste
Method
- Stem and core the cauliflower and cut it into flowerets. A medium cauliflower should yield about 4 cups of flowerets.
- If using frozen peas, thaw them fully and drain well to avoid excess moisture in the pan.
- Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds.
- When the cumin seeds start to sizzle add the onions.
- When the onions start to turn brown add the ginger.
- Stir and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the ginger is cooked and add the tomatoes and all the spices.
- Mix well and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked.
- Add the cauliflower, peas and salt. Mix well so that the all the flowerets and peas are coated in the sauce. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Reduce the heat, add 1 tbsp of water and cover the pan and cook until it is ready (about 15 minutes) stirring occasionally.
- Turn off the heat when the cauliflower is tender-crisp.
- Add the Dried Fenugreek Leaves (optional, but recommended) and mix well. See recipe notes on how to check if the cauliflower is done.
Leave a Reply