Stuffed Cauliflower - question for our 'down-under' friends

[dragnlaw]

Came across this recipe for stuffing cauliflower. At the the bottom of the recipe there is a short video showing 4 difference stuffings that can be made. But my question is for the chicken one. What is "butter chicken paste" ?
Butter Chicken Stuffed Cauliflower

The other fillings sound and look great too!

 

[msmofet]

Found this. (EDITED to add ingredients screenshot)

Buy Patak's Butter Chicken Curry Paste 312g | Coles

Shop Patak's Butter Chicken Curry Paste 312g and other great products online or in-store at Coles.

www.coles.com.au

 

[pepperhead212]

There's actually a photo of the other side of the jar, on the Cole's link, showing the ingredients. Funny thing - I didn't see "chicken" or "butter" anywhere in the ingredients!

 

[dragnlaw]

Oh, for heaven's sake! I see that all the time at the grocers. It just never clicked in my little pea pickin' brain. Thank you MsMofet!

pepper, I think it is just the paste used to season Butter Chicken. Like Jerk seasoning or Cajun seasoning - doesn't actually have the main protein in it! But your post certainly made me chuckle!

 

[pepperhead212]

I thought it was sort of funny.

I see so many things like that, not only for many Indian dishes, but all those things, like you mentioned. This one actually has the ingredients fairly well spelled out, whereas most things are very vague, about the ingredients, usually just stating "spices". And even an Indian lady I know uses some of those Patak's products, and she says they are the best brand, for things like that.

 

[medtran49]

Butter chicken is a curry dish that contains butter and chicken pieces. Butter chicken paste is simply a shortcut, like red, green, massaman curry pastes.

There is a very good recipe from a former member, Kylie from Australia, for butter chicken at

https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/butter-chicken/ef787ffc-37c7-4426-b1b3-c5591c74d623

 

[taxlady]

Found this. (EDITED to add ingredients screenshot)

Buy Patak's Butter Chicken Curry Paste 312g | Coles

Shop Patak's Butter Chicken Curry Paste 312g and other great products online or in-store at Coles.

www.coles.com.au

View attachment 66420

View attachment 66417

This is exactly what I was going to suggest. I have a jar of that. It was introduced to me by my Scottish, first MIL. An Indian friend said it was the real deal, and I have heard that from other Indian people.

 

[Badjak]

I'm not Indian, but those Patak spice mixes/pastes are pretty good in my opinion

 

[dragnlaw]

I was so excited to make this dish.... and it is absolutely BLECHY!

I made the chicken version with the Patak Butter Chicken - which is in itself really good.

But the cauliflower was still more crunchy than cooked after an hour and a half of cooking. There needed to be much more cheese, and salt. Chicken was to be small dice, well, with a small dice of a cooked chicken - you get shreds - which ended up making the whole concoction taste like tuna. I'm also thinking that some of the cheese should have been mixed in with the chicken.

There is really not enough cavity to stuff to make it a satisfying dish - in my opinion. Of course, if you then carved out more of the stems it will fall apart.. duh. I also doesn't say what size cabbage - but I got a medium size one. So in either large or small it should have worked somehow!

I really like cauliflower. 90% of the time I eat it raw while watching TV - better than chips, eh? So crunchy doesn't bother me but there are times I want it cooked thru - and this was one of those times.

LOL - even the picture is frustrating as it shows as if there is more stuffing than stem - very misleading and needless to say - annoying!

 

[blissful]

We eat a lot of cauliflower, usually baked as cauliflower 'wings' (like chicken wings without chicken). (My son prefers cauliflower wings without cauliflower substituting chicken wings instead.)
If the cauliflower is starting to dry out a little, it will not get tender and moist, it will be more tough and dry. If you have a choice when picking out cauliflower then go for the heavy ones for their size. Those turn out better usually.

 

[Badjak]

Sorry to hear you didn't like it.
Maybe next time, just throw the cauliflower in with the butter chicken
I'm not a cauliflower fan by the way

 

[dragnlaw]

Good advice bliss, didn't know that.
As I said, I really like cauliflower but it is terribly expensive here and I rarely buy it. When I do I'm certainly not going to "rice" it or make a "pizza crust" with it! All them 'new fangled' recipes for cauliflower drive me nuts. LOL

Badjak, I think I agree, would be much better cut into chunks and cooked wih the chicken in the sauce. I just might do that with the 3/4's left over!

 

[pictonguy]

I was so excited to make this dish.... and it is absolutely BLECHY!

I made the chicken version with the Patak Butter Chicken - which is in itself really good.

But the cauliflower was still more crunchy than cooked after an hour and a half of cooking. There needed to be much more cheese, and salt. Chicken was to be small dice, well, with a small dice of a cooked chicken - you get shreds - which ended up making the whole concoction taste like tuna. I'm also thinking that some of the cheese should have been mixed in with the chicken.

There is really not enough cavity to stuff to make it a satisfying dish - in my opinion. Of course, if you then carved out more of the stems it will fall apart.. duh. I also doesn't say what size cabbage - but I got a medium size one. So in either large or small it should have worked somehow!

I really like cauliflower. 90% of the time I eat it raw while watching TV - better than chips, eh? So crunchy doesn't bother me but there are times I want it cooked thru - and this was one of those times.

View attachment 66503 LOL - even the picture is frustrating as it shows as if there is more stuffing than stem - very misleading and needless to say - annoying!

Yeah, that's not surprising. That recipe makes no sense mostly for the problems you encountered. Stuffing a cauliflower, yeah no.

 

[dragnlaw]

Well, I did wonder if it shouldn't have been par-boiled first, of course, then it would have been nigh onto impossible to hold the flowerets together.
So in my naivety I believed the video showing 4 other flavours also being done. Besides - I sort of wanted it to work.
Lesson learned (hopefully)- listen to yourself when you get these feelings.

 

[larry_stewart]

I make a dish, similar in technique, and encountered the same thing when trying to use a whole cauliflower then stuff it. You really have to work on getting the sauce into the center. It makes a good presentation, but in my opinion, not practical.
After the first. time trying the recipe, I liked the flavor, but needed to change things to make it better. I now cut the cauliflower into bite sized pieces. I then boil it with a little salt and turmeric for a few minutes ( dont want them too soft or they will become mushy 2 -4. minutes is enough). I drain then placed the cauliflower pieces into and ceramic oven safe dish, pour the sauce all over it too make sure everything is thoroughly covered , bake , cool a little then eat. Much better than a whole cauliflower. It guarantees that every piece of cauliflower is covered with sauce. The picture doesnt doe it justice. This is a link to the recipe I adapted it from.

***I also sometimes mix n hydrated soy curls to give it a ' meaty' component. Im sure you can do the same with bite sized, precooked chicken pieces***

Gobi Musallam - Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Creamy Makhani Sauce. Vegan Glutenfree Recipe - Vegan Richa

Vegan Gobi Musallam - Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Creamy Makhani Gravy is perfect for any event. It packs a ton of flavor. Dairy-free, gluten-free & soy-free

www.veganricha.com

 

[dragnlaw]

That sounds great Larry. I've marked both her recipe and your version. Haven't really looked but cauliflower should still be on sale.

thanks!

 

[larry_stewart]

That sounds great Larry. I've marked both her recipe and your version. Haven't really looked but cauliflower should still be on sale.

thanks!

If there are any issues let me know. I must have made it a dozen times. Only thing I really change is pre cutting the cauliflower to bite sized pieces than doing the whole cauliflower thing. Some times I have. to tweak the sauce a bit. depending on the tomatoes I use (due to their size, sweatness, acid ...). Nothing a little salt or sugar cant fix.

 

[dragnlaw]

Think the most difficult for me will be to reduce the quantities. I did the whole cabbage, the original time, thinking I would share with upstairs. It was so disastrous that I'm a little leery of doing a full quantity.

 

[taxlady]

Think the most difficult for me will be to reduce the quantities. I did the whole cabbage, the original time, thinking I would share with upstairs. It was so disastrous that I'm a little leery of doing a full quantity.

I understand not wanting to make the full quantity the first time, but if you use half or a quarter, the rest of the cauliflower stays good for quite a while, especially if you can break it down in florets. What I mean, is without cutting through any florets. There are other things you can do with the leftover cauliflower, if you don't want to make the recipe again with what you have left. Put florets in a stir fry. Put some in a salad. For salad, I find it's better to cut medium and larger florets into smaller pieces. Some people like cauliflower soup. I have never tried it or broccoli soup. I'm afraid it would be too much like overcooked cabbage. Don't forget that the stem is yummy raw, if you peel it.

 

[larry_stewart]

The good thing about the way I do it, is just cut up enough pieces to fill whatever dish you want to bake it in ( single layer). Then just pour enough sauce in to coat and cover. Im pretty sure I was able to freeze the remaining sauce for later use ( cant guarantee that, but I think I did). But it allows you to make customized servings instead of the whole thing.