Indian Spiced Cauliflower Soup

I’ve been trying for a long time to learn to like Indian food.  I let this be known to coworkers a few years ago. Fortunately, there were some really good Indian home cooks at that job. One day, a coworker approached my desk with a Ziploc bag full of seeds in it. An illicit deal was about to happen.  Actually, he explained that the bag contained an Indian spice mixture called panch puran, a mixture of cumin, mustard, nigella, fennel, and fenugreek seeds. (Please correct me if I’m wrong about this combo of seeds.) I used it a couple of times, but without success.

Until now. I’m not saying I like any and all Indian food. I’m just saying that this is the first time I’ve used panch puran and have been happy with the results. Well, I’m more than happy. This soup is delicious! I do admire that Indian cuisines tend to use a lot of cauliflower, one of my favorite vegetables, so it’s not that surprising that this turned out so well. Once again, I found inspiration in a NYT recipe.

1 medium head cauliflower, cleaned, leaves removed, and cut into large chunks
1/2 - 1 tsp olive oil or bacon fat

Scant ½ cup converted rice

5 – 7 parsley and/or cilantro stems

2 medium bay leaves

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated. That’s about 1 piece ¼ inch in diameter and length of fresh ginger, pre-grated.

3 tsp or so panch puran

2 tsp cumin

Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Enough water to cover (about 2 pints)

Optional toppings:

Greek yogurt

Finely chopped parsley, cilantro, and/or green onion

Sweat onions and garlic over low heat in the fat or oil until soft. Add grated ginger, panch puran, and cumin and cook for 20 or 30 seconds. Download the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that floats to the top. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the cauliflower is tender and the rice is cooked. Taste for seasonings throughout the cooking process. You may want to add more of any of them at any time.

Allow to cool to not scalding. Remove stems and bay leaves. Whip out your trusty immersion blender and further deconstruct. Serve as is, or with optional toppings.

This soup is rather unattractive in color. A half carrot added with the cauliflower would probably add a pleasing hue and sweetness.

4/30/12 update: I just learned that "punch" derives from the Hindi word "panch," meaning hand, because it traditionally has 5 ingredients. Perhaps that is the origin of "panch puran."