Spicy Cumin Scented Broccoli

Spicy Broccoli with Cumin

Spicy Broccoli with Cumin

After a 4-week hiatus, I give you this healthy broccoli recipe. I wish I could say that I’ve kicked my sugar addiction and the focus of this blog will now be classic healthy recipes, but that might as well be an early April fools joke. I have plenty of decadent desserts and sweet recipes in the pipeline! I will continue to throw in a healthy recipe or two, especially as the weather gets warmer and we begin to think about squeezing into that bathing suit again. This Spicy Cumin Scented Broccoli recipe is a great way to change-up that boring green vegetable routine but still keep it healthy.

The flavor profile of this dish is warm Indian spices with a touch of heat. It works well paired with rice and Lemon Coriander Chicken, almost any other Indian inspired dish, or just grilled chicken. It’s super easy and combines flavorful curry spices such as cumin, coriander, and turmeric. Hot chilli pepper (I like serranos) and cayenne make this dish a little fiery while the acid in the lemon juice helps cut the spice.

This recipe was inspired by Cauliflower with Cumin and Asafetida from “Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cooking,” by Madhur Jaffrey. Her Indian style recipes are some of my favorite. Jaffrey has been writing cookbooks since the 1970’s (shortly after my grandmother) and was one of the first mainstream Indian style cooks (or perhaps the first). Although I haven’t found any direct connection between her and my grandmother, Paula Peck, Jaffrey worked with Craig Claiborne in the 1960’s, a time when he often featured my grandmother in The New York Times.

Since I didn’t use Cauliflower or Asafetida in this recipe, you may be wondering how this recipe even relates to the original. It just so happens that two of the ingredients listed in the name of the recipe are the two I omitted. I simply replaced the Cauliflower with Broccoli and omitted the Asafetida because I didn’t have it on hand and it can only be purchased in Indian or ethnic grocery stores (or online). The other spices and ingredients all remain the same and make this dish easy, tasty, and best of all, nutritious.

Spicy Cumin Scented Broccoli

Spicy Cumin Scented Broccoli

Ingredients

1 ¼ lb of head of broccoli
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into very fine half-rings
½-1 small green chili such as serrano pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
pinch cayenne pepper
¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
½ cup of water
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions

Break the broccoli into florets that are about 1 ½ inches at the head and 1 ½ inches in length. The stem may be peeled and cut into ¼ inch rounds.

Put the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add cumin seeds. Wait about 10 seconds and stir in onions. Saute for about 2 minutes or until onion slices brown. Now add broccoli and green chili. Turn heat down to medium and toss. Add ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and salt. Toss for another minute. Add water and lemon juice, toss and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low and cook for 5-7 minutes or just until broccoli is tender.

Spicy Cumin Scented Broccoli

Yum

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