Cauliflower Fritters (Floweraa Phodi)

I have a fetish for Fried Food/ Phodi and I do not want to live in denial. Of late, from deep fried I have switched to Pan-Fried for health reasons hence Floweraa Phodi or Cauliflower Fritters for one such lunch menu which has been consciously thought of (trying for some weight loss and low calorie food). They are simple, nice and tasty. Do not consumer oil as much as Deep Fried goodies do. In Goa, we used to get plenty of fresh Cauliflower straight from the Farm. From there began my love affair with farm fresh vegetables, greens and root produce. Goa is blessed with plenty of farm area, beaches, unexploited virgin territories. Out local Milkman also owned one and some of my neighbours too owned. They call it Bhaat in Goan Konkani language. It was a thing of pride to share the local produce you get from your Bhaat with your friends and family. Sometimes we had huge batch of Coconuts, Cashews, Hogplums, Colocasia leaves dropped by our friends. It was such a delight to eat those because they are fresh from farm, organically treated and have a longer shelf life.

Once, our Milkman dropped a huge Cauliflower (yes, he is a pro owning Tractors, Gobar Gas plant, we visited his village when we were kids to see his plant). Anyways, coming back - Mom made Cauliflower Phodi out of it. Ever since that day, I have become a big fan of this Phodi. Her approach is little different because Cauliflower is a hard vegetable and it takes time to cook. She treats this vegetable differently.

Serves ~ 2 individuals

Preparation time ~ 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Cauliflower florets - 6-10

Rice Flour - 4-5 tablespoons

Red Chilli powder - 1/3 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/5 teaspoon

Oil - For frying

Salt - As per taste
Water - For parboiling Cauliflower.

Method:

Chop a large head of Flower into ledium sized florets. Parboil them in hit water for 15 minutes. Drain off water, apply the marinade of salt and turmeric powder. Keep aside.

Roll the florets into Rice flour and Red Chilli powder mixture. Shallow fry in a deep dish frying pan, turn them over after they get fried on one side. Sprinkle water and cover with a lid. This ensures they get cooked appropriately. Turn off the flame once they are evenly fried and cripsy, golden colored. Serve hot with Rice and Curry.