Roasted Cauliflower and Potatoes with Bengali Spices

Anther few busy days ahead. I have an air fryer version of this classic . Roasted Cauliflower and Potatoes with Bengali Spices. I have a gorgeous flatbread recipe waiting for you. On tap for the weekend. This is what would be called Alu Kopi Bhaja, or pan fried potatoes and cauliflower. The ubiquitous Bengali word for frying, stir frying, shallow frying is Bhaja.

Life has other plans, as we ended up without internet over the weekend. Before, I talk about the silver lining, let me tell you that I am not one bit happy about this, and yes Verizon I am talking to you!

Not to mention the fact, that we supposedly recently upgraded our service. Now, that I am done with my ranting, the lack of internet and distractions actually led to an unplugged weekend and we had probably one of the prettiest weekends this year, to enjoy that distance.

My Roasted Potato and Cauliflower Story

Today’s recipe is a super simple one that I make all the time at home, with different variations – Roasted Potato and Cauliflower with Bengali spices.  It can be done either in the oven (original version) or done in the air fryer. The second variation throws in some tomatoes for good measure. I love the colors here.

I make this all the time, but when asked it did take me a little time to get my act together and actually write up the recipe, measure and test it, making me realize why all my recipes do not make their way into this blog.

They often remain facebook friends, because of location and a host of other factors we cannot meet in person, but, you end up counting on them to support your book ventures, offering a pick me up on a random day and of course chatting with you on a night you just cannot get yourself to sleep. Because different locations often come with different time zones, right?

What is a Chorchori?

In Bengali Parlance it is a variation of a Chorchori.

Now, at the risk of lecturing on an unrelated topic, I add this in. I often hear of people talking about a typical chorchori (Bengali vegetable medley), folks there really is no such thing. It is an everyday way of getting an assortment of vegetables.  A lot is left totally at the discretion of the home cook.

So, back to the dish on hand, I strongly encourage you to work with organic potatoes. It is fun t0 to keep the skin on for the potatoes. They do roast up to lovely delicious crusty goodness and are a perfect foil to the delicate crisp cauliflower.

A variation to this spicing is also to substitute nigella seeds (kalo jire) instead of the panch phoron. You are welcome to keep playing with all the possibilities that your heart fancies. It is spring after all and the birds and bees and flowers are all out in their glory. It is a time for spontaneity both in and out of the kitchen.