Super Easy Vegetable Curry

Proof that a handful of pantry ingredients can make a deeply flavored curry, this quick cauliflower curry is vegan, gluten-free, and on the table in about half an hour. The flavor comes not from a long list of ingredients but from a single technique: blooming the spices.

You cook the onion, then add mustard seeds and let them pop in the hot pan, which releases their nutty aroma. Garlic, ginger, curry powder, and cayenne follow, cooked a minute or two so the spices toast and wake up. This step is the difference between a flat curry and a fragrant one.

Then in go cauliflower, canned tomatoes, and a splash of water. Cover and simmer until the cauliflower is just tender, drinking up the spiced tomato sauce. Serve it over rice or alongside other curries and flatbread.

Kitchen Tips

• Let the mustard seeds pop and the spices toast in the hot pan before adding the vegetables; blooming them is what gives this simple curry its depth.
• Cut the cauliflower into even florets so it cooks at the same rate.
• Simmer covered so the cauliflower steams tender and soaks up the spiced tomato sauce.
• Add water a little at a time to keep the sauce as thick or saucy as you like.

Variations

• Add chickpeas, potatoes, peas, or spinach to bulk it up.
• Stir in a splash of coconut milk at the end for a creamier, milder curry.
• Adjust the cayenne to set your heat level, and finish with fresh cilantro.