This recipe comes from my favorite melon… My wife’s brain. She came up with this one all by herself and I am thrilled!

Ingredients:

– 1 medium to large cauliflower
– 1 large onion
– 2 inch ginger
– 6 garlic cloves
– 1 red or green hot chili (we used Fresno)
– 3/4 cup red lentils washed
– 2 big or 3 small mangos (ripe, we used manila variety), peeled, cheeks sliced off, and cut into 3/4 in dice
– 1/3 cup Mango Chutney (we used Trader Joes)
– 14 oz can Coconut Milk
– Kashmiri Chilli
– Turmeric
– Cumin
– Coriander
– Curry Powder
– Garam Masala
– Mustard Seeds
– Cumin Seeds
– Curry Leafs if you have them
– Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Step 1: Roast Cauliflower

Preheat oven to 425 degrees convection. Cut the cauliflower into medium florets. Place on parchment lined sheet pan. Drizzle with good amount of neutral oil, and then sprinkle with all the spices above (about 1/2 teaspoon each), salt and black pepper. Rub florets to coat with all the spices, spread out into one layer and place in oven to roast- will take about the same time as the rest of the curry (25-30 minutes), until they are charred on the edges.

Step 2: Make the curry base

Place dutch oven on medium high heat. Finely chop or grind together garlic, ginger, and chili. Saute onion in neutral oil or coconut oil until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Then add the ginger, garlic, chili mixture and saute another 2-3 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons each of cumin, coriander, and 1 tsp of tumeric and curry powder. Add the rinsed lentils, mango chutney, and about 20 oz of water, stir everything to mix. Bring lentils to a boil then reduce to a medium simmer. Cook about 15-20 minutes until lentils are tender, adding small amounts of water as necessary to keep loose (like a thick soup). Add the diced mango and can of coconut milk. By now, the cauliflower should be cooked. Remove from oven and add florets to curry. Add salt to taste, a little at a time until you feel there is good balance of salty and sweet-we ended up using about a 1 tbsp in the end. Add water as desired to thin out the curry to your liking. Simmer about 5 more minutes to let everything meld together.

Step 3: Make the tadka (tempered oil)

In a small saucepan, heat up 2 tbsp oil. Add 1 tsp each of cumin and coriander seeds. Wait until they start to sputter, then add 10 curry leaves if using and fry them until crispy in the oil, stirring to coat them. Then gently pour the oil , curry leaves, and seeds over the top of the curry. Serve over rice or with naan. Enjoy!