- Steam the gobi until it is lightly cooked but still has a bite- just a few minutes or boil for 1 minute. We don’t want it to go mushy. Drain it and pat it dry. Then mix it together with the coriander seeds, the sunflower oil and ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper.
- If you have a grill, arrange the cauliflower on a flat baking tray and place under the grill until the edges start to ‘catch’ and go a lovely brown colour. It is so hard to say how long this will take because everyone’s grill is so different. You are far better going by the colour- but it will probably be at least 10 minutes on each side. If you don’t have a grill, lightly fry the gobi. Heat the cold pressed oil in a pan and add the gobi florets, allow each side to get a golden-brown colour before turning. Remove from the heat when both sides have a little colour (the whole thing does not need to be golden brown, we are not deep frying it! Just the edges).
- Meanwhile, while the gobi is browning, make the jeera-spiced pumpkin seeds! In a bowl mix 1 tablespoon of water with the jeera powder and a pinch of salt and pepper to make a thin paste. Throw in the pumpkin seeds and toss it in the mixture until each seed is coated. Heat up a pan on the stove and when it is hot when you hover your hand over it, throw in the seeds. You want the seeds to start to puff up, and for the spice to smell fragrant, but not burnt. Depending on the heat of your flame, this could take between 2 and 5 minutes (as long as you got the pan hot before you put the seeds in, which is important)
- Make the dressing. Put all the ingredients in cup or bowl and just whisk with a fork until evenly combined.
- Now we just need to assemble this all together. Find a wide, shallow serving bowl. Start with the bed of millet, mix it with the cooked channa and toss through the finely chopped mint and methi leaves, and pour half of the dressing over the millet-channa bed and really mix well. Now you have a lovely herby, tangy base. Evenly distribute the golden cauliflower over the top and scatter the radish matchsticks, torn mint and methi leaves, pomegranate jewels over the top. Finish with the roasted seeds and some more methi and coriander leaves. This is your chance to get creative and make it look really artful! The contrast of colours of the ingredients will look so inviting, try to arrange everything so the colours are evenly spread out. Drizzle over the remainder of the dressing at the last minute, and serve.
Millet, Gobi + Methi Salad
This is an example of a salad which follows my 7 step formula. The vegetable stars of this salad are the gobi and radish. One is cooked to the point of caramelisation, whilst the raw radish, which we will chop into matchsticks, brings a bitter contrasting flavour and texture. This would make a wonderful light lunch or as part of sharing feast!
INGREDIENTS
1 gobi cut into florets
1 cup of soaked, cooked channa
1 tablespoon of cold-pressed sunflower oil.
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 mug foxtail millet, soaked for 12 hours and then cooked according to instructions (cook with the juice of one lemon and 1 teaspoon of salt)
3 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon jeera (cumin) powder
1 white radish, peeled/scraped and chopped into matchsticks
2 handful of mint leaves, (1 handful- chop finely, the other just tear gently)
2 handfuls of methi leaves (1 handful- chop finely, the other just leave whole)
3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
DRESSING
2 tablespoons cold-pressed sesame oil or sunflower oil.
Juice of one lemon
2 teaspoons of tahini (sesame paste. You can make this yourself if you have a high-speed blender- simply toast sesame seeds until golden and then blend into a paste. This will take up to 15 mins in a blender, you may need to keep stopping and scraping down the sides until it becomes a smooth creamy paste. Or you can buy a lovely one from Happy Healthy Me)
Handful of coriander leaves finely chopped or blended to a paste.
Pinch of salt and fresh black pepper or pepper powder.
SERVES
1-2
