Treat friends or family to this popular Indo-Chinese starter where crispy cauliflower florets are tossed in a hot, sweet and sour sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
- neutral oil such as sunflower or vegetable, for frying
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 green chilli, chopped
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced, plus extra to serve
- ½ red pepper, diced
- ½ green pepper, diced
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp chilli sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
For the batter
- 100g plain flour
- 20g cornflour
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
Method
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Cook the cauliflower florets in a large saucepan of boiling water for 8-10 mins, until tender, then drain in a colander and set aside.
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Mix all the batter ingredients together in a large bowl with 1 tsp salt, then slowly pour in 200ml water, stirring all the time to make a smooth batter thick enough to coat the cauliflower.
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Drop the florets into the batter and stir gently to coat. Pour enough oil into a large saucepan to half-fill the pan then put over a medium-high heat until it reaches 180C, or a cube of bread dropped in browns in 30 seconds. Fry the cauliflower florets in batches for about 6 mins until golden and crisp, then leave to drain in a colander.
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Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large wok over a low heat, then add the garlic, chopped chilli, red onion, spring onion, red and green peppers, and cook, stirring, for 2 mins.
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Stir in the ketchup, chilli sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chilli flakes, black pepper and 1 tsp each salt and pepper and heat through for 1 min. Toss the fried florets in the sauce to coat. Serve in a bowl, sprinkled with chopped spring onions, if you like.