Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

I got this great curry book from my mother in law called "50 Great Curries of India" by Camellia Panjabi. It's got all sorts of recipes from different parts of India. I found this book helpful because there are pictures of all the spices.
Curries can seem like a lot of work becuase of the long list of ingredients, but once you buy all the basic spices and have them on hand, it's pretty easy.

I am all about using what you have on hand to cook, so I modify recipes all the time. I had cauliflower in the fridge, so I decided to make a cauliflower curry called aloo gobi (maybe you'll remember this dish if you've seen Bend it Like Beckham). It's supposed to be cooked with potatoes, but I fancied chickpeas instead. I also modified the recipe slightly to accommodate the spices I had on hand. Here was my version of this vegetable curry. It was spicy and flavourful and tasty!



Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower broken into florets
1 can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 can coconut milk*
3 onions diced finely
4 garlic cloves minced
2cm of ginger grated or finely chopped
5 dried red chilies
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1/8 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 peppercorns
1/8 ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

*I didn't have any coconut milk on hand so I substituted 3/4 can of Half-fat sodium reduced Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. Yes, I know this probably sounds weird and completely unauthentic, but it was really good, I promise! It helped create a rich creamy sauce to the curry. (I have a feeling my father-in-law would cringe at this substitution.)

Directions
1. Heat some cooking oil in a pot and saute the onions, garlic, chilies and ginger until the onions start to become golden but not brown.
2. Push the onions to the edges of the pot so that there is a little hole in the middle. Pour a little more oil in the centre and add in the spices together, allowing them to fry for about 30 seconds. Add about 1/2 cup of water to form a paste.
3. Add the cream of mushroom soup or coconut milk and simmer for about 6-7 mins. Season with salt to taste.
4. Add the cauliflower and chickpeas and cook until done.

Serve with basmati rice and/or naan.