Slow Cooker Cauliflower with Curry Almond Sauce

I would admit to being addicted to vegan dishes with thick spicy sauces.  I have posted recipes of this nature in the past (here, here, here, here and here) using vegetable combinations and sauces.

I decided to try adapting a red curry paste almond chicken dish from this recipe and came up with a plant based version without the use of red curry paste that was in this original recipe.  It called for three tbsp of this spice mix and is the major flavoring component aside from the curry powder.  After looking up the homemade recipe of this paste, I incorporated some of the ingredients that were closed to them.  I added the juice and zest of one lemon for example to approximate the lemon grass component plus the spices cumin, cinnamon, coriander powder and cardamon. At the end when the taste was not quite there, I decided not to increase the salt but instead used Sriracha to intensify the flavor of the coconut almond combination.  Wow it worked.

For me success means I would want the dish morning, noon and night and I did.  The almond gives only a very subtle taste of itself to the dish but it does thicken the sauce. I like eating the dish with quinoa or rice with the suggested sides of fresh vegetables like grape tomatoes, sliced cucumber and fresh spinach.  I used the slow cooker method for convenience but the stove top one pot method will also work.


Slow Cooker Cauliflower with Curry Almond Sauce

(Adapted from this recipe)

• 2 tbsp coconut oil

• 1 onion, sliced

• 2 tbsp ginger, minced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tsp cumin

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp coriander powder

• 1/4 tsp cardamon powder

• 2 tbsp curry powder

• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

• 1 can full fat coconut milk

• 1/4 cup almond butter

• 2 cauliflower, cut into florets

• 1 green pepper, sliced

• 1 yellow or red pepper, sliced

• 1 cup baby carrots

• 1 tbsp sriracha or to taste

• 1 tsp salt or to taste

• grape tomatoes, cucumber and fresh spinach as sides

1. Heat the coconut oil at medium heat in a saute pan or in the slow cooker bowl itself if the slow cooker has a saute mode.  Add the onion, ginger and garlic till they are cooked.  
2. Add the cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cardamon, curry powder and red pepper flakes and heat them through.  
3. Add the sauteed mixture if using a saute pan and the rest of the ingredients except the sides to the slow cooker. 
4. Cook for 3 hours at high setting or 6 hours a low setting.  I used Aroma brand rice cooker/slow cooker and cooked the dish for 2 hours at slow cooker setting.
5. Serve over rice with sides of grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and fresh spinach.