Experimenting: Indian Cauliflower Puree Rotini

 Without experiments, we wouldn't know how things work. Or if they work. I will spoil the surprise in this one: I failed. Indian Cauliflower Pasta does not work. Although the name pretty much suggests an epic fail, it was mostly a dramatic spice imbalance that jacked this up. Here's what I used:

• half a head of cauliflower
• about 3-4 servings Rotini pasta
• milk
• margarine/butter
• Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Ground Cumin Seed, Ground Coriander, Ground Cardamom Seed, Turmeric, Ground Cloves and Garlic Powder

 I started with the cauliflower puree, which on its own is actually pretty good. You boil the cauliflower for about 15 minutes until it's really soft, then drain it.

 
To make the puree, put the cauliflower in a blender/food processor, add some margarine/butter and a little milk. Blend it together, and add a little more milk as needed until it's a smooth consistency. If you want to eat it at this point as a side dish or something, good call. It's a good replacement for mashed potatoes if you are trying to cut back on those.

Here's where I lost my marbles. I just kind of threw the spices in willy-nilly. In Indian food, a masala is a spice mixture. Good Indian food involves by a really flavorful but balanced masala. This masala was definitely unbalanced. Like, Fox News unbalanced. Just sayin'.

Cost Plus has really good, affordable spices

  It didn't taste bad in the pot, but when I mixed it with the pasta my tongue cried. It wasn't heat spicy, just overwhelming spicy. I put in way too much Cloves. Pretty sure I put in way too much overall, and that it all just meshed into a cacophonous mess. Don't try this at home.

It didn't even look good