Place cashews and raisins in separate bowls and immerse in hot, boiling water to soak as you prep your remaining ingredients.
Position your baking rack on the second-from-top position, and pre-heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a food processor grind onion, ginger, and garlic. You’ll have a heaping 2/3 cup of the watery paste.
Heat oil in a 4-quart sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add cumin and green and black cardamom pods. Heat until the seeds pop, about 40 seconds.
Very, very carefully add the onion-ginger-garlic paste. Keep a lid handy in case the mixture pops out of the pan. Cook until the mixture browns, about 3 minutes. Be sure to mix it occasionally so that it does not stick to the pan.
Add butter and cook another minute, mixing.
Add tomatoes and cook about 2 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down. Add 1 cup of boiling water and continue to cook another minute. Of course you can use water that is room temperature, but that will bring the cooking temperature down. I love my electric kettle and keep it close when adding water to curries.
Add drained cashews, garam masala, coriander, salt, red chile, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down and simmer about 7 minutes until the tomatoes completely break down and the mixture comes together. If the mixture thickens too much, add a tiny bit of water. Be careful not to add too much, as the sauce will become too watery later when you bake it.
Take out black cardamom pods and the skin of the green if possible. No problem if you can’t find all of the green cardamom skin, as it will get blended down and just add flavor to your dish.
. Transfer the mixture to a blender or Vita-Mix and blend until completely smooth. I always use a little water to clean out the bottom of the blender and get every last bit of the curry.
. Return the sauce to your pan, add drained raisins, green chiles, and cream. Heat through. Set aside until you cook the cauliflower.
. Place cauliflower upside down (stalk facing up) in a 10-quart stockpot. Add turmeric, salt, bay leaves, peppercorn, cloves, and 14 cups water. Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down and simmer 10 – 12 minutes. I like my cauliflower al dente. If you want it softer, by all means, cook it a little longer. By turning the cauliflower upside down the edible parts all get cooked perfectly. Test your cauliflower’s softness with a fork before removing. Alternatively, you can also steam your cauliflower.
. Carefully remove cauliflower from pot. Drain it, and place it in a 2-quart ovenproof dish. The key is to put it in a dish just big enough to hold it. If the dish is too large, then your topping will eventually dry out after baking. I like the turmeric soaked in, but if you really want the cauliflower to stay white, omit the turmeric and add a little milk to the boiling water.
. Take your sauce and carefully pour all but one cup over your cauliflower. Be sure to coat the entire vegetable. Bake in oven for 15 minutes until all the flavors have a chance to soak into the cauliflower. Pull it out, scoop the sauce from the sides, put it over your cauliflower, and cook another 5 minutes.
. Take your dish out, pour the remaining cup of the sauce (heat first if you need to) over the dish to spruce it up a bit, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve immediately. I like to place the whole cauliflower on a platter surrounded by basmati rice so that everyone can easily serve herself and make a meal out of it. You can also serve with roti or naan and cut it into wedges.
Tools: You’ll need a 4-quart sauté pan, blender or Vita Mix, and a 2-quart ovenproof dish.
Vegan-ize it! Replace butter with Earth Balance spread and the cream with coconut milk creamer. You can also leave the cream out entirely, as your cashews will give you enough creaminess.
