Air fried Cauliflower with five spice

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Air fried cauliflower in five spice is a simple side dish that comes together in less than 20 minutes. You can use the air fried cauliflower in wraps, add in your bowl meal or enjoy with rice and daal.

What is Five Spice

Five spice here is referred to Bengali five spice, which is a mix of 5 whole spices. We call it Panch Phoron, and it is one of the most popular Bengali spice mix used very frequently in daily cooking.

The spice is used in the beginning of cooking to add as the initial base flavor of the dish. As the spic splatter in hot oil, it releases a very earthy aroma.

Several simple stir fried dishes calls for only this panch phoron and turmeric for color.

The Air fried cauliflower with five spice also doesn't need any other spices. It is very simple and can even be stir fried in a pan if you don't have an air fryer.

Ingredients you need for Air Fried Cauliflower in Five Spice

Cauliflower florets - I used the regular white cauliflower, but you can definitely try with any other variety you have.

Bengali Five Spice - It's a mix of five spices - cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, nigella seeds, mustard seeds. Just mix equal portion of these and you will have Bengali five spice.

Turmeric and salt - Turmeric is mainly for color, so you can skip if you don't want to add.

Oil - If I make this in stove top, I use mustard oil. But since I prefer the quick air fry version, I used the regular vegetable or canola oil.

You can definitely use any other variety of spices too as per your liking.

Steps to prepare Air Fried Cauliflower in Five Spice

1- Slice the cauliflower florets into bite size florets.

2- Soak the cauliflower florets in a bowl with some salt and cover the bowl. Let the cauliflower florets soak and soften down for a while.

3- Drain the cauliflower from the water and place in a separate bowl. Pour little oil and sprinkle turmeric. You can skip this step if you don't have turmeric.

4- If you have prepared panch phoron, add that to the cauliflower. If not, prepare panch phoron by mixing equal portion of the whole spices required for panch phoron/Bengali five spice.

5- Add the five spice and mix it around.

6- Preheat the air fryer and cook for 14 minutes, shake once in between.

Enjoy the air fried cauliflower with Peyaj Mushuri Dal or Lau Diye Bhaja Munger Dal It pairs so comforting with rice and dal.

FAQs

Can I make this dish with broccoli?

I don't see why not! I would add just a tad bit of sugar if I use broccoli instead of cauliflower.

Why did you soak cauliflower before air frying ?

It softened the cauliflower, which helps to soak the flavor of the spices. It also helps to remove dirt, residue and bugs.

How about adding some potatoes along with cauliflower?

If you want to add potatoes, just cook the potatoes for a while before adding the cauliflower, as the potatoes will take a bit more time than the cauliflower. Or slice the potato in small bites.

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