Roasted Spiced Cauliflower and Chickpeas over Jeera Rice

A hearty, substantial meal, but not at all heavy!  

I first made and posted this back in 2015, and thought it was time to revisit this recipe.  I forgot how much we both love this meal.  Jim is a cauliflower nut, so any time that I can make it the star of a meal, I  know I will get his smile of approval.

Sheet Pan Love

As with so many meals these days, pulling out the sheet pan to do most of the work is such a time saver isn’t it?  You’ll love how easy this dish is to prepare.

Start with seasoning some olive oil with cinnamon and crushed cumin seeds.  Cut up a small head of cauliflower into bite sized florets and add them to the bowl and toss well.  Spread them out on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven.  While they are starting to roast,  add a 14 oz can of drained and rinsed chickpeas to the bowl (no need to rinse it first) and add some Aleppo pepper as well.  Toss them in the residual oil and pepper, and after about 10 minutes, spread these around the cauliflower florets.  I also add 4 or so Roma tomatoes that have been quartered and drizzled with a bit more oil, salt and pepper.  Let them all roast together till warmed and just starting to char.

Jeera Rice

This is probably my favourite way to prepare basmati rice!  It’s like a party in your mouth! The crushed cumin seeds, green cardamom pods, bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon stick add such a lovely undertone of flavour to the finished rice.  All you need to do is sauté the spices in ghee or butter first, then add the rinsed and soaked rice to the tempered spices.  Then add the water and salt, cover and let the rice do it’s thing!  Here is the link to my Tandoor Spiced Chicken Skewers with Jeera Rice, so that you can see where else I love to showcase it.  Some Indian homes just use the jeera (cumin) seeds, but I fell in love with the version that has the variety of spices included.

If you time it correctly, you can have the rice ready at the same time as the veggies.  Just start the rinsing and soaking before doing anything else.  This way, you can have the rice ready to go as the cauliflower is going into the oven.  It will cook (use the stove top or a rice cooker, whatever floats your boat) and should be ready as you pull out the final roasting of vegetables and chickpeas.

Of course, if you just want to make up a batch of plain rice, or saffron rice etc, that’s fine too!  Or if you want to serve this over pasta that would be great as well.

To Finish

The bright pop of pomegranate arils is a wonderful contrast to the warm spices and creamy texture of the chickpeas.  Chopped mint and parsley add a bright earthy finish.

What’s great about this meal is that it can be eaten warm, right away, or even at room temperature.  Leftovers are great the next day if stored in a sealed container in the fridge.  Jim likes it as is, but even he said, “if someone wanted to add grilled chicken, it would be good too!” He’s turning into such a little foodie! 😀

I say that this will feed four.  Depending on appetites, it can easily feed up to six, especially if you are serving it alongside a meat dish of some sort.

Enjoy this dish all year round.  I always seem to pull it out in January as a lighter meal to balance the heavy and hearty winter meals.  But as a room temperature salad in July, it would be amazing as well.  A side of Sumac Lamb Chops with Lemon Tahini Dipping Sauce would be amazing with this dish!

Love Jen

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Roasted Spiced Cauliflower and Chickpeas over Jeera Rice

A warmly spiced vegetarian salad over a fragrant rice is perfect warm or at room temperature!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword basmati rice, cauliflower, chickpeas, mint, parsley, pomegranate arils

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 small head of cauliflower
• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus more to finish
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed lightly
• 1 1/2 cups chickpeas (home cooked or drained from a can or jar)
• 1 tsp Aleppo pepper (to taste)
• 4 ripe vine tomatoes
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 tbsp pomegranate seeds (or more if you love these jewels!)
• Jeera Rice See Notes for recipe
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F
2. Trim the cauliflower into small florets. Pour the olive oil into a large bowl. Add the cinnamon and cumin seeds. Stir it all up. Add the cauliflower and toss to coat well. Pour out the cauliflower onto a baking sheet, in one even layer. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes or until just softened. Don't wash out the bowl with the oil.

3. Add the drained chickpeas to the bowl. Add the Aleppo pepper to taste (I say the kickier the better, but you know your taste buds!) Toss to coat. Quarter the tomatoes if small, or cut into eights if larger. Should be about the same size as the cauliflower florets.

4. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and add the chickpeas and tomatoes to the cauliflower. Roast another 15 minutes at the most. (just enough to start to char the tomatoes) Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Toss in half of the pomegranate seeds you want to use.

5. Take your cooked rice, and turn onto a serving platter or large bowl. Add half of the mint and the parsley leaves and lightly combine with the rice. Pour the heated cauliflower and chickpeas over the rice. Drizzle with a final bit of olive oil.

6. Scatter the remaining pomegranate arils, mint and parsley over the vegetables.

7. See blog post for more details.

Recipe Notes

Here is the Jeera Rice recipe. The full recipe link is here.

1 cup basmati rice (or as much as your rice cooker suggests for 4 portions

2 tbsp ghee or butter

1 tbsp whole cumin or jeera seeds

4 green cardamom pods lightly crushed with the flat blade of a knife

1 large bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

6 whole cloves

salt as desired

1 1/2 cups water (or as directed by your rice cooker)    

1. Place the rice in a strainer set over a bowl. Rinse with water a few times till the water runs clear. Use your fingers to stir the rice strands around in the strainer.

2. Then pour enough water over the rice to soak (the rice should be completely covered and has an inch of extra water on top) .Soak the rice for 30 minutes.

3. When you are ready to cook, drain all the water from the rice and set the rice aside.

4. Heat ghee in a pot and add the whole spices and cumin seeds to it. Once the cumin seeds start spluttering after a minute or so, add drained rice. If using a rice cooker, just heat the ghee directly in the rice cooker and temper the whole spices in it on the cook setting before adding the rice.

5. Sauté the rice in the pan (or rice cooker) for one minute on a medium heat, stirring to coat the rice in the ghee and spices.

6. Add 1 1/2 cups water (or as much water as your rice cooker directs) and salt to the rice and mix well. Bring the rice to a quick boil, and then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook for approximately 12-15 minutes, until all the water has evaporated and the rice is cooked through. Turn off the heat, leave the cover on and let the rice rest for 5 more minutes.

7. Top with chopped coriander and serve.