Fried cauliflower is a popular dish in many cuisines of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and elsewhere. It may start from raw or cooked

cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species ''Brassica oleracea'' in the genus ''Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head is eaten – the ...

; it may be dipped in batter or breading; it may be fried in oil, butter, or other fats. It can be served on its own, as a mezze or side dish, or in a sandwich. It is often seasoned with salt, spices, and a variety of sauces, in the Middle East often based on

tahini Tahini () or tahina (, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Tahini is used in the cuisines of the Levant and E ...

strained yogurt Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive so ...

. Cauliflower in general, and fried cauliflower in particular, has become increasingly popular in the United States.

Preparation

Fried cauliflower may start from raw or cooked cauliflower. The cauliflower is separated into florets then deep-fried. It may be fried plain,; it may be

breaded Bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants including breading and crispies) consist of crumbled bread of various dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thicken ...

; it may be battered; or it may be simply floured.

The plain version is the crispest, though the oiliest; the breaded and battered versions result in a moister, less crisp interior. After draining, it may be seasoned or sauced in a variety of ways.

History

Deep-fried and pan-fried cauliflower is found in many cuisines, and is well documented through the 19th century in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is often called by its French name, ''choufleur frit''.

Regional versions

France

Fried battered cauliflower is served in

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

with a tomato sauce as ''fritot de chou-fleur''.

India

A wide variety of fried cauliflower dishes are found in India. Cauliflower

pakora Pakora () is a spiced fritter originating from the Indian subcontinent. They are sold by street vendors and served in restaurants in South Asia and UK. It consists of items, often vegetables such as potatoes and onions, coated in seasoned gram ...

s, battered and spiced fried cauliflower, are popular in North India and Chennai, and may be double-fried for crispness. They can be served with a tomato or peanut

chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce. ...

. One Punjabi recipe deep-fries the cauliflower first, then sautés it in spices and yogurt to nap the florets with sauce.

Israel

Fried cauliflower is found both in

Mizrahi ''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' ( he, מזרחי) has two meanings. In the literal Hebrew meaning ''Eastern'', it may refer to: *Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East * Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberian P ...

and

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

traditions, which were brought to Israel when Jews immigrated to Israel, often as

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

. Among the Mizrahi, fried cauliflower was often eaten as a mezze before large meals or in various salads (often dressed with

sauce,

, or citrus juice). Over time, fried cauliflower was adopted as a

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

. With the rise of

fine dining Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...

in Israel, Israeli chefs have incorporated versions of the dish into their cooking, where it may be an important main dish. In Israel, fried cauliflower is commonly served at

falafel Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served in a p ...

shawarma Shawarma (; ar, شاورما) is a popular Middle Eastern dish that originated in the Ottoman Empire, consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in a cone-like shape, and roasted on a slowly-turning vertical rotisserie or spit. Traditiona ...

hummus Hummus (, ; ar, حُمُّص, 'chickpeas'; full Arabic name: ''ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna'' ar, حمص بالطحينة, 'chickpeas with tahini'), also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made fr ...

, and

sabich Sabich or sabih ( he, סביח ) is a sandwich of pita or laffa bread stuffed with fried eggplants, hard boiled eggs, chopped salad, parsley, Amba (condiment), amba and tahini sauce. It is an Iraqi Jews, Iraqi Jewish dish that has become a stap ...

stands, often in a sandwich or as part of a

salad bar A salad bar is a buffet-style table or counter at a restaurant or food market on which salad components are provided for customers to assemble their own salad plates. Most salad bars provide lettuce, chopped tomatoes, assorted raw, sliced vegeta ...

: "Fried cauliflower is a staple of falafel-shop salad bars". It is commonly served plain just with some salt. It may also be served with strained yogurt, tahini sauce,

amba Amba or AMBA may refer to: Title * Amba Hor, alternative name for Abhor and Mehraela, Christian martyrs * Amba Sada, also known as Psote, Christian bishop and martyr in Upper Egypt Given name * Amba, the traditional first name given to the first ...

zhug Zhug ( he, סְחוּג, s'ḥug), sahawiq (Yemeni Arabic: ) or bisbas (Somali language, Somali: ) is a hot sauce originating in Yemeni cuisine. In other countries of the Arabian Peninsula it is also called ma'booj ( ar, معبوج}). Etymolo ...

, or other condiments. The Sephardic version, ''culupidia frita'', is battered and often served with lemon (''culupidia frita con limón''), which is sometimes simmered with the cauliflower until it evaporates.

Italy

An early Italian recipe for fried cauliflower (1822) first parboils it, then breads it and fries it in oil or lard. Various versions of the dish are found in later cookbooks. It continues to be part of the repertoire of

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and late ...

, and is sold as a street food in Sicily.

Levant

Levantine cuisine Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant. Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Levantine cuisine is ''meze'' including ''tabbouleh'', ''hummus'' and ''baba ghanoush''. Levantine dishes * Arabic coffee (قهوة عر ...

as found in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, and

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

fried cauliflower, ''zahra mekleyah'' ( ar, الارنبيط المقلي, زهره مقليه), is served cold or hot. It may be served in a sandwich of

pita bread Pita ( or ) or pitta (British English), is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket, also ...

or sandwich bread, often toasted and sprinkled with

cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

, and

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...

. It is also served as a side dish. It may be battered or not. Common accompaniments include

tarator Tzatziki ( el, τζατζίκι), also known as tarator or cacık (), is a dip, soup, or sauce found in the cuisines of Southeast Europe and the Middle East. It is made of salted strained yogurt or diluted yogurt mixed with cucumbers, gar ...

. Variations include curried and roasted cauliflower,

bell peppers The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...

, or a garlic lemon

vinaigrette Vinaigrette ( , ) is made by mixture, mixing an oil with a mild acid such as vinegar or lemon juice (citric acid). The mixture can be enhanced with salt, herbs and/or spices. It is used most commonly as a salad dressing, but can also be used as ...

. The

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

''menazla zahra'' is cooked with

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

ground beef Ground beef, minced beef or beef mince is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife, meat grinder (American English), mincer or mincing machine (British English). It is used in many recipes including hamburgers, bolognese sauce, meatloaf, ...

cilantro Coriander (;

cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

. Fried cauliflower is also an ingredient in

maqluba Maqluba or Maqlooba ( ar, مقلوبة) is a traditional Iraqi, Lebanese, Palestinian, Jordanian, and Syrian dish served throughout the Levant. It consists of meat, rice, and fried vegetables placed in a pot which is flipped upside down whe ...

, a sort of pilaf with meat and vegetables on top.

United States

Fried cauliflower from Indian, Israeli, Italian, and Levantine traditions is found in the United States. The Israeli versions are often found at

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and

restaurants. The growing fashion both for cauliflower and for Israeli cuisine has contributed to its popularity. Some variants include serving with a white wine vinaigrette, currants, and pine nuts, frying a whole head and serving with a beet tahini sauce; or with a herbed labneh sauce.

References

{{Levantine cuisine South Asian cuisine Levantine cuisine Indian vegetable dishes Vegetarian cuisine Brassica oleracea dishes Mizrahi Jewish cuisine Sephardi Jewish cuisine Fried vegetables