France Fried battered cauliflower is served in
French cuisine with a tomato sauce as
fritot de chou-fleur.
India A wide variety of fried cauliflower dishes are found in India. Cauliflower
pakoras, 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. 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 and
Sephardic traditions, which were brought to Israel when Jews
immigrated to Israel, often as
refugees. Among the Mizrahi, fried cauliflower was often eaten as a mezze before large meals or in various salads (often dressed with
tahini sauce,
strained yogurt, or citrus juice). Over time, fried cauliflower was adopted as a
street food. With the rise of
fine dining 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,
shawarma,
hummus, and
sabich stands, often in a sandwich or as part of a
salad bar: "Fried cauliflower is a staple of falafel-shop salad bars". 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, and is sold as a street food in Sicily.
Levant In
Levantine cuisine as found in
Lebanon,
Syria, and
Palestine fried cauliflower,
zahra mekleyah (), is served cold or hot. It may be served in a sandwich of
pita bread or sandwich bread, often toasted and sprinkled with
cumin,
salt, and
lemon juice. It is also served as a side dish. It may be battered or not. Common accompaniments include
tarator. Variations include
curried and roasted cauliflower,
bell peppers, or a garlic lemon
vinaigrette. The
Syrian menazla zahra is cooked with
garlic,
ground beef,
cilantro,
cumin, and
salt. and
Mtafaye (), a dish using fried cauliflower cooked in yoghurt. File:Zahra.jpg|
Zahra mekleyah File:Zahra blbn.jpg|
Mtafaye 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,
kosher,
Jewish, and
falafel restaurants. The growing fashion both for cauliflower 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 serving with a herbed labneh sauce. ==References==