Have you tried our Paleo Butter Chicken yet? If you haven't, what the heck have you been doing??? Cumin Cauliflower Rice is what I like to eat it with (I know, it's about time I shared it, right? Holding onto it for myself – tsk, tsk).
I have something to share with you. It's full of tragedy, heartbreak, rage, disappointment, and positivity. But there's no way you'll be seeing this one play out on the big screen – not without a lot of help that's for sure.
I had planned on featuring this Paleo Cumin Cauliflower Rice this week and was at the produce store gathering some plants, as many a modern hunter-gatherer does. When I got to the checkout with my fruits and vegetables, the only item of which was actually on the list was the cauliflower, while chatting up the cashier I almost missed that the small-ish head of cauliflower rung up as being over $8!!! More than the rest of the items combined! “Are you sure that's right?” “Yeah… but broccoli is on sale?” Not helpful.
So the next day I went to Costco, knowing that their heads of cauliflower are always massive and are far cheaper. Ever go into Costco with the goal of buying a single item? You know that that's impossible right? I only grabbed a new backpack on my way to the produce (the only reason that I was able to keep it to that is because I was there less than a week earlier and the week before, and already loaded up on stuff I was not planning on buying).
I looked high and low, inside and out of the cooler and could not find and cauliflower. What is going on? Is there a shortage? Is that why it was so expensive at the produce store? I found a woman working in the section and asked her about it. She informed me that Costco has a minimum size and quality that their cauliflower must meet for them to purchase. But farmers are able to sell their smaller crops to other stores for more. Costco's giant cauliflower is priced at under 3 bucks.
She let me know that they had a limited number coming in the next day, but that the restaurants come in early and grab them up first thing in the morning. She was so nice. And informative. She recommended that I call before I came next time and ask if they had any in. She was sympathetic to my story about it being the only item that I had made the trip for.
So be aware, some places charge a lot for cauliflower. If you have a home garden, maybe you should start selling cauliflower yourself? Haha.
Without further ado, Paleo Cumin Cauliflower Rice:

Paleo Cumin Cauliflower Rice
Description
This is the rice I choose to enjoy with Butter Chicken.
Ingredients
- 1 medium-large cauliflower
- 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
optional
- 1/2 cup raisins (I prefer golden raisins)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Shred cauliflower with a food processor, or go old-school and use a cheese grater like I did this time (it takes longer, I often shred my knuckles, and makes a bigger mess, but sometimes I just don't want to pull out the food processor, you know?).
- Put riced cauliflower into a large pot and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 4-6 minutes.
- Remove from heat, strain water, and mix in remaining ingredients.
- Add salt if desired.
- Cuisine: Indian
I got a shout out on the butter chicken post…no shout out for this one?! 😉
*inspired by Pam’s family recipe*
I don’t remember, do you do the raisin thin or was that my initial thought when I tried it?
Rasins were your idea but we never tried it. Mom does onions, cumin, peas and almonds. I just do cumin and almonds.
Seems like you are pourin good stuff down drain??
What do you do with the cauliflower water Gail?
Hi. I drink the water from vegetable cooking. Always. And will be saving the outer green ?leaves of cauliflower for soup or broth.
Ahh good idea. Do you drink it warm or cold? And do you add anything else for flavor?
And the scraps from everything: often I use them in soup as well. I have a big bag of ends and peels in my freezer.
Either, depending on whether I drink it straightaway, or stick it in the fridge for later. Not going to use a saucepan to heat it 🙂 Maybe add some sea salt, that’s it. Actually, drunk warm/hot at the meal is probably my preference in the cooler months.
Have you done this in the IP yet?
Hi Melissa,
No I haven’t, but you could very easily. I’d just use the saute feature for both steps.
You know basically everything can be done in there lol!