Aloo Gobi

I make chapathi/roti/phulka couple of times a week. My major dilemma is deciding on what curry or side-dish to make. Though there is no scarcity of Indian vegetarian curries and side-dish, the difficulty is in deciding and of course, looking for the most easiest one with the vegetables I have in hand. I have tried writing up meal plans for the whole week, but unfortunately it never worked for me! 

Among those hundreds of curries in the Indian cooking repository, one of the most common yet popular curries you will find in India and also in almost all Indian restaurant menu is the classic Punjabi Aloo Gobi. It is a vegetable dish made with potatoes, cauliflower tossed in a mix of Indian spices and herbs. This dry sabzi can be served with roti/chapathi/phulka (whole-meal flatbreads), goes well as a side-dish with rice and dal (lentils) or with any pulao and jeera (cumin ) rice.

Every household will have their own way of making aloo gobi. The authentic Punjabi Aloo is made by sauteing onions and tomatoes along with the spices. Then potatoes and cauliflower are then slow-cooked in the onion-tomato mixture. I find this method little bit time and “oil” consuming!!! Sometimes the vegetables get half-cooked or cauliflower turns into a mush. After several attempts and recipe tweaks, here is my perfected version of aloo gobi.

The one thing I always do is half-cook the potato and cauliflower and fry them slightly in little oil. You can skip this step if you want to reduce the total cooking time but the frying enhances the flavor and retains the shape of the veggies. Tomatoes are one of the key ingredients and I prefer using tomato paste over freshly chopped tomatoes or tomato puree for this dry dish. The spices should not overpower the dish, so add less spices to get the maximum flavor. Cumin (jeera) powder, coriander powder and garam masala are a must and you can add green chillies or red chilli powder according to your spice preference. A big pinch of dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), squeeze of lemon and few sprigs of fresh coriander leaves at the end packs more flavor into this simple vegetable curry. 

Aloo Gobi

Print Pin Recipe

Servings 4

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes cut into cubes
• 1 medium cauliflower (about 3 cups) cut into florets
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
• ¼ tsp fennel seeds
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 cup tomato puree (or 3 tbsp tomato paste)
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp red chilly powder
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp kasuri methi
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai. Add the potatoes and the required salt. Close lid and cook the potatoes. Once its cooked, fry the potatoes for 5 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
• Put the cauliflower florets in boiling water with a pinch of turmeric powder for 5 minutes. Drain and wash the florets in cold water. Add 1 tbsp oil in the same kadai and add the cauliflower florets, salt and fry till its cooked and slightly brown. Remove and keep aside.
• In the same kadai, add 1 tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds, fennel seeds. Once it crackles, add onions and ginger-garlic paste. When raw smell goes, add the green chillies, jeera powder and fry till onions becomes golden brown.
• Puree the tomatoes. Once onions are golden brown, add the tomato puree, little water and salt. Cook till oil separates.
• Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilly powder. Cook for 5 minutes.
• Add the fried potatoes and cauliflower, garam masala and mix well. Close lid and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add kasuri methi and coriander leaves, mix well and serve hot.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian