Aloo Gobi

Hi, this recipe is from the Guardian's Feast, special extra magazine, issue 14 'The Perfect: Vegetarian', page 11 by Felicity Cloake, or find online here.

This curry was really nice and I enjoyed the spicing of it alot. I also liked the variety of textures in the onions, potato and cauliflower. Unfortunately, I had planned to serve it with some red lentil dosa pancakes for a more balanced meal (protein is gotten from the lentils) and as a fun new side to a curry (instead of rice or naan), but they just didn't come together and after having a look at some of the comments on the online version of the recipe, it seems other people have had the same problem. So at the last minute, I had to quickly toast some wholemeal pittas and butter them as a substitute, which worked fine but if doing this or serving with rice or another starchy carbohydrate, add some chickpeas or lentils or tofu or chicken to the curry to make it more balanced. I also served with some spinach and my Mum added mango chutney and my Dad Greek yogurt.

Also the recipe suggests cooking the potato and cauliflower separately, I would say if the pieces are very different in size then this is a good idea, but mine were similar and the potatoes slightly smaller, than the cauliflower so I cooked it all together. This saved time and washing up!

Additionally, when frying the potatoes and cauliflower, keep going longer than you think you need as mine browned on the outside swiftly at first then slowed and started to cook on the inside. I saw this as a bonus as it would mean less boiling time later, so keep that going for as long as you can (i.e. just before they start to burn).

Enjoy!

Hazel :)

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Dietary Info:

-Vegetarian

-Vegan

-Dairy Free

-Gluten Free

-No Nuts

-Main Meal

-Starter

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Serves: 4

Takes: 45 mins to an hour

Ingredients:

-4 tbsp neutral oil {I used extra virgin olive oil.}

-1 tsp cumin seeds {I used ground cumin and added it with the potatoes and cauliflower, instead of frying before hand.}

-1/2 tsp nigella seeds

-350g waxy potatoes, cut into rough 2.5cm dice {I used 250g sweet potato (1 medium) for 3 people. I also left the skin on (scrubbed) and it was very nice.}

-1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets and chunks of stalk slightly larger than the potato {I cut most of the stalk but not all of it up as I've had complaints when doing that before. My Dad also said he would prefer smaller pieces of veg in the curry, so if cutting the cauliflower smaller, make sure to make the potato a lot smaller. Lastly, I had to discard the cauliflower leaves.}

-1 yellow onion, finely sliced {Not diced!}

-4 garlic cloves, crushed {I had very small garlic cloves, so I did 8 small ones.}

-1 tbsp grated ginger

-1 tin of plum tomatoes, roughly chopped, or 5 chopped fresh tomatoes and 1 tbsp tomato puree {I used 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes and about 1/2 to 1 tinful of water, as it needed a bit more liquid to boil the veg.}

-2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted in a dry pan and ground {I used already ground coriander.}

-1/2-1 tsp medium chilli powder {I used 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder.}

-1/2 tsp turmeric {I used 1/2 tsp cumin, as I didn't have any turmeric.}

-2-4 small green chillies, slit along their length {I used 3 green chillies.}

-1 tsp salt

-1 tbsp methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

-1 tsp garam masala {I completely forgot to stir through the garam masala, but I definitely recommend adding it in because it would've added a lovely extra flavour and spiciness to the dish.}

-Juice of ½ a lime

-Small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped

Method:

1: Heat the oil in a wide, lidded pan {I used a wok.} over a medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the cumin and nigella seeds and cook for a few seconds until they pop, then add the potatoes and sauté until golden. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and repeat with the cauliflower, then scoop this out into a separate bowl. {I added the oil and seeds, then added the potatoes and fried for a few minutes, added ground cumin and then added the cauliflower to the same pan (with a bit more cumin) and fried until golden-brown. You want the veg to be going crispy and slightly charred.}

2: Turn the heat down to medium-low, add a little more oil if necessary, {I needed more oil.} and add the onion. Cook until soft and golden but not brown, then stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes. Tip in the tomatoes, ground coriander, chilli and turmeric and cook, stirring regularly, until the oil begins to pool around the side of the pan. {This only took a few minutes for me.}

3: Add the potatoes {I also added the cauliflower simultaneously, as they were cooked together for me.} back in along with the fresh chillies and salt, bring to a simmer, turn down the heat, cover and cook for five minutes. Add the cauliflower and a good splash of water, cover and cook until both are tender, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick, and adding more water if necessary. {I needed much more water, about 1/2 - 1 tinful.}

4: Take off the heat, stir in the methi and garam masala and leave for 10 minutes, then stir in the lime juice and fresh coriander before serving – Usmani recommends pairing it with “plain basmati, naan, paratha or brioche buns, and a pickle or chutney”. {I tried to make red lentil dosa pancakes, but it didn't work so had to serve with emergency pitta breads.}

    

While you're here...

I have a Pinterest for all my recipes, where you can save them to boards for the future and categorise them into different types of recipe e.g Sunday Dinners, picnic ideas etc. My account is @hazellikestocook, or find the link below. Also, I have a whole blog post explaining this in more detail here and https://hazelscookingandbakingblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/pinterest.html. 

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This recipe:

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