If you were to ask me to choose one dish to represent Punjabi home food, it would be this one. Gobi Aloo is featured every year on our family dinner table on Diwali for generations - always together with Dal Makhani, Shahi Paneer and Roti. That for me is the perfect Indian meal, one that I look forward to every Diwali at my parents home.
Gobi Aloo brings together potatoes and cauliflower in glorious harmony. Our family recipe is lightly spiced and does not contain too many ingredients so that the flavour of the vegetables can shine.
Even if you're not cooking up a Diwali feast, this is a wonderful way to cook a head of cauliflower and doesn't need too many ingredients to put together. If you don't have ginger garlic paste in your fridge, you can replace it with a few cloves of chopped garlic and a small piece of ginger, finely chopped. Enjoy with your favourite dal and roti or just paired with some plain yoghurt.
- 600 to 800g or 1 head cauliflower
- 350g or 3 medium potatoes
- 150g onion
- 1-2 green chillies (optional)
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- a pinch garam masala
- 1 tsp or to taste salt
- 1 tbsp mustard oil
- 12-15 sprigs fresh coriander
- Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Peel and slice the potatoes into halved wedges so they are a similar size as the cauliflower. Finely dice the onion and slice the green chillies.
- Add mustard oil to the pot and once it's hot, add the cumin seeds. Wait for them to crackle and sizzle so that they can flavour the oil.
- Then add the onions and green chillies and fry the onions till they soften and start to brown. Then add the ginger and garlic paste and cook till the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes away.
- Next add the spices (turmeric, red chilli powder and coriander seed powder). Roast the spices briefly (30-60 seconds).
- After the spices have released their aroma, add the potatoes and salt. We want to give the potatoes a head-start as they take longer to cook than the cauliflower. If they stick to the bottom of the pan at any point, add in a splash of water and mix well.
- Once the potatoes are halfway cooked, add the cauliflower and mix well. Cook on medium to low heat with the lid on till the potatoes and cauliflower are cooked through and soft.
- To finish, add a pinch of garam masala and chopped coriander.
Serve with your favourite dal and roti (or rice if you prefer) and with yoghurt or raita.