Aloo Gobi is a popular vegetable dish in India and Pakistan, named exactly for its ingredients. Aloo means potato and Gobi means cauliflower. With fragrant spices and colourful turmeric, this authentic recipe is both beautiful and flavourful.
The inspiration for this recipe is from Cook with Manali. She has some fantastic Indian recipes and I can’t wait to try more. There are some ingredients in many of her recipes that may not be sitting in your pantry or even readily available in local grocery stores so I’ve created a friendly version of Aloo Gobi. This way you can give it a shot before ordering exotic spices from the other side of the planet! Seriously though, many international spices can be easily found and if not, ordered online in small quantities.
Jump to Recipe
How to Make Aloo Gobi
Choose a hard variety of potatoes so they don’t fall apart easily. Red or white tend to keep their shape better than yellow or russets. And since cauliflower heads can vary greatly in size, you’ll need either one small head or half of a larger one. Look for cauliflower that’s fresh with no dark spots. Chop the potatoes and cauliflower into similar sized pieces around bite sized.
My first attempt at making Aloo Gobi was a little disappointing because the vegetables weren’t quite tender enough. Manali’s suggestion of par boiling the vegetables helps this dish turn out perfectly. Since potatoes take longer to cook than cauliflower, add the peeled and chopped potatoes to a pot of boiling salted water first, then the cauliflower for the last few minutes. Drain them very well.
Toasting spices really brings out their flavour so adding them to the hot oil in a hot pan before adding the drained cauliflower and potato mixture is an important step so you get maximum flavour. The cayenne pepper in this recipe makes the dish a little hot. If you aren’t sure about your heat tolerance, start with a little less. Then try increasing the next time you make Aloo Gobi until you get the right amount for your taste. Turmeric is said to have some health benefits so this dish is a win, win, win!
Aloo Gobi contains a small amount of chopped tomato but it’s not saucy. The tomatoes add the moisture content that prevents the dish from being too dry. Any variety of tomato will work. If it’s off season, the smaller varieties tend to have better flavour. But because they have a lower water content than larger tomatoes, you might need to add a little more water, just so the vegetables don’t get too dry.
In spite of the number of spices in this recipe, you still need salt. Salting the water you pre cook the veggies in as well as salting the Aloo Gobi while it’s cooking will make sure the dish is seasoned properly. Always taste as you go. Once all the spices and vegetables have been toasted and cooked together, add lots (and lots!) of cilantro stems and let the Aloo Gobi cook, covered for the last few minutes. And save the cilantro leaves to add before serving and also as a garnish. Unfortunately, some people just don’t like cilantro. If you have one of those haters in your home (like I do), leave the cilantro till the end. Remove a serving, then add all the cilantro you want.
This recipe for Aloo Gobi will make enough for 2 people to enjoy as a vegetarian main dish or about 4 generous servings as a side dish. Your kitchen will smell wonderful too!
If you make Aloo Gobi, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:
Aloo Gobi
Ingredients
- 2 large potatoes choose a hard variety like red or white
- 1 small cauliflower or half a large
- 1 onion
- 2-3 tsp vegetable oil start with 2, add more if needed
- 1 chunk ginger size of a thumb
- 2 cloves garlic or more if cloves are small
- 1 cup chopped tomato
- 2 Tbsp water or more if needed to add moisture
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper use more for a spicier dish
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- large handful chopped cilantro, stems and leafs separated save some for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and chop potatoes. Clean and cut cauliflower into similar sized pieces as potatoes.
- Cook potato chunks in salted boiling water for 5-6 minutes. Add cauliflower and cook 2-3 more minutes. Drain well and rinse with cold water to stop cooking.
- Chop onion. Peel and mince garlic and ginger.
- Heat oil in large skillet to medium. Add cumin seeds and fry until starting to crackle. Add onion and sauté for a few minutes until softening. Add ginger and continue to cook until onions are golden and soft.
- Add garlic, turmeric, cayenne, garam masala and cumin. Fry for a few minutes to bring out the flavours. Add more oil if needed, if too dry. You want it to be more like a paste.
- Add drained potatoes and cauliflower, turn heat up slightly and stir fry for a few minutes until well coated with spice mixture.
- Chop tomatoes. Add to pan, along with water, just enough so the dish isn't too dry. Stir well. Add chopped cilantro stems, cover with lid and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 5-7 minutes, tasting and adding more salt as needed, until vegetables are fork tender but not mushy.
- Add cilantro leaves and stir to combine. Serve hot and garnish with more fresh cilantro if desired.