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Aloo Ghobi

Braised Spicy Cauliflower with Potatoes

Recipe from The Best of India – A Cookbook, Balraj Khanna, CollinsPublishersSanFrancisco, 1993. ISBN 0-00-255223-X

Ingredients

  • 5 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 fresh hot green chili, seeded and thinly sliced
  • One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled & cut into very thin slivers
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 medium cauliflower, trimmed & cut into florets
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander, for garnish
  • 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced for garnish

Directions

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the cumin seeds and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes, or until fragrant. Stir in the chili powder, ground coriander, turmeric, cauliflower, and salt, and cook, covered, 10 minutes. Gently stir in the potatoes and 1 to 2 teaspoons water to prevent the mixture from sticking. Cook, covered, 20 minutes.

To serve, sprinkle with the garam masala and garnish with the coriander and tomatoes, Serves 4.

Generally, I add sliced onion and one more potato when making this dish, in the manner below — Chris

Samir Singh’s Super Ghobi

This recipe is from my friend Samir’s family.

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into pieces
  • 3 medium potatoes, cubed (be sure to cut potatoes rather small — say 1/4 inch thick — or else they will cook much more slowly than the cauliflower)
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1/3 cup fresh ginger, ground
  • 3 tablespoons chopped coriander seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (to taste)
  • 2.5 tablespoons garam masala powder
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
  • 1-2 tablespoons mango powder

Directions

  1. Heat oil to light frying temperature.
  2. In a small dish, combine ginger, coriander, cayenne, garam masala and 1/4 cup water and stir it into a paste. Fry it in the oil until oil resides on side of pan.
  3. Add cauliflower and potatoes.
  4. When cooked, add mango powder and cilantro