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Aloo Gobi

Aloo Gobi

Active time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Serves: 4–6
This Punjabi-style cauliflower and potato dish is layered with depth and flavor. Serve as a main dish, or serve as part of a multi-dish meal.

Steps

1

Starting the Dish

Starting the Dish

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp non-dairy butter or oil
  • 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
  • 2 onions, diced
  • sea salt, to taste
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 2 tsp ginger, finely minced
  • 2 to 3 green chilies, or to taste, finely minced*
  • 1/8 tsp asafoetida (optional)
  • 2 lrg potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 cauliflower (3 or 4 cups), cut into medium-sized florets
To start the dish, first toast the cumin seeds. To do this, heat a large Dutch oven, or fry pan, over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the butter (or oil), followed by the cumin seeds. Let cook for about 30 seconds—just long enough to bring out their aroma—and then add the onions and a good pinch of salt. Let cook for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the very soft and translucent. In the meanwhile, go ahead and prepare the rest of the ingredients. *Note: For the chilies, use either a Thai green chile, jalapeño or serrano pepper. Depending on how hot you like you food, you can either remove the seeds first or leave them in. That being said, this dish is not overly spicy. Once the onions are very soft, add the garlic, ginger, chilies and asafoetida and cook for another minute or so.
2

Gathering & Adding the Spices

Gathering & Adding the Spices

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 3/4 tsp Kashmiri chile powder, or to taste
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder, or to taste
  • 1 tsp Kitchen King Masala powder
  • 2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crushed
The next step is to add the spices. Evenly coat the onions mixture with the spices and let cook for 30 seconds or so. *Note: Kitchen King Masala, also known as "all-purpose masala", as well as all of the other spices, can be found in any Indian store, or they can be ordered online. If you do not have a particular spice—like Kashmiri chile powder, for instance—you could use regular chili powder. You could also simply omit a spice, if you don't have it; however it is important to note this will change the flavor profile and complexity of the dish. Also note that even the amounts of the spices used can be adjusted according to your taste. For example, masala is an ingredient where the amount added is often adjusted, according to the cook's taste.
3

Adding the Vegetables & Finishing the Dish

Adding the Vegetables & Finishing the Dish

Ingredients

  • juice from 1 whole lime
  • 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, or to taste
At this point, add the potatoes and stir well to coat them in the onion/spice mixture. Let the potatoes cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until they are about half to three quarters of the way cooked. Stir frequently, to ensure they do not burn—if needed, add a touch of water. Next, add the cauliflower and mix well to evenly coat the pieces with the spices. Then cover and let cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower and potatoes are just cooked through, yet still retain their shape. Again, stir frequently to ensure nothing sticks and/or burns on the bottom—adding a touch more water, if needed. Ultimately, timing for this dish will depend on how big or small the vegetables were cut and your heat source. To finish the dish, turn off the heat and add the fresh lime juice and cilantro and taste for seasoning. This dish goes particularly well with Pilau Rice and crispy Pappadams.

17 Comments

  • Geni P
    Geni P •
    After adding the onions it says "Let cook for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the very soft and translucent." I realize we're on medium low heat but this seems to be too long since I can sweat an onion on low heat in 10 minutes. Just wondering.
    Reply
  • Dawn T
    Dawn T •
    Yes, this is correct. I know it seems like a long time, but often in Indian cooking the onions are cooked for a very long time, until they almost melt — that way they disappear in the dish and just become an underlying/base flavor/layer. Hope that helps. Cheers!
    Reply
  • Geni P
    Geni P •
    Dawn, thanks for the quick reply. That is helpful. So, it's a little like how you want the onions to melt in a risotto, which usually takes about 45 min. I get it now.
    Reply
  • Rebecca B
    Rebecca B •
    I made this recipe 2 nights ago. I didn't carefully scrutinize the ingredient list before I started. I should have because even though I have a very large selection of subcontinent spices, I didn't have the second type of masala listed in the ingredients, which appears to be a commercial boxed preparation. Since I was in a hurry, I just added several black cardamom pods to the mix. (Black cardamom was the spice I was missing almost every time I tried to replicate dishes from Northern India It took me a long time to make that connection.) This dish tasted great. We loved it. However, next time I will try to make my own Kitchen King masala, as I do have these spices on hand and another dedicated spice blend is likely to go stale in my household before I get around to using it up. I found a website with a homemade version in case anyone else is interested. http://www.indiankhana.net/2013/03/Homemade-Kitchen-King-Masala-Powder-Recipe.html Thanks for another great recipe, Becky
    Reply
  • Dawn T
    Dawn T •
    Glad that you liked the recipe Becky — and thanks for posting the link to the homemade Kitchen King masala. Cheers!
    Reply
  • Benita G
    Benita G •
    This was one of the best rice dishes I've ever had! My husband loved it! Definitely a keeper.
    Reply
  • Eric W
    Eric W • Rouxbe Staff •
    Great to hear, Benita! This is a classic preparation. It's really good as a filling for a wrap, too.
    Reply
  • Iuliia S
    Iuliia S •
    Hello! Did I understand correctly that garlic and ginger should be put in the first stage? They somehow burned to the end of cooking
    Reply
  • Lauren L
    Lauren L •
    Hi Iuliia, The ginger and garlic are added after the onions have caramelized for quite a while. Once the ginger and garlic are added, the other ingredients go in fairly quickly. You can work with very low heat here. And, a good fitting lid locks the moisture in. If you need to add a smidge of water periodically, that can help. Lauren
    Reply
  • Patricia H
    Patricia H •
    this dish was divine and the rice ohhh my goodness this rice could be dessert!
    Reply
  • Linda Z
    Linda Z •
    I don’t see rice in the recipe
    Reply
  • Sandy S
    Sandy S •
    Hi Linda, This particular recipe doesn't contain rice, though at the very bottom of it, there is a link to a rice dish that would accompany this nicely. Cheers, Sandy
    Reply
  • Riaz M
    Riaz M •
    How many grams shall I use in potatoes as I want to get this just right.thank you.
    Reply
  • Eric W
    Eric W • Rouxbe Staff •
    Hi Riaz, start with about 450 grams of potatoes. ~Eric
    Reply
  • Riaz M
    Riaz M •
    How can I make this dish more saucy .I want to you just water what's a good starting point?just enough to create a kinda glaze sauce? Thank u
    Reply
  • Eric W
    Eric W • Rouxbe Staff •
    Hello Riaz, add water until it reaches the consistency that you want. ~Eric
    Reply
  • Linda L
    Linda L •
    Feb 2025-Great recipe! I love heat in spices but i do recommend to others to start with 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili. Then, instead of putting the lime juice as indicated, i think i would prefer cutting wedges and offer the option (if making for friends at dinner). It is a fantastic meal and i love to batch cook, and this is quite a good quantity for myself living alone. It will give me a good 4 eaten alone to 6 meals with some rice.
    Reply

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