Namaste! It’s no secret that here at LFW we just love Indian food, and one of our faves is aloo gobi, a great tasty dish made from potatoes and cauliflower, and which is also vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. The interesting thing about this dish is you can make it a number of ways including dry, wet (with sauce), with chilli, without chilli, and with an added vegetable such as peas. OK, so that’s probably a real no-no but I do have an Indian friend who always includes peas, so there you go.
The thing to remember when cooking Indian food is that traditionally both wet and dry dishes are served together, and there must be one of each—dry and dry, or wet and wet, is, apparently a no-no.
The secret to a good aloo gobi seems to be getting the right mix of spices to suit your taste. So with some trial and error we came up with one that was just right—for us anyway.
LFW’s dry aloo gobi (serves 4)
What you need: 1 medium cauliflower cut into medium-large florets*, 2 medium sized potatoes cut into cubes*, ½ cup peas, 1 onion chopped, 1 cup chopped tomatoes, ½ teaspoon crushed garlic, and a handful of fresh chopped coriander. Spices: ½ teaspoon each of garam masala, cumin, ginger, turmeric, ¼ teaspoon of red chilli powder (see note below), and extra virgin olive oil for cooking.
*Make sure the cauliflower florets are larger than the potato cubes so they cook through around the same time, and your cauliflower doesn’t turn to mush before the potatoes are cooked.
Note: if you prefer a more fragrant, rather than a spicy dish, omit the chilli powder, and add a teeny-tiny pinch of saffron which is a sweet spice. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, but fortunately you don’t need a lot!
What you do: place the cauliflower and potato in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cook for about 8 minutes—until the potatoes are cooked, drain and set aside. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a heavy frypan or skillet and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Mix together all the spices—using a mini whisk, and sprinkle over the onion and garlic and toss together. Add the cauliflower, potato and peas and toss together until heated through. Finally add the chopped tomatoes and stir well. Add a good handful of chopped coriander and mix again.
As this aloo gobi is a dry dish you need to serve it with a wet dish such as dhal, a wet curry, or riata, and traditional Indian breads such as naan or roti.
What you need: 1 orange sliced and seeded, ½ cup sugar, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 bottle red wine.
What you need: 1 (750 ml) bottle of dry red wine, 1 orange sliced, ¼ cup brandy (optional), ¼ cup honey or sugar, 8 whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 star anise, and optional garnishes such as citrus slices (orange, lemon and/or lime), extra cinnamon sticks, extra star anise.
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