A delicious, vegetarian, potato cauliflower curry made with lots of spices. This vegan aloo gobi is a gluten-free dry curry from northern India. It is healthy, quick and freezes really well!
1/2long red cayenne chillideseeded and finely chopped, note 2
1(100g)small red onionfinely chopped
3garlic clovesminced
1teaspoongrated ginger
2(250g)small potatoespeeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3cups(350g)cauliflower florets
1teaspoonsea salt flakes
1(100g)medium tomatofinely diced
½teaspoonground turmeric
1teaspoonground coriander
1teaspoongaram masala
½teaspoonamchurmango powder, note 3
1tablespoonkasoori methinote 4
1/4cup(60ml)water
Freshly chopped coriander leavesto garnish
lemon wedgesto serve
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a wide lidded non-stick cooking pan/sauté pan/dutch oven on medium heat. Add nigella seeds, cumin seeds and bay leaves. Sauté for a few seconds until fragrant and seeds start to sizzle and pop.
Add onion. Cook for 4-5 minutes until onion becomes translucent.
Add chilli, garlic and ginger. Sauté for half a minute until fragrant.
Add potatoes, cauliflower and salt. Cook uncovered tossing constantly for 8-10 minutes until both potato and cauliflower are golden and starting to brown.
Reduce heat to medium-low, add water, cover and cook on that slow heat for 15-18 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through. Check often and toss gently to ensure even cooking and avoiding the veggies from sticking and burning. If too dry, add another tablespoon of water and continue cooking.
Remove from heat, garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with lemon wedges alongside rotis or rice.
Notes
Nigella seeds - These have a smoky, onion flavour. If you can't find them, just skip.
Chilli - Red Cayenne chilli is a thick long chilli with mild to medium heat. If you prefer your curry to not have this spice, just skip it or add only a couple of slices of the chilli. Can be substituted with red chilli flakes.
Amchur - Amchur/amchoor is Dry mango powder and can be found at Indian grocers or specialty spice shops. It has a sour, tangy flavour. It can be substituted with chaat masala (a funky, salty and sour spice blend). If you can't find either of these spices, just squeeze half a lemon to add the sour element.
Kasoori methi - This is dried fenugreek leaves. It has a bitter earthy flavour that imparts a delicious warmth and richness to this curry. You can also source this at Indian grocers or specialty spice stores.
Your potatoes and cauliflower florets should be bite-sized and even to ensure perfect cooking. After cooking they should be just tender and hold their shape.
Cooking heat - Pay heed to the cooking heat. Most of the cooking is done on medium heat. Then past the halfway point, the heat is reduced to medium-low. Following the right cooking temperature will ensure that your dry curry doesn't burn and still cooks perfectly.