Aloo Gobi is a traditional Indian dish made with cauliflower, potatoes, onions, and spices. The spices are roasted in hot oil to intensify their flavor, and a ginger-garlic paste is added. No liquid is added, leaving the dish dry and spicy. It is served with rice or bread and less spicy accompaniments.
Aloo Gobi is a traditional and spicy dish that originates from Northern India but is also popular in other regions. It is mostly made up of cauliflower, potatoes and onions which are mixed with spices and slowly cooked until cooked through. No liquid – or very little liquid – is added to the dish, leaving it mostly dry with a very intense flavor from the spices being roasted in the pan. Like many other Indian dishes, most of the cooking takes place in the first few minutes of the recipe, followed by long periods of slow cooking. Completed aloo gobi is almost always served with less spicy accompaniments such as bread, rice, cucumber salad or carrot chutney.
The flavor of aloo gobi, which literally means “potatoes with cauliflower,” largely depends on the spices used. The main spices used include cumin seeds, coriander, chili peppers, turmeric and fenugreek. They are fried in hot oil in a pan until they have released their flavors and become aromatic, greatly increasing their intensity. If the spices are overcooked, which can happen very quickly, they will get a sharp, sour smell, making them inedible.
Another important ingredient of aloo gobi is a special combination of garlic and ginger. They are placed together on a board together and then diced at the same time into a smooth paste, sometimes with water or salt added. The ginger-garlic paste is then placed in a container and refrigerated for anywhere from an hour to a week or more. This paste is used most often in North Indian cooking and has a more subtle flavor than fresh and separately minced garlic and ginger. Chilling or freezing the dough allows it to initially resist cooking for a longer time, so it can be fried in oil with the other ingredients.
Just when the spices have finished cooking, the diced onion is added to the pan with the ginger and garlic paste and some garam masala, a blend of ground and roasted spices. After the onions have cooked through, the diced potatoes are added to the aloo gobi and stirred until every surface is covered in the bright, tangy spice mixture. The pan is covered so that any steam created by the potatoes is captured and used to cook the tubers.
The cauliflower is added after the potatoes are mostly done and the pot is covered again. Traditionally, no liquid is added to aloo gobi, meaning the surface of the potatoes and cauliflower will be coated in a dry spice blend that some people may find too intense to consume on its own. Water or tomatoes may be added to help mute the strength of the spice, although this is optional rather than traditional.
Once completed, aloo gobi can be drizzled with fresh coriander and lime juice and served with rice or Indian bread. Any side dishes that can be used to temper the spice heat, such as a cucumber salad, are generally welcome. A bowl of yogurt or a cold salad might also be served with the dish.
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