Aloo Gobi (V)

I've wanted to try this recipe for a while, but hadn't managed to. A glut of cauliflower in our local supermarket prodded me into action, and oh, the result was good!

Aloo gobi is, according to Wikipedia,

"a vegetarian dish from the Indian subcontinent made with potatoes, cauliflower and Indian spices; popular in Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian and Nepali cuisines."

The name describes the two main ingredients: aloo means potato and gobi is cauliflower.

It needs long slow cooking, so a slow cooker is perfect. I've not tried to make it in the oven - I may do that another time, just to check it out.

Meanwhile, if you want to try the recipe (slightly adapted from one we found on theperfectpantry blog) this is how we made it...

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 medium cauliflower, cut into small pieces (discard leaves and main stalk)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm-ish cubes
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped into small-ish pieces
1 tin chopped tomatoes with their juice (rinse can out with a very little water) or fresh ripe tomatoes, chopped into pieces
2" piece of root ginger, peeled and chopped into small pieces (or grated if you prefer)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped into small pieces (or crushed if you prefer)
2 Jalapeno peppers, remove stalk, seeds and ribs inside, then slice finely
1 tbsp cumin seed
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
a pinch of Cayenne pepper (add more if liked)
a large pinch sea salt
3 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
½ tsp dried Coriander leaf
handful fresh Coriander leaf, toughly chopped (optional)

Directions

Put all ingredients except fresh Coriander leaf into slow cooker, stir to mix everything together. Put the slow cooker on High for 2 hours, stirring after each hour if possible. Then drop heat down to low and leave to cook for another 4 hours, stirring occasionally if possible.  The original recipe said cook for 4 hours on low (no high level cooking) but I found this didn't work with our slow cooker and it needed the extra cooking time to develop the flavour. It may work on low through depending on the model you have, ours is a somewhat elderly Morphy Richards one.

Hints

Aloo gobi is a dry curry, which is why there is no extra liquid added. The liquid in the recipe comes from the tomatoes and vegetables themselves during the cooking, so the end result is mainly curry with just a small amount of juice.

Serving

Add the fresh Coriander just before you are ready to serve it, it it good eaten on its own, or with rice or naan bread.

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating"

I left a note for my son to say this was ready for him when he was hungry. I came back to find the slow cooker empty and the note annotated. I think he enjoyed it! 

Serves 4

Vegetarian

NOLA: Creole ginger sweetcorn and sweet potato (V)

I've spotted a whole raft of interesting looking recipes using sweet potatoes recently, but have never tried them. My son said they are good, so finding some big ones in ALDI this week we added them to our trolley, along with a small root of ginger and decided to experiment!  This isn't a traditional Creole recipe but as it includes Cajun seasoning and tomatoes, plus that Holy Trinity again, we figured it would give an idea of the flavour by calling it Creole ginger sweetcorn and sweet potato!

We made it last night and left it in the casserole dish overnight to stand, then tonight transferred it into a large pan for reheating on the stove. Served with garlic and coriander pita strips it was seriously yummy! 

Here is the recipe if you want to try:

Creole ginger sweetcorn and sweet potato

Ingredients:

olive oil  for cooking

3 cloves smoked garlic finely chopped (unsmoked will work just as well if you prefer)

1cm knob of root ginger (approx 1cm diameter) peeled and finely chopped

1/2 large white onion, peeled and finely chopped

4-5 scallions (spring onions), peeled and finely chopped

1 large sweet potato peeled and diced into 1cm cubes

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 tin sweetcorn

2 tbsp Cajun seasoning

1/2 vegetable stock (water +1 veg stock cube + 1 green OXO)

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into small pieces

2 sticks celery with leafy tops, chopped into small pieces

fresh coriander or flat parsley (optional)

Method:

Put some olive oil in large pan or wok (enough to cover the base), add garlic and ginger, onion and scallion, fry for 2-3 minutes until onion softens. Add Cajun seasoning and thyme and a little boiling water to prevent sticking.  Add sweet potato mixing all together and add stock. Leave on low heat for around 8 minutes until sweet potato is hot. Into an oven proof casserole put the chopped tomatoes, sweetcorn, green pepper, celery. Remove wok from heat and add sweet potato mix to casserole, mix all well together.  Put casserole into oven on Gas mark 6 for around an hour. Remove from heat and leave to stand for several hours in casserole, or overnight if possible. Transfer mix to large pan and heat through over a medium heat on the stove, until it is piping hot throughout. Just before serving ass a handful of chopped fresh coriander or flat parsley.  Really good served with rice or cornbread. 

Serves 4

Vegetarian