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

Channa Aloo - Oooh yum! (V)

We like curries, so when I spotted a recipe on a blog for Channa Aloo, a Caribbean curry from Trinidad that I'd not tried before, it proved very tempting. It also looked simple to make, with store cupboard ingredients, and the photo looked so tasty.  Last night, whilst hubby was working and son was sleeping I set to and tried it out... this was the result. A seriously tasty and very filling vegetarian curry.

I have to admit to making a couple of changes to the recipe, mainly to use up some veggies in the fridge, but also to add a wee bit more flavour at the end.  The recipe blog's author (at RecipeTinEats) said she had found the recipe on another site: Immaculate Bites, an African-Caribbean food blog and had herself made a few changes, so this is a double-tweaked version!

Regardless of that, it is still jolly good! So why not give it a try?

INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp cooking oil (I used olive oil for everything) into the cooking pan to start with

Base

1 large onion, diced (brown, white, yellow)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp curry powder (I used tikka masala curry powder but you can use any you prefer)
1 tsp allspice powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder
1½ tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp cumin powder
¾ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground black pepper

Curry

3 medium potatoes, cut into 1.2cm / ½" cubes
2  cans of chickpeas, drained
1  can chopped tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock (I made mine with one green OXO and 1 vegetable stockcube in 2 cups boiling water)
1 leek, finely sliced (green & white parts)
3 mini sweetcorns, sliced thinly
1 dsp mango chutney
2 tbsp fresh flat parsley, finely chopped (plus more for garnish)
Salt to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan or very deep skillet over medium high heat.

Add the Base ingredients and cook for 3 minutes until the onion is translucent.

Add the potatoes and cook for a further 3 minutes. If the spices start to stick to the bottom of the pot, add a splash of water.

Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, leek, sweetcorn and vegetable stock. Bring to simmer then turn down the heat to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked and the sauce has thickened. The potatoes should still look firm but be soft on the inside.

Add the mango chutney and stir in to mix well.

Adjust salt to taste, add parsley and mix through the rest.

Serve with rice.

Amount

This made enough for 4-5 people as a main course, but if you serve it as one of a number of dishes at (e.g.) a curry night then it would easily serve 8-10.

Notes

If you prefer a less spicy curry then reduce the amount of curry powder you use.
Channa = chickpea
Aloo = potato

Vegetarian