I have been cooking Indian food since I was in graduate school in the late 1960's. A long time. But I don't think I cooked Aloo Ghobi until we watched "Bend it like Beckham" on DVD. Combing through the extras on the disc, the director has a devilish segment in which she gets a kitchen studio and purports to explain how to make Aloo Ghobi. In fact she is deliberately doing it all wrong to show her mother throwing a conniption and completely taking over. It is very amusing on many levels.
Aloo means potato, and Ghobi means cauliflower. The cauliflower is reduced to florets, the potatoes are peeled and cubed, and they are cooked up with onions, tomato, and a mix of delicious savory spices. Because we are not vegetarians, and I feel that the dish benefits from a hit of umami flavor, I will sometimes put in some chicken broth.
I am posting this because I made it tonight, for consumption over the next few days, partially as a reprieve from turkey based products, and partly because Louise had a cauliflower she wanted to use up. The recipe below, stolen from somewhere on the web, is very close to what I do. Depending on the potatoes -- if you really use a 3/4" dice, they will be nowhere near soft after 20 minutes, you need much more cooking.
ALOO GHOBI (Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes)
Serves 4.
1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets (1.5lb)
4 medium ordinary potatoes, diced into 3/4" cubes (1lb)
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
1 14oz can of diced tomatos, drained
1/2" ginger root, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground chili
2 tsp Kosher salt, or 1 tsp table salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp black mustard seeds
4 tbsp vegetable oil or Ghee
Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. When oil is very
hot, add mustard seed and turmeric and cook for 30 seconds. Add onion
and ginger and cook until onions start to become soft, about 2
minutes. Add remaining spices and cook until oil becomes darker
orange and spices become aromatic, about 1 minute. Add sugar and
salt, then potatoes and cauliflower and cook, stirring, about 4
minutes. Add tomatos, mix, cover and cook on medium-low heat for
20 minutes or until cauliflower and potatoes are tender. If the pan
becomes dry, add a few tbsp of water.