the way to cook dinner the ideal aloo gobi - The Guardian

Felicity Cloake's best aloo gobi. photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian

based on chef Vivek Singh, this hearty cauliflower and potato dish is likely "essentially the most average and primary vegetable curry you'll locate any place in India". low-priced, filling and handiest coincidentally vegan, it's a recipe you definitely need in your repertoire.

The difficulty is, however aloo gobi has its origins in the Punjab, it's now an organization ordinary throughout India and Pakistan – and, as Singh observes, "one of the crucial negative aspects of its accepted appeal is that there isn't any such component as a widespread recipe". trust this, then, as one very good location to delivery.

Potatoes

Aloo, of route, ability potato – the backbone of this dish. Most recipes are relatively indistinct on this point, with most effective Kaushy Patel's e-book Prashad – in response to recipes from her family unit's Bradford vegetarian restaurant of the same identify – specifying the waxy range; and Sumayya Usmani – creator of the brand new ebook Summers beneath the Tamarind Tree: Recipes and memories from Pakistan – recommending more floury Maris Pipers in a recipe from her maternal grandmother, Nani. The latter soften extra effectively during cooking, giving a fluffier result – greater comforting, perhaps, but more prone to fall aside within the pan. It appears in the spirit of this thrifty dish to fritter away some thing you turn up to have within the apartment, but when you're buying them peculiarly, I'd suggest waxy potatoes.

Vivek Singh's aloo gobi. picture: Felicity Cloake the Guardian

Patel sautés the potatoes in hot oil earlier than including any liquid, and the recipe in Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Bible does the equal with pre-cooked spuds. possibly mine aren't cool sufficient, however I find these boiled cubes soak up plenty of the fat in the pan, making a mockery of her route that one should pour out the excess oil earlier than adding any other parts – frying provides each richness and flavour to the dish, however the effect may still stop wanting greasy.

every recipe calls for the potatoes to be peeled earlier than use. As general, I'm now not going to trouble: potato skins add flavour and texture, however I'm sure this might be disregarded as mere laziness by your ordinary Punjabi granny.

Cauliflower

The cauliflower is, in conception, a simpler proposition, despite the fact the girl in the back of my favourite veg stall informs me it's presently rarer than bird's enamel thanks to the wintry weather floods. (Supermarkets, of path, appear to have fewer problems.) As with the potatoes, a short dance in hot oil will deliver out its flavour. bear in mind that, as Singh suggests in his book Curry: classic and contemporary, in case you reduce the florets "slightly bigger than the potatoes, they're going to prepare dinner in roughly the identical time, in preference to overcooking and disintegrating before the potatoes are done".

Sumayya Usmani's aloo gobi. photo: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian Tomatoes

despite the fact aloo gobi tends to be a fairly dry dish, some liquid is required to prepare dinner the greens and this frequently is available in the sort of tomatoes (despite the fact Jaffrey, who produces the wettest edition I look at various, additionally provides water). In its place of birth, of course, the tomatoes would almost always be fresh, however here, unless it's excessive summer season, I'd recommend the tinned range – or adding a dollop of tomato puree as neatly, as Usmani recommends, "for coloration". Her sauce is prosperous and flavourful, which i believe is because she takes the time to cook off the excess liquid from the tomatoes, simmering the curry "except the oil rises", the traditional sign of a smartly-cooked curry, and a detail missing from one of the other recipes.

Madhur Jaffrey's aloo gobi. photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian Aromatics

only Patel eschews onion – and even if you go for Usmani's sweeter, richer pink onion, or the greater well-known savoury yellow variety, it's important to prepare dinner it except gentle and golden, devoid of letting it brown. Ginger and garlic complete this very Indian holy trinity of base flavours, and Patel also sticks in some smashed green chilli, however my panel prefers them left complete, a la Jaffrey, Singh and Usmani – and never best as a result of a few of them are complete wimps. entire chillis, simmered in the gravy, add a an awful lot gentler warmth – and, as a bonus, they seem to be quite pretty, too.

Jaffrey whizzes her onion, ginger and garlic right into a paste earlier than cooking, which means her gravy tastes overpoweringly of onion – no dangerous factor, but it doesn't go away lots room for the other flavours.

Kaushy Patek's aloo gobi. picture: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian Spices

a number of spices pop up in basically each recipe I are attempting – cumin, for example, which pairs fantastically with cauliflower, and turmeric for color. Coriander seeds add a pleasant zestiness, and i love the savoury hit of Usmani's nigella seeds, which performs an identical position to Jaffrey and Patel's more garlicky asafoetida, but appears greater attractive. She's also the just one to make use of dried fenugreek leaves – commonly sold as methi, which gives her dish a particular bitter herbaceousness. this is balanced with the aid of the wonder of do-it-yourself garam masala (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and famous person anise) – it's now not elementary, but it does make for a greater pleasing flavour. Add chilli powder to style; aloo gobi should be a extremely homely pleasure, and one grownup's comforting warmness is one other's sweaty nightmare.

To finish

A squeeze of lime juice, as Singh suggests, provides an acidic element (which is lacking in tinned tomatoes in specific), and a handful of coriander adds freshness; both welcome in a carb-prosperous dish that may have a tendency in opposition t the heavy. if you opt for it heavy, despite the fact, then you definitely could take pleasure in Patel's finishing touch: a large dollop of butter – which might also go a way to explaining why Indian restaurant meals at all times tastes so decent.

excellent aloo gobi Felicity Cloake's best aloo gobi. picture: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian

(Serves four)4 tbsp neutral oil1 tsp cumin seeds½ tsp nigella seeds350g waxy potatoes, cut into rough 2.5cm dice1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets and chunks of stalk a bit higher than the potato1 yellow onion, finely sliced4 garlic cloves, crushed1 tbsp grated ginger1 tin of plum tomatoes, roughly chopped, or 5 chopped sparkling tomatoes and 1 tbsp tomato puree2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted in a dry pan and ground½-1 tsp medium chilli powder½ tsp turmeric2-4 small eco-friendly chillies, slit alongside their length1 tsp salt1 tbsp methi (dried fenugreek leaves)1 tsp garam masalaJuice of ½ a limeSmall bunch of sparkling coriander, chopped

heat the oil in a wide, lidded pan over a medium-excessive heat. When it's scorching, add the cumin and nigella seeds and prepare dinner for just a few seconds util they pop, then add the potatoes and sauté except golden. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and repeat with the cauliflower, then scoop this out right into a separate bowl.

flip the heat right down to medium-low, add a bit more oil if critical, and add the onion. prepare dinner unless smooth and golden however no longer brown, then stir within the garlic and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes. Tip within the tomatoes, floor coriander, chilli and turmeric and cook, stirring always, until the oil begins to pool across the facet of the pan.

Add the potatoes returned in along with the clean chillies and salt, deliver to a simmer, flip down the warmth, cowl and cook dinner for five minutes. Add the cauliflower and a great splash of water, cover and cook dinner until each are tender, stirring every now and then to be sure it doesn't stick, and including more water if critical.

Take off the warmth, stir within the methi and garam masala and leave for 10 minutes, then stir in the lime juice and clean coriander earlier than serving – Usmani recommends pairing it with "simple basmati, naan, paratha or brioche buns, and a pickle or chutney".

Aloo gobi: can cauliflower get any more suitable? How do you cook dinner yours – regional diversifications exceptionally welcome – and which different Indian vegan and vegetarian recipes would you advocate?