Gobhi Alu

I always get this name wrong. It is one of my husbands favorites so I make it a lot but I can never quite remember the name. Golbi or Gobhi? Alu Gobhi? Gobhi Alu? Does it really matter? I don't think my poor pronunciation and spelling makes much of a difference to the taste. So forget about it and eat!

Gobhi Alu is another one of those easy to make dishes and is best served with Basmati rice or Hunza rice. It's best to make this in a stockpot unless you just have a really big skillet with a tight lid. I now make mine in my brand new, beautiful, awesomely worthwhile Le Creuset French Oven that my husband bought me at the Le Creuset outlet in Golden, Colorado for a quarter of the retail price. The retail store sells seconds but I can't see anything wrong with my pot. It's red and perfect.

A note about spices: I buy my spices at the Indian or Middle Eastern grocery store. Shan is the brand I typically buy because that is the brand my husband grew up with and I feel like I can trust it. Usually these spices come in bags so I save mayonnaise, spaghetti sauce, jelly and other jars and use those to store my spices. I just cut the label out of the bag and tape it to the jar.

A lot of Indian cooking calls for garlic and ginger. I usually buy garlic/ginger paste at the Indian grocery, as do a lot of Indian cooks. In this recipe I use my paste but you can certainly use fresh ingredients. Just vary according to your own tastes.

Usually in Indian dishes you "fry" some of the spices lightly before adding all of your other ingredients. This awakens the spices and gets their oils going. It also makes your kitchen smell better than a Yankee Candle.

Sometimes when I taste this dish during cooking I decide it needs more of one spice or another. The great thing about Indian cooking is that you can add more of whatever you want. So feel free to be heavy or light-handed with any of these spices.

Gobhi Alu (Collected from youtube videos and my readings on Indian cooking)

1 head of cauliflower chopped into big pieces (it's going to cook down)
2 potatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons garlic/ginger paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon dry mango powder (also called amchur - a unique almost bitter spice)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (Target's Archer Farms is my favorite brand)
Cilantro to garnish

Heat the oil in your pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds, turmeric powder and garlic ginger paste. When the cumin seeds start to pop add cauliflower, potatoes and salt. Cover but stir regularly. Cook until the potatoes start to get soft. At that point add the rest of the spices and turn the heat down to low. Let this cook for an additional 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

You can add the powdered spices earlier but know that doing so will make your dish more likely to burn if you don't keep up the stirring. Also if you do this you might need to add a little chicken broth or water. This would change the taste a bit but it would still be great.