Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower and potato) with rice and raita (Indian)

The Aloo Gobi (meaning potato and cauliflower) is a classic Indian vegetarian main course. Very spicy and curried, with a little addition of peas, it tastes buttery and melted and lovely although it doesn't contain fat almost at all. It's best served with plain basmati rice (as bread) and a nice fresh raita, pictured above to the right. The raita is a typical Indian yogurt sauce that accompanies a lot of meals. You'll make everything quite easy enough, you'll see.
Adapted from Mark. I added more spices traditionally used in the Indian cuisine and modified the quantities a bit after researching the dish around the internet. Still, his version is the one ours resembles most, so we'll give him the proper credit. His site is full of other awesome stuff, by the way. Enjoy this lovely Indian dish with plain herbal tea and candlelight :).



Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 750 g potatoes
• 450 g cauliflower
• 250 g peas
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 dried chili pepper
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger
• 1 large onion
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of each: whole fennel seeds, whole cloves, whole caraway, cumin and mustard seeds
• 2/3 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 300-400 ml water, divided

For the raita:

• 250 ml yogurt (high-fat yogurt like the Greek variety or sweet sour cream)
• 1 tablespoon cilantro (coriander leaves), fresh or dry
• juice from 1 lime
• 1/3 teaspoon of salt

Plus some basmati rice, to boil and serve plain next to the Aloo Gobi. 

Prepare the main raw ingredients:

Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes of about 2-3 cm:

Cut the ginger into little pieces (after you peel it, of course):

Do the same for the garlic cloves. Heat the oil in a large frying pan (very large, to accommodate all the rest of the stuff) and add the fennel, caraway, cumin and mustard seeds and also the cloves:

Mix a little and let them fry for 2-3 minutes, until they begin to crackle:

After they're browned and you heard them cracking, add the chopped ginger and garlic:

Let them fry until fragrant and lightly browned (4-5 minutes on low-medium heat). Meanwhile, peel and chop up the onion. Then, add it too:

Let it fry until translucent and lightly golden (7-10 minutes). Meanwhile chop up the dried chili into little, little bits. If you're weary of too hot foods, only use half of it.

When the onions are done, add to the pan the chili, curry powder, garam masala, salt, honey and 150-200 ml (half) of water:

Add the potato cubes and mix well:

Cover and let them cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop up the cauliflower florets and after the 10 minutes are up add them too:

Mix well, add the rest of the water and cover back. Let it cook for 30-40 minutes, adding the peas in the last 5 minutes. If at the end the dish is still watery uncover and let it cook until the water evaporates.

While you wait for the Aloo Gobi to be done boil the rice according to package instructions and make the raita. For the raita, pour the yogurt in a bowl and add the cilantro and salt. Mix well and squeeze the lime juice into it:

Mix again and the raita is done. When the Aloo Gobi is ready, arrange it on plates next to the basmati rice and serve along the raita. Dig in! :)