Today I wanted to make a post highlighting a special kind of food and how to make it. Today I chose Aloo Gobi. Aloo Gobi is a traditional vegetarian south Asian dish. Aloo Gobi means Potato and Cauliflower. It is an important dish in Indian culture, as the vegetarian population of India is about 38%. The dish is very popular in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepali cuisines.
South Asian food culture has been created in part by its interesting history. Invasions, trades and relations, as well as colonialism have all played a part in creating what is the Indian food culture. Some of the foods that were brought to India have been potatoes, tomatoes, chili peppers, peanuts, and guava, some of which have become staples of the Indian food diet. In today's tutorial, we will certainly work with a few staples of the Indian diet.
This was my first time cooking, so I made a meal from the food service Hello Fresh. Hello Fresh is a meal service that provides you with fresh ingredients and simple recipes. Our family subscribes to Hello Fresh and we eat around three Hello Fresh meals a week.
Sam
South Asian food culture has been created in part by its interesting history. Invasions, trades and relations, as well as colonialism have all played a part in creating what is the Indian food culture. Some of the foods that were brought to India have been potatoes, tomatoes, chili peppers, peanuts, and guava, some of which have become staples of the Indian food diet. In today's tutorial, we will certainly work with a few staples of the Indian diet.
This was my first time cooking, so I made a meal from the food service Hello Fresh. Hello Fresh is a meal service that provides you with fresh ingredients and simple recipes. Our family subscribes to Hello Fresh and we eat around three Hello Fresh meals a week.
Aloo Gobi (With Steps) (Hello Fresh Recipe)
Gather Ingredients:
(All ingredients below serve 2 people, double amounts for 4 people. I served 4 people, so the amount is doubled.)
- Red potato/Regular potato (300g)
- Roma Tomato (160g)
- Garlic (6g)
- Cauliflower Florets (285g)
- Tadka Masala Seasoning (1tbsp)
- Vegetable Broth Concentrate (~2tsp)
- Basmati Rice(3/4 cup)
- Chopped Onion (113g)
- Baby Spinach (56g)
- Coconut Milk (400 ml)
- Cilantro (7g)
- Lime (1 medium-sized lime)
- Cooking Oil (as much as you need)
- Salt and Pepper (as much as you need)
(Ingredients. Nom Nom :)
Things you will need to cook with:
Baking sheet
Measuring cups/measuring spoons
2 medium pots
Garlic Press (optional)
Rice Cooker (optional)
Start!
Before starting, preheat oven to 400ºF and wash and dry all produce on the list.
*Note: all food items in the steps will be bolded.
1. Roast Cauliflower
Add 1 and 1/4 cups of water (double if serving four) in a medium pot. Cover and bring up to a boil over high heat (If you are using a rice cooker, you can ignore this step). While boiling, Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces, but not too small as they will slightly shrink in the oven as they cook. Toss the cauliflower and half the Tadka Masala seasoning with 1 tbsp of oil (Double for 4 people.) on a baking sheet. Season with Salt and Pepper. Roast in the centre of the oven, until golden. Make sure to flip over the cauliflower at about halfway through. The cooking of the Cauliflower will take 28-30 minutes.
(Me preparing the vegetables)
2. Cook Rice and Prep
While the Cauliflower roasts, add Basmati Rice to the boiling water. Reduce stovetop heat levels to low. Cover the pot with a lid and continue to cook it, until the rice is tender and the liquid from the water has been absorbed. Alternatively, if you are using a rice cooker, you can put in the same amount of water, but boiling the water is not necessary as the rice cooker will do that for you. It should take 12-14 minutes. While cooking rice, Cut the potatoes and tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Tip: Then cutting tomatoes, always cut from the interior to the exterior, as cutting from the exterior will make some of it's juice get blasted out and make a bit of a mess.
3. Cook Potatoes
Combine the Potatoes, Tomatoes, Onions, Vegetable Broth Concentrate, Remaining Tadka Masala, and 1 and 1/4 cups of water (doubled for 4 people) in another medium pot. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water has boiled or is boiling, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, still covered, until the potatoes are soft enough to be pierced easily with a fork. Once you deem that the potatoes are ready, continue. This step should take 7-8 minutes.
(Stirring the pot)
4. Finish Prep
While the Potatoes are cooking, cut the lime(s) into wedges. Chop up the cilantro as best you can. Peel the shell off of the garlic and the mince or grate it.
5. Finish Curry
When the potatoes are fork-tender, increase the heat to medium-high and add minced garlic to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until liquid is absorbed. This should take 7-8 minutes if cooked properly. Remove the pot from the heat, then add spinach. Continue to cook, stirring often until the spinach has wilted. This will be very quick, as it will be only 2 minutes or so until spinach is completely wilted. Add coconut milk once finished the spinach, stirring often until the coconut milk is warmed through. Again, this should only take about 2-3 minutes. Season with as much salt and pepper as wanted.
6. Finish and Serve
Fluff the rice with a fork (I would recommend a wooden fork, as the rice sticks to metal forks and heats them up) and stir in half of the cilantro. Season rice with more salt. Divide the Rice and the finished curry between bowls. Top it off with the roasted cauliflower and sprinkle over remaining cilantro. Squeeze over a lime wedge if wanted.
That's all! Get yourself a drink and enjoy your Aloo Gobi!
(Finished Aloo Gobi!)
Overall, this was my first official meal I have ever cooked. It was very simple, and tasted amazing to eat. It is a very healthy vegetarian dish to eat, and it fills you up nicely. I would definitely recommend that you should try this or cook this, as it is a very tasty meal that you and your family are sure to enjoy. Maybe you aren't as familiar with Indian culture, or want to try it but haven't yet. Hello Fresh provided the food and steps for the meal, which made my first time cooking much easier. I hope you can enjoy this in the same way I did.
If I could, I would make it again for sure. It was a very straightforward recipe. The simplicity of this dish really makes it enjoyable to create. When my family ate it, they loved it! It has an excellent balance of lots of flavours and textures, and they said they would happily eat it again.
MY OVERALL RATING:
Four chilies out of five! Very good!
Hope you enjoyed this short little tutorial on Aloo Gobi.
Thanks for reading,
If I could, I would make it again for sure. It was a very straightforward recipe. The simplicity of this dish really makes it enjoyable to create. When my family ate it, they loved it! It has an excellent balance of lots of flavours and textures, and they said they would happily eat it again.
MY OVERALL RATING:
Four chilies out of five! Very good!
Hope you enjoyed this short little tutorial on Aloo Gobi.
Thanks for reading,
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