Thursday 19 December 2013

Aloo Gobi - The Mighty Cauliflower at it's best

I love meat. I eat a lot of meat. According to general recommendations I eat far too much meat. The idea of
No animals were harmed in the making of this.
vegetarianism fascinates me and terrifies me slightly, yet I love vegetables, and if a dish is interesting enough, in terms of texture and flavour, I don't miss the meat. I slurped on the most incredible Hot Pot in China once, and it was only when I'd finished that I realised it was completely veggie. I liked that, and I think you should enjoy food enough to not have look for something that's 'missing'. I have recently been trying to eat meat free once a week (when the Boyfriend is out, heaven forbid I try to give him rabbit food) and it's generally Indian themed, I find there is so much variety and it's all so delicious. Cooking without meat is cheaper and I always feel good for it.

Aloo gobi is more often than not a side dish picked at during feast at an Indian restaurant, but eating it on it's own with a chapati or two, you can really appreciate it for the delicious and satisfying dish it is. A recent trip to India has confirmed my obsession with Indian food, I just can't get enough.

Feeds two. In a medium sized saucepan fry a chopped onion in a decent splash of vegetable oil until it's browning at the edges, but not burnt! Add a couple of finely chopped cloves of garlic and fry for another 2 minutes. Add a generous tsp of garam masala and Kashmiri chilli powder, a pinch of salt, and fry for another minute. Add one large roughly chopped tomato and let it cook down for a few minutes, then add two medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into smallish cubes (I had some baby new potatoes to use up which were great). Pour in about 200ml water, bring to the boil and simmer, turn heat down, cover and cook until the potatoes are nearly done, about 7 minutes. At this point throw in half a head of cauliflower broken into small florets, mix in, and cook for another 6 minutes or so, with the lid half on, until everything is cooked but the cauliflower retains a little bite. It should have sauce but not be too wet so remove lid and let it reduce if it looks a bit sloppy. Sprinkle with chopped coriander. This is heaven with a couple of chapatis and a dollop of natural yoghurt.

Devour, feel self righteous, then look in the freezer to see what meat you can take out for tomorrow's dinner.