Oven-Roasted Aloo Gobi

Dry, sauce-less vegetable curries are an important part of an Indian meal. Aloo Gobi, a North Indian dish is a simple, fast everyday curry. The potatoes and the cauliflower florets must be 100% cooked through (no al dente business here) yet maintain their shape without a trace of mushiness and that is the skill required to make Aloo Gobi.

In Vegetarian India, Madhur Jaffrey has a delightful recipe called Roasted Cauliflower with Punjabi seasonings. It is a big hit in my family. In this recipe, she marinates cauliflower florets in   traditional spices and seasonings of a stovetop cauliflower dish and just oven roasts them. A beautiful simplification!

I have dared to adapt her recipe to add potatoes and tomatoes, typical ingredients for Aloo Gobi. 

  INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes about 1.5” x 1”, white, red or Yukon gold

•  3 cups cauliflower florets about 2” x 1.5”

Just make sure the quantity of potatoes and tomatoes is in the same range 

• 1 big Roma tomato cut into 1” pieces

• 1.5 teaspoons peeled, grated ginger

•  2.5 teaspoons coriander powder

• 1 teaspoon cumin powder

• 1 teaspoon red chile powder

• ¾ teaspoon turmeric powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the oil seasoning

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds

Chopped cilantro for garnish

TOOLS

Grater, peeler, cutting board

UTENSILS

• Half Sheet pan - 18" x 13"

• Mixing bowl

• Wooden spatula

METHOD

• Mix 2 potatoes peed and cut into cubes, 3 cups cauliflower florets, 1 Roma tomato cut into 1" pieces, 1.5 tsps grated ginger, 2 tbsps lime juice and 1 tsp cumin powder, 2.5 tsps coriander powder, 3/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp salt in a big bowl. Add 3 tbsps vegetable oil to this mixture, mix well. Cover with a lid and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

• Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

• Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a small saucepan. Add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds. Once the seeds stop popping, turn the heat off and pour this seasoned oil over the vegetable mixture. Mix well.

• Layer the vegetables on a large sheet pan in a single layer such that they don’t crowd each other.

• Place the sheet pan in the 425-degree hot oven. After 15 minutes stir the vegetables and put them back in the oven reversing the side of the sheet pan (put the back side in the front now) for another 15 minutes.

• Take the sheet pan out of the oven carefully and pour the Aloo Gobi in a serving dish. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

• Serve with warmed up pita