Pity the guy who doesn’t attend the “Health and Wellness” lecture presented at work but depends on colleagues to give him or her (in this case, Wes the hubby) the highlights and takeaways. For the last month, Wes has gone total vegy (his colleague who went to the lecture lasted 36 hours sans meat). I love meat, but being the loyal and loving wife, I am also living the veggie life. I have fallen off the bandwagon (lots, totally busted on Instagram), but usually without him present. Shhhhh.
What we have found is that there are certain cuisines that lend themselves well to vegetarianism (is that a word?), like Indian cuisine. We have had Indian food at least once a week. It is about time we try making it at home. Our first attempt, Aloo Gobi, is a well-known dish thanks to the movie Bend It Like Beckham. It is a bowl of yumminess, consisting of potatoes and cauliflower, not too spicy but packed with flavor. The starchiness and density of the vegetables give it enough weight to suppress your carnivore cravings. I looked at lots of recipes, and the first thing I noticed was that there are about a GAZILLION different spices used in Indian food, most of which I have never used. I fought the urge to give up and call our favorite Indian restaurant for takeout.
Lucky for me, I have a co-worker I can go to for Indian cooking advice. I have peppered her with questions on the different spices, cooking techniques, and lentils. Hey, I’m arice-gal. My takeaways for newbies attempting Indian food: One, find a good Asian or Indian grocery store. Two, time and patience are required to toast the spices and aromatics; don’t hurry. Three, have lots of cute little bowls around to hold your spices.
Tips for the recipe. It’s really important to toast the spices & aromatics in the oil to develop flavor. Add the garam masala with the turmeric and salt. I also used dried coriander (1 tsp) instead of the cilantro stalks. It is too tomato-ey, so I would use 1 fresh tomato, chopped, in place of the canned tomatoes. Pre-cook potatoes and cauliflower by steam-microwaving each for 3-5 minutes. Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
Aloo Gobi from Bend It Like Beckham (food.com)
Ingredients
- 1 ⁄4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large onion peeled and cut into small pieces
- 1 bunch fresh coriander cilantro, separated into stalks and leaves and roughly chopped
- 1 small green chili chopped into small pieces (or one teaspoon chili powder)
- 1 large cauliflower leaves removed and cut evenly into eighths
- 3 large potatoes peeled and cut into even pieces
- 2 8 ounce cans diced tomatoes
- fresh ginger peeled and grated (1 generous tablespoon)
- fresh garlic chopped (1 generous tablespoon ~4 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seed
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan.
- Add the chopped onion and one teaspoon of cumin seeds to the oil.
- Stir together and cook until onions become creamy, golden, and translucent. Will take 10-15 minutes
- Add chopped coriander stalks, two teaspoons of turmeric, and one teaspoon of salt.
- Add chopped chillis (according to taste) Stir tomatoes into onion mixture.
- Add ginger and garlic; mix thoroughly.
- Add potatoes and cauliflower to the sauce plus a few tablespoons of water (ensuring that the mixture doesn't stick to the saucepan).
- Ensure that the potatoes and cauliflower are coated with the curry sauce.
- Cover and allow to simmer for twenty minutes (or until potatoes are cooked).
- Add two teaspoons of Garam Masala and stir.
- Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top of the curry.
- Turn off the heat, cover, and leave for as long as possible before serving.