Adraki Aloo Gobi Sabzi

 

In my ex-office, a few of us would lunch together and it was a shared affair. So, just before lunch time we would call each other up on extensions and ensure each of us got to the lunch room. And if any of us did not like what we had carried, we immediately gave it off and grabbed a little of everything from the other boxes. Most of us liked some dish or other from each others home and I liked this Aloo Gobi sabzi that my colleague, V got. His wife made his lunch and whenever he got this sabzi I would stake a claim right at the start. Eventually I got round to speaking with his wife and got this recipe. She gave me her recipe which I followed to the T and got it just right.

 

And with this, I am reminded of his daughter, G, whom V collected from her day care and brought over till such time that he wrapped up his work. She was so cute and I was happy when she took to me and insisted on sitting with me in my room till V was ready to leave. I was the listener to her poems, rhymes and daily happenings at her class and day care. She was one of the persons that made my day just by being there and I missed her sorely when I left that office and moved to another state.

 

Today after a long time, I made aloo gobi this way and was happy with the results. It's a very simple and easy recipe and requires very few ingredients as well. The key is in letting it cook on very low heat with minimal seasonings.

Ingredients
Potato, diced - 1 cup
Cauliflower florets - 1 cup
Ginger, chopped - 1 tbsp
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Green chilli - 2
Turmeric pwd
Red chilli pwd
Tomato, chopped - 1
Coriander - a few sprigs
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Keep the diced potato and the cauliflower florets in water till ready to use. Slit the green chillies roughly powder the cumin seeds with a mortar and pestle. Clean the coriander leaves and chop it.

 

Heat a kadai and add the oil in. When the oil is hot, add the crushed cumin seed and after a few seconds add the chopped ginger and saute. Add the slit green chillies and turmeric powder and saute for a few seconds. Then add the red chilli powder and salt and the potato and cauliflower and mix well. Cover with a lid that can hold water in it. Keep the heat on low, pour some water on the lid and let the vegetables cook slowly. After about 10 minutes, add the chopped tomato and mix in well. Cover the kadai again with the lid and continue cooking on low heat. If the water has evaporated add some more. The vegetables will take about 20 to 30 minutes to cook. It should be just done and top with coriander leaves and take off the heat. Keep covered till ready to serve.

This vegetable does need a little more oil than normal but it tastes just yum. Serve this Adraki Aloo Gobi sabzi with phulkas or roti.