Spiced Potato & Cauliflower in Under Ten Minutes
Are your taste buds bored? If so, wake them up with this flavor-rich vegan dish, courtesy of Chef Sachit Mehra of the East India Co. Pub & Eatery. Chef Sachit cites aloo gobi, (which is a spiced potato and cauliflower dish), as being a staple dish in Middle India, and in this segment, he shares his step-by-step instructions on recreating this mouthwatering meal in under ten minutes.
What you’ll need: canola oil, ginger, garlic, bishop seed, bay leaf, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, Mother Curry Sauce, cauliflower, potato, green chili, cilantro, basmati rice
Step 1: Temper/Season Your Pan
In a saucepan, add canola oil. TIP Canola oil is a good oil to use for cooking if you have dietary restrictions, because it is low in saturated fat and high in unsaturated fats, including omega-3 fatty acids. Next, add in chopped ginger and garlic, a pinch of each. Once your garlic and ginger is nice and hot, add in a pinch of bishop seed. The bishop seeds should pop on contact with the hot pan. Next up, bay leaf. The purpose of the bay leaf is to bring out the flavor in the mild vegetables, such as potato and cauliflower.
Step 2: Add Some Color
One hallmark of this dish is its rich golden red color. To cultivate this color, start by adding a few pinches of Hungarian paprika to your saucepan, followed by a pinch of turmeric, followed by a pinch of cinnamon. At this stage, you should start to see that golden red color come to fruition.
Step 3: Blanch Your Cauliflower
Blanch/boil your cauliflower and potatoes until they become tender to the bite. Once they’ve softened a bit, you can add them to your saucepan of spices. TIP If you don’t have a dietary restriction, you have the option to fry your cauliflower rather than boiling it.
Step 4: Make It Saucy
Traditionally, you would add tomato paste and caramelized onions at this stage, but as a quick alternative, Chef Sachit suggests using the East India Co.’s Mother Curry Sauce.
Step 5: Mix
At this stage, give your ingredients a minute to mix and cook. You want the milder elements, such as the cauliflower and potato, to pick up the flavor of the richer elements, such as the bay leaf and the rest of the spices.
Step 5: Garnish
Finally, top off your dish with julienned ginger, crushed green chili, cilantro, paprika and turmeric. Serve this dish with nan or basmati white rice.
