Hi Mamta,

I am in the process of cooking your recipe for Aloo Gobhi, which is smelling delicious. however there's something missing!! In your ingredients list you have grated and ginger and finely sliced chilli. However, you don't say when to add them in the instructions. I added them with the potatoes and the cauliflower, I hope that was right.

I look forward to seeing when I should have done it!

All the best

Ian

Thanks Ian. This is one of the recipes that was written in very early days of this site. I have updated the recipe, along with correcting the omission. I am always grateful to people for pointing out mistakes.

I hope your dish came out well?

Mamta

Hi Mamta,

Thanks for replying. As soon as I've finished here, I'm off to have a look.

We were delighted with the recipe, though it was quite difficult to cook it without it attaching and burning. So what we did in fact was to add enough water to prevent that, and then cook it very slowly, turning from time to time, and finally, when the potatoes and cauliflower were nicely tender, increasing the heat for a few minutes to boil off any excess water.

Very different from other potato and cauliflower recipes I've had, and delicious with the other dishes we cooked.

Thanks again

Ian

Hi again,

Just been to have a look at the changes in the recipe. I see you've added garlic, which I meant to add anyway, but forgot! However, although you have put in the frying of the ginger and optional garlic, you still don't mention when to add the chili. With the ginger, I imagine.

I'm a persistent pest, aren't I?

ATB

Ian

Hello IanI see what you mean. I have re-written the order of ingredients to suit the steps. Now chillies are included. Thanks.

If you keep the heat to very low and cauliflower is fresh, like I expect it to be with a foodie (your description on BBC boards!)like you, you really do not need to add any water. Better luck next time.

Mamta

Hi Mamta,

Brilliant! Thanks very much. I can tell this is going to become one of our regulars. Truly yummy. As it happens, the cauliflower wasn't as fresh and juicy as it might have been, as we had to buy it at the Stupormarkup. Next time, I'll get one at the market, I promise. Would your family have some connections with Kashmir by any chance, as I understand they don't use much onion or garlic either?

ATB

Ian

Hi ian

No, we don't have any connection with Kashmir. Most families from our part of India (Uttar Pradesh or Northern Province), see http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/uttarpradesh/uttarpradeshlocation.htm, are vegetarians. Even the non-vegetarians do not eat meat everyday. Many vegetarians do not eat onion and garlic either. In my grandmother's generation, hardly any vegetarians from uttar Pradesh ate onions or garlic, most of my family back home still don't. Also, my mum always says that onions 'drown' the taste and flavour of a vegetable. So, like her, I cook most 'dry curries', or sabji/bhaji as we call them, without onion and garlic. I do like garlic so this is not the case all the time. That is the reason why you often find that I put garlic as an 'optional' in my recipes.

Cauliflowers, peas, carrots etc. used to be available only during winter months in old days, for a short period only. People made the most of them while the season lasted. It is one of my favourite dishes too, specially with crisp hot parathas http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10100.

Mamta

Hi again Mamta,

Firstly, thanks for answering my questions and clarifying this question of onions and garlic. Very interesting, as quite a number of people in this part of France also don't like them. Our nearest neighbour for one!

Secondly, I made the dish again, this time following your revised recipe but with the optional onion and garlic. I also saw in a recipe by a guy called Yamuni Devi, that you can soak the cauliflower half an hour in water, so I did that and then drained them. Just that tiny bit of rehydration made all the difference, and the dish cooked perfectly this time. It's definitely going to be one of our favourites.

Thanks so much.

Ian

Hi Ian

The problem is personal taste. I have friends who do the reverse, actually leave the chopped cauliflower on a kitchen towel overnight, to dry off all water. End result is that all the florets are separate and .Al dante., the vegetable is not too soft! I guess, you have to chose which you like better, there is no right or wrong way!

Mamta

Oh, I so love this vegetable with my mum's crisp parathas. My mouth is watering now!

Just noticed, I missed an 'h' in my name on my last posting!

looks like I have then.. as I copied it to reply to ,.. oops...

I love this dish with parathas. Your recipe is almost like my mum's Mamta. Thank you!

Ranjan