Aloo Gobi Recipe

Aloo gobi is an Indian vegetarian dish made with potatoes (aloo), cauliflower (gobi) and Indian spices. I also added peas, tomatoes and the usual ginger garlic paste.

I think aloo gobi was the first Indian dish I ever cooked when I got married. It's very easy to assemble all the ingredients, making it a good introduction to Indian cooking. First, a paste is formed from the spices, and then the vegetables are cooked in the paste until soft. Even though children may not love cauliflower, it is actually a kid-friendly dish. I’ve found it’s a great way to get my little munchkin to eat her vegetables. I just reduce the number of chiles, and serve it with a warm roti (flat Indian bread). Today I made it for us big kids, so I served it with basmati rice.

If you’re looking to try your hand at Indian cuisine, this is a great place to start!

Sabudana Khichdi (Indian Sago and Potato Snack)

Sabudana khichdi is a dish that is popular in the state of Maharashtra in India. Sabudana refers to the sago (tapioca) pearls that are used in this dish, and khichdi roughly translates to "hodgepodge".  Every region in India has their own version of khichdi, usually made with rice and lentils.

This particular version is often eaten after fasts. It's also a very popular breakfast dish. I like this dish because sago is a fairly exotic ingredient, and I don't get to cook with it very often. 

The challenge is in preparing the sago properly. Make sure to buy your sago from an Indian store; I've tried to make it with sago from the Asian market and it didn't turn out properly. When it turns out right, the cooked sago melts in your mouth, and the spices and curry leaves that the potatoes cook in is beyond heavenly.

Mattar Paneer (Peas and Fried Indian Cheese Curry)

Mattar Paneer is a dish made with peas and Indian cheese.  It isn't as quite popular as palak paneer, a similar recipe made with spinach instead of peas.

In our home, mattar paneer is made fairly often because it's the girls' favorite Indian dish.  If you have kids and can't get them to eat their peas, this recipe may do the trick. The key is to make a creamy masala sauce. To make the dish even healthier, I add diced, steamed potatoes that are approximately the same shape as the paneer.

Punjabi-Style Chaat (Layers of Tomatoes, Raita, Ginger Garbanzo beans, Mint Sauce and Tamarind Chutney)

Chaat is an Indian snack. There are many varieties but they all use similar ingredients. If you think of it as in Mexican food where you see salsa, guacamole, sour cream, refried beans and cheese, repeated in many different dishes, similarly chaat is made up of a crispy fried bread called puri and garbanzo beans, tomatoes, yogurt, taramind, mint sauce and spices.

This particular version of chaat is one Lulu's aunt makes whenever she has a family get-together at her house. Since it's more constructed than many of the other chaats, it's got distinct layers. She usually serves it with potatoes as well, which I didn't have on hand; I'm going to post my personal favorite later on, which is called dahi papdi chaat.

For those of you who think Indian food is mostly butter chicken, tandoori chicken or palak paneer, there is a whole world of cuisine that I've been introduced to since I got married I never knew existed. I love South Indian food in particular and I'll try to put up some recipes from that region.

Masoor Dal Khichdi (Indian Orange Lentil Rice)

Kitcheri is a very simple recipe that requires only a few ingredients from the pantry. It's a blend of coral-colored lentils, called masoor dal, with basmati rice and a few other typical Indian spices.

It's very nutritious for all the vegetarians in the house. The lentils provide a lot of protein. The key to a good kitcheri though is a flavorful raita, or yogurt sauce. Check back tomorrow for the recipe!