I once ran a cross country race when I was in school. I was a notoriously slow runner & participated only because it was compulsory. There were 35 other kids in the race – ALL better at this shit than me, but that Friday something was different. We started running, & I soon saw other kids slowing down & even dropping out of the race. I kept chugging along at my mildly accelerated semi-jog & to everyone’s astonishment (including mine), finished 3rd. Turns out, there was a stomach bug going around & everyone except me was affected that day. I never replicated that performance. The next time I ran, I finished joint 35th with a kid who’d lost his glasses on the field.
We cooked an epic menu at one of my Boring Indian Food Workshops recently & this Sukha (Dry) Aloo Gobhi came outta nowhere & stole the show. As much as I love the same veggies cooked in a good masala, sometimes you just want to stir-fry them plants & keep things simple.
RECIPE
- Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil
- Throw in 1 tsp of cumin seeds + 1/2 tsp of carom seeds & let them crackle
- Add 3 diced potatoes to the oil & cook on high heat
- Add salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric & 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder. Mix & cook till the potatoes start to go slightly brown.
- Introduce the cauliflower to the wok. Don’t cut it too big, okay? The tricky part of cooking cauliflower is getting the spices inside without overcooking the thing.
- Time to season the cauliflower. Add a sprinkle of salt, 1/2 tsp of cumin powder & a little more red chilli.
- Add tbsp of fresh ginger cut into juliennes, mix well & continue to cook for 3 min on high heat
- Turn the heat down to medium, slap a lid on the wok & cook for another 2 min
- Open the pan & check if the cauliflower is cooked. Make damn sure not to overcook the cauliflower. I don’t care which part of the world you’re from. NOBODY likes a squishy cauliflower.
- Top with a handful of fresh chopped coriander & dig in
Sometimes, I swap the carom seeds for nigella seeds. Different flavour, but still totally TOTALLY amazing.