Aloo Gobi

Aloo gobi is potato and cauliflower cooked dry with turmeric, cumin and ginger until lightly browned. It's a North Indian vegetable dish that needs no sauce to carry it — one of the rare curries on most menus where the vegetables themselves, not a gravy, are the entire point.

What it actually is

Cubed potato and cauliflower florets are cooked together in oil with cumin seeds, ginger, garlic and green chile, coloured deep yellow with turmeric and often a splash of tomato, and cooked until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned at the edges rather than sitting in a pool of liquid. Coriander is stirred through at the end, and the finished dish is dry enough to eat by hand with flatbread, no spoon required. The vegetables are sautéed and pan-roasted with the spices, then covered and finished with a little water.

This article describes the dry version, kept dry rather than saucy on purpose, which is why it's ordered alongside wetter curries; saucier, tomato-based versions exist too.

How it's served

• Usually dry rather than saucy, cauliflower and potato pieces distinct rather than mashed together.
• With roti or paratha, torn and used to scoop directly.
• Alongside a wetter curry and rice, as one dish in a larger thali rather than eaten alone.

Writing it on a menu

• Mention that it's vegetarian and vegan when cooked in oil; some cooks use ghee, so say which.
• Say whether it's served dry or in a tomato-based sauce, so guests expecting a gravy know what to expect.
• Note if you add peas or other vegetables, since regional versions vary and it's worth being specific about what's actually in the pan.
• Flag that it's best eaten fresh; reheated aloo gobi tends to turn the cauliflower soft and loses the lightly browned edges that define it.
• The basic recipe contains none of the 14 EU allergens, but ready-made spice mixes and sides should be checked.