Cooking Experiment: Aloo Gobi

Part of our mission in moving to India is to master Indian cooking. In time, we’ll find people to observe so we can learn the finer points, but in the meantime, we’re just diving in! We bought heaps of spices and used the recipe from Veg Recipes of India to attempt Aloo Gobi. I do not in any way blame this very fine recipe for the food we created.

We were out of tomatoes, which was mistake number one, and decided to go ahead anyway. We also do not yet have measuring cups or spoons so can’t be certain that our ratios were quite right. And the cashew cream was pretty darn lumpy with a few fully or partially intact cashews in the mix, owing to our use of a spice grinder to make it. We also wonder what would happen if we ground the spices instead of treated them like aromatics simmering in the gravy.

The resulting dish had a really unappetizing color, was strangely lumpy, and was surprisingly bland despite all of the spices that went into it.

We will persevere in our Aloo Gobi efforts with the following adjustments:

• use all ingredients on the list
• buy a small food processor for the making of cashew cream and other chutneys and sauces
• buy measuring implements so we can better follow recipes
• be brave with the spices

On the upside, the frozen flaky paratha we bought was delicious!