Make authentic homestyle Aloo Gobi with this easy step by step recipe. This is the kind of aloo gobi I grew up eating on everyday basis- made with simple ingredients, hearty and super comforting, especially when paired with a bowl of jeera rice and my favorite dal tadka. In my opinion, this Indian potato and cauliflower dish perfectly encapsulates what Indian home cooking is all about.
Aloo gobi (which literally translates to potatoes and cauliflower) must be one of the most popular vegetarian Indian dishes that’s made across the country. However, the point to be noted here is that there’s no one way to make it and every home has its own way of making it.
In my home, it was mostly as a dry sabzi (and that’s the recipe that I have shared here). But sometimes, mom also made it as a curry with plenty of sauce and we ate it with rice. The drier version is the most popular homemade aloo gobi especially in Northern India.
When I say everyone has their own way of making it, I mean not only in terms of whether it’s dry or with curry, I also mean in terms of what ingredients you put it in. Some make it with only onions, while others make it with onions, tomatoes and a whole bunch of spices.
Because it’s such a popular dish, it’s also cooked using different gadgets, I often make it in the Instant Pot, and I also do love how easy an air fryer aloo gobi is. Seriously, give it a try when you are in a rush.
Soggy Cauliflower in Aloo Gobi? Not Anymore with These Tips!
One common problem with aloo gobi is that when you cook it, the cauliflower becomes soggy, and you don’t want that. You want the veggies to be cooked and tender but not soggy. That kind of spoils the taste and texture of this dish. My mother is law makes a version where she deep fries the vegetables before adding them to the masala and while that helps in retaining the texture, we can’t deep fry vegetables for everyday cooking.
So, here’s how you can prevent that from happening.
- Half cook the cauliflower and potatoes before adding it to the onion-tomato masala. You can parboil the potatoes and cauliflower or bake them in the oven or do what I did – fry them in little oil until they are half cooked. This helps in retaining shape and texture and gives them more flavor. You don’t need to deep fry the vegetables (which you can reserve for festive cooking) but pan frying them in a little oil does the trick.
- Don’t cover and cook the cauliflower. I usually let the sabzi cook uncovered because covering generates steam and that tends to make cauliflower a little soggy. Cover and cook towards the end and remember to cook on flame.
- Add salt towards the end when the dish is almost done. Adding salt releases water which can further change the texture of the vegetables and make them soggy. Adding it towards the end when vegetables are mostly cooked helps in retaining the texture.
- After the sabzi is cooked, remove the pan from heat and let it sit covered for 5 more minutes before serving. This makes sure that the vegetables are cooked perfectly without getting overcooked.
Cut The Vegetables Thin & Small for Faster Cooking
To make sure the vegetables cook fast, cut them into small pieces and thin slices. The cauliflower needs to be cut into small florets. Similarly, if you dice the potatoes, dice them ½ inch thick or less and if you slice them, slice them ¼ inch thick. This way they cook quickly and evenly.
Does Cooking Oil Matter?
Honestly, you can make aloo gobi with any oil. But if you ask me, cooking aloo gobi in mustard oil gives it that raw and authentic taste. Mustard oil has a unique aroma and flavor which it imparts to the aloo gobi when you cook with it.
One thing to remember about mustard oil is that you need to heat it first until it’s smoking and then turn off the heat. Wait for it to cool down a little (because you don’t want the spices to burn) and then add the tempering. If you add the tadka/tempering while the mustard oil is just hot (and not smoking hot), your final dish will have that raw mustard oil taste which many people are not fond of.
Homemade Aloo Gobi
- Pan fry the vegetables first
To retain the texture of the potatoes and cauliflower, I like to pan fry them first in a little oil until they have some brown spots. You can also do this step in the oven, but I prefer doing it on the stovetop. Don’t steam the vegetables as that will make them soggy.
- Make the onion tomato masala
The base for this aloo gobi is made with onions, tomatoes and spices. Sauté the onions first for 2 to 3 minutes until they are translucent and then add the tomatoes and cook them until soft.
- Add the spices and cook the masala
Flavor the masala with coriander, turmeric, amchur, chili powder and then cover the cook the masala. Don’t add salt at this point.
- Toss in the potatoes and cauliflower
Once the masala is cooked through, toss in the pan-fried vegetables along with chopped cilantro and garam masala. Toss well using a spatula so that all the vegetables are coated with the masala. Now, let the veggies cook uncovered for 5 to 6 minutes on low medium heat.
- Add salt, cover and cook
Add the salt at this point and then cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, around 8 to 9 minutes on low medium heat. Keep stirring in between, you might need to add some water here, I did not add any. Once cooked, remove the kadai/pan from heat and let it sit covered for 5 more minutes. Serve hot!
Manali’s Tips
- I like using russet potatoes or gold potatoes for this recipe. Make sure to slice the potatoes into ¼ inch thickness so that they cook in the time mentioned above in the recipe.
- You may need to add some water to this recipe, I did not add any water but if you need to, add 1 tablespoon at a time, during the last step when you cook the vegetables covered with a lid on low heat. Add water only as needed. For me, the little water that generated from the steam after covering the lid was enough for the veggies to cook.
- If you do not have amchur (dried mango powder), you can squeeze in some fresh lemon juice at the end once the aloo gobi is cooked.
Authentic Aloo Gobi – Potatoes & Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons oil, divided, I used mustard oil
- 2 medium potatoes, around 240 grams sliced into ¼ inch thickness
- 1 small head cauliflower, around 280 grams , measure after removing the stems and leaves, cut into small florets
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 medium red onion, around 200 grams , finely chopped
- 1 & ½ teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
- 2 medium tomatoes, around 240 grams , finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon amchur, dry mango powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder , add more to taste
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, + more to garnish
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium size heavy bottom pan or kadai. Once the oil is hot, add 1 small cauliflower florets (cut unto small ½ inch florets) and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add 2 medium potatoes (¼-inch slices) and pan fry on medium-low heat for 7 to 8 minutes until the vegetables have some brown spots over them. Remove the vegetables on a plate lined with paper towel.
- To the same pan, now add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Then add 1 medium onion (chopped) and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often until the onions are translucent.
- Then add 1 & ½ teaspoons ginger garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes or until the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes away. Next, add 2 medium tomatoes (chopped) and cook for 2 minutes until they are soft and pulpy.
- Once the tomatoes are little soft, add the ground spices- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon amchur, ¼ teaspoon red chili powder and 1 teaspoon coriander powder. Stir and mix all the spices with the masala. Now, cover the pan and cook the masala on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Toss in the pan-fried potatoes and cauliflower along with ¼ teaspoon garam masala and 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro. Mix well with a spatula, so that the vegetables are coated with the masala. Cook the vegetables uncovered on low-medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often.
- Now, add ¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste) and stir well. Cover the pan now and cook for additional 8 to 9 minutes on low-medium heat, or until the vegetables are tender but not soggy. Open the lid in between and stir every minute or two. If you feel the masala is sticking to the pan, you may add some water,1 tablespoon at a time. I did not add any. Remove pan from heat and let it sit covered for 5 more minutes. Uncover, garnish with more cilantro and serve aloo gobi hot with rotis!
Video
Notes
- Add lots of chopped cilantro leaves to your aloo gobi, it adds a lot to the flavor.
- You can even deep fry the potatoes and cauliflower till they are completely cooked and then add them to the masala. But deep frying = more calories so it’s not the way I make aloo-gobi at home regularly.
- Adjust spice levels to taste.
- You can also sprinkle some kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) on top for added flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this recipe, .i love both potato and cauliflower. Plus the dry mango powder you put in it which really added to the taste.Thanks for sharing!
Hi thankyou for your amazing recipes !! One thing i am trying to understand is about the spices. I notice in many recipes , not just here either , that you always add the garam masala to the cooked masala last with other ingredients. Just really would like to educate myself as to why it is not simmered with the other spices and onion, garlic etc. thankyou so much!!
Hi Suzanne, garam masala is a fragrant mix of spices and I add it at the end so that the dish retains the flavors when served. You can definitely simmer the garam masala with other spices too, that’s just my way of cooking. I feel garam masala retain it’s maximum flavor this way when you add it at the end 🙂
A very good recipe, thank you. I will be looking for more from you. I do not like to fry or use a great deal of oil, so I dry-roast the cauliflower in my pot and pre-boil the potatoes.
Excellent.
I have all the ingredients in my pantry including dried home grown mthi. I am not Indian nor do I like hot spicy food, just a crazy Iranian who is married to an Englishman!
Making this recipe again day after tomorrow.
Also thanks for your instructions re cooking for a crowd and baking it in the oven.
Welcome! 🙂
Family loved it! I’m allergic to garlic so didn’t use the ginger garlic paste. But it was still awesome!
I don’t like cauliflower especially due to it’s aroma after cooking but today I showed your recipe to my mom & when she cooked it, we just loved it.. The simplicity of cooking it & it’s taste was awesome.. Also we noticed there’s no cauliflower kind of aroma from it after cooking.. Thanks a lot!
I loved the idea of roasting the vegetables first. The aloo Gobi turned out fantastic. Thank you!!
I’m so glad I found your recipe Manali! I’ve tried making this a few times without a recipe but it was never quite right. Your ingredients and methods were so helpful. I live in a pretty rural area so mango powder isn’t anywhere local so I just left it out. I see from a comment that I could’ve used some lemon juice. I’ll try that next time. Also, I live in a very big produce growing area in Canada called “Ontario’s garden” and our cauliflower is usually the size of a large bowling ball so I only used half. I did pre boil the potatoes and cauliflower as per one of your suggestions, it really helped get the right consistency. When I made some before I could never get the potatoes to cook properly.
I look forward to checking out more of your awesome recipes!
I tried this wonderful recipe.. I made one change.. I shallow fried the onions tomatoes and the masala powders. It tasted wow!! Thank you!!
This was a great recipe. I tried many different recipes and the step by step method was extremely helpful. To help other readers, I was able to get the right texture by cutting cauliflower into medium size pieces and parboiling cauliflower in lightly salted water for about 2 minutes. I cut the potatoes into 1/4” slices and parboiled in lightly salted water on medium high heat uncovered for about 4 minutes. I followed the other steps as written.
What is the purpose of dry mango powder?
amchur/amchoor (dry mango powder) is used in Indian recipes for its tangy/citrusy flavor. You may use lemon juice in place.
Hi, I can’t wait too try this recipe! It looks delicious… I need enough to feed about 20 people!! Approximately how many recipes will feed 20 people?? Thank you!
if you are serving it with other things, I will just do the recipe 5 times..that should be good enough provided there are other dishes on the table too
I’m Mexican and my husband is Indian! Thank you for so easy and tasty recipe! I cooked it and he loved and so did I
Made this today and my husband loved it.
awesome!
Easy and simple to follow beautiful recipe, it turned out beautiful and enjoyed by all….
awesome!
Hello! What a great recipe! It tasted delicious. Thank you for this recipe. I’m trying not to devour the entire dish by myself. ?
you are welcome!
I’m going to try it with brocolli instead of gobi. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Excellent and easy to make. Thanks for adding the extra step at the beginning so it doesn’t get soggy. That made all the difference! Sooo good!
Yeah I love that extra step! glad you liked it
9.9 from the wife. My expert critic who rarely goes above 9 for anything. Great taste, wonderful colours and really easy to prepare. Thanks a million for such a delicious recipe. Love from Belize
I will take that 9.9! 😀
Manali,
This was the best aloo gobi recipe I have ever made. Thank you for all the tips !!
you are welcome! glad you enjoyed it
I have tried several recipes of Gobhi Aloo and failed. Thank you for changing that!
you are welcome!
I made this for the first time this evening. I made the vegan recipe version. I used sweet potatoes in mine ,as my wife loves them. Thank you for sharing this with us all. Andrew
Welcome! sweet potatoes are yummy 🙂
This was so good! Thank you!
Welcome! glad you enjoyed it
My son turned me on to the idea of making this because he’s vegan and it’s one of his favorite Indian meals. Followed this recipe to a “T” and the whole family loved it!!! Definitely something I will be making again!!! Thank you! For anyone new to the spices, I found them all on Amazon and had them the next day!
awesome! It’s definitely a staple 🙂
I have tried ur recipe today
I hope you liked it
Hi Manli I tried. Your recipe. It was very good. I have to make a lot of quantity for a Puja. I can easily mix it and put it in the oven. The last few steps instead of cooking on the range. I am going to deep fry first. Any suggestions please.
Hi Sunita..if you are making this for a large crowd, you can even oven roast the veggies..425 F for 15-20 minutes..just spray the potatoes and cauliflower with oil, sprinkle some salt and roast..meanwhile get the masala ready and once the veggies are done simply mix them with the masala. OR you can prepare the masala, deep dry the aloo and gobi until they are little cooked (but not entirely cooked) and then add everything in a pan and cover with aluminium foil and bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes until done.
made this today and it was delicious, I will be making it again, frequently I think lol. I would recommend this recipe, it was was easy to make we had most of the ingredients already.
Fabulous……thank you 🙂
Welcome, glad you enjoyed it Doreen
I made this dish yesterday for a family day Indian themed pot lock…it was amazing!!! Will be making this again.
awesome!
I just made this for lunch today and it was delicious, better than the restaurant. I didn’t have to add any extra water but the potatoes did take an extra ten – fifteen minutes to cook. Will be making again for sure! Thank you.
Welcome! happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi Manali, Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe. I just made it the other day for my family and they all absolutely loved it !!! This recipe is a keeper. Thanks
Good to know 🙂 It’s my favorite too!
How much fesh garlic or fresh ginger could you use instead of paste?
1-inch ginger, 3-4 garlic cloves
Thank you, was looking for this comment
Loved the recipe…and your explanations. Thanks!
Welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!
by the time I got to fry the onions had to add more oil. I used ghee with a little MCT oil and put oil for part of the frying. Didn’t have a tomato so used tomato paste. No mango powder but will buy before i make next time…really good dish and attractive too!
Loved this recipe. I made it with half a lemon juiced instead of mango powder and no tomatoes. Delicious! I’m going to make it all the time. The precook really helped it not get mushy.
I am glad to hear that Jennifer! 🙂
Yummy! It turned out great? Thank you for a lovely recipe! ( next time I will try with the mango powder)
good to know! 🙂
Found this recipe because I was trying to use up potatoes and a cauliflower. I love Indian food, so it was an easy sell. I am so glad I decided to go out and get the amchur (found at Walmart) because it gave an authentic flavor that I know made the dish even better.
Yay for getting amchur! Yes it does make a difference! 🙂 Glad you liked the recipe Melissa!
Great tip of pre cooking the veggies , they kind of gave a caramelised flavour ! Easy and delicious dish . I skipped amchur , my tomatoes were sour enough
glad to know Sara!
This was delicious! Fantastic tip about pre-cooking the cauliflower and potato! Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 This is my favorite too!
I made this dish and followed all direction, except I did not fry anything in oil, since I do not use oils or any fat in my foods. the dish came out amazing and was scarfed up by every one. ( I took it to my church for a covered dish , even the meat eaters loved it and asked for the recipe)
good to know Kerstin! 🙂
Wonderful dish indeed. My daughter too enjoyed your aloo gobi recipe. Too good. Thanks for sharing. Easy and delicious too. Please share more easy and tasty recipes . Thsnks
Glad to know Hazel!
Delicious recipe! Made it two times now.
I roasted the cauliflower & potato in the oven with some cumin, garlic salt & pepper for about 20 min before sautéing in the pan. Turned out amazing! Thank you for the recipe!
love the idea of roasting the potatoes & cauliflower in the oven first! glad you enjoyed the recipe!
How do you roast cauliflower and potatoes ? Do you brush or add oil in the pan and what temperature and for how long ? I want to try this recipe as well. I love Aloo Gobi but my only problem is that my Gobi always become soggy. I love the nice and crispy one you get from the restaurants and hence I am going try roasting it so that I don’t have to cook it for long.
Hmm Babitha, if you read the instructions, everything is mentioned in detail. Please go through it and let me know if you have any issues. Gobi won’t be soggy if you follow all the steps in this recipe!
Hi Babitha,
I roasted the potato and cauliflower at 400 degrees and put salt, cumin, chilli powder and olive oil on it and roast for about 20-25 minutes! Turns out delish!!!
good idea to roast! yum
My whole family loved this one!
Aloo Gobi……..recipe was the best of others I tried!!!!
Glad to know Sonia!
This is amazing. Will try this recipe.Any difference without adding mango powder?..I don’t have it.
It will be okay without the mango powder too Nasreen, you can add little lemon juice in place. Hope you like it.
I made it. It was amazing, thank you Manali for this wonderful dish.
Manali, thank you so much! The recipe is spot on and better than the already excellent Indian food close to home. Learned a lot. Highly recommend
Glad you liked it Jenny!
Absolutely amazing, thank you for the recipe! I had to add two cups of water as my potatoes wouldn’t cook otherwise but still… so flavourfull, I’ll be definitely making it again.
You are welcome,glad you liked it!
Made it for the 1St time as a side dish with khuri kitchri, and I also added a few slit green chillies…. Smells amazing!
Awesome Sofhia! Glad you liked it!
I loved this dish! Easy to follow and i’m glad i followed the steps! I didn’t have mango powder and my husband can’t handle to much spice, so i didn’t add the chili, upped the tumeric and garam masala and added more tomatoes. perfect!
Glad you liked it Jocelyn!
Aloo gobi is one of my favs. this looks very flavourful.. love that you added mango powder imparts a lovely tanginess to this dish.. 🙂
Thanks Arpita! it’s my husband’s favorite and so I make it quite often and try to make it different every time!
I love the combination of cauliflower and potatoes in this dish Manali! The colour is also so beautiful.
Thanks Jessica…this combination is very popular in India! 🙂