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.
This dish might be one of the best recipes that i have tried. it is flavor, flavor and flavor. With some bread to get all the good stuff it becomes the nectar of the gods (yes, that good)
Hi Manali,
I am waiting to make this for my family, but I have moderately picky eaters when it comes to spiciness. Is this dish spicy or flavorful but not “hot”?
Thank you! It looks wonderful!
It is not hot at all since I don’t eat spicy food myself. But if you want to tone it down further, skip the red chili powder
Fantastic. Didn’t think I could make this as good as I’ve had at restaurants. Easy to follow instructions and was cooked pefectly.
Thank you,
Georgia
Really lovely recipe! I agree, very important to get sensible ratio of veg. I only used half a large cauli and 1 large potato. Really tasty.
Excellent. Didn’t follow it exactly as didn’t have all ingredients but turned out great.
Hello, I have read your recipe. In the instruction, I don’t clear this point “Add garam masala and cook the potato and cauliflower on medium-low heat for 5-6 minutes”. This is the 11st step in your instruction. I would ask that how to do Garam Masala to add to the potatoes and cauliflowers.
I am not sure if I understood your question? you have to add garam masala (a spice) and then continue to cook the potatoes and cauliflower
Excellent recipe, and your tip about “half-cooking” the aloo and gobi and setting them aside while building the masala resulted in perfectly done veggies. And following your instruction to add salt at the end helped me do a better job of balancing the finished dish. I need to try the salt-at-the-end method the next time I do a curry. Thank you!
One word: Fabulous!! More words……… I’ve tried many Aloo Gobi recipes and this is the best! Really delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and I love it!
yay! 🙂
I was looking for a properly good Aloo Gobi recipe with a good texture, clean flavor, and not too complicated. I usually find it hard to get the texture and flavor profile of the dishes I ate in Pakistan with the ingredients available in western Canada. This one met the challenge. Then I ate 3 servings. Family members proclaimed that they were happy to realize they were satisfied without meat. Yum.
Just want to confirm that you meant Tablespoons for oil, not Teaspoons, right? Can’t wait to make this!
No, I mean teaspoons. If you want to use more oil, sure do that
Yum. I added some coconut milk to the masala. Also took the skin off the tomatoes and blitzed them. Well rounded flavours. Easy to make. Feed the family for under $5 Aus.
I made this tonight – super tasty! I will definitely save this recipe to make again!
loved loved loved this recipie, i could eat this everyday, and very authentic indian.
glad to know Amita
This came out great! I chopped the potatoes very small, so the timing worked well, but I think if they were bigger they’d have been undercooked. I used a sweet onion and gold potatoes in mine since that’s what I had. I let some of the cauliflower and potatoes get a little blackened and it was still good! I couldn’t find any of the dried mango powder in a store near me, so I just cooked the recipe anyway and will order for next time. Glad you had the tip about not letting the veggies get soggy. It was perfect.
The Best Aloo Gobi
ohh nice.. you have explained the recipe very elaborately..
I tried this recipe, and my fiance liked it very much..
Thank you very much for such a great recipe..
you are welcome
Manali, I am learning to cook Indian food for the first time, thank you for the detailed instructions. In the first step of cooking cauliflower, I ran out of oil in the pan when I was cooking it and had to add more. Than added even more oil on the potatoes step. Am I cooking on too high of heat? Or perhaps the cauliflower head I bought was too big? Thanks for any feedback. I also am finding that at the end of recipe, my cauliflower is too crunchy so maybe it’s true that I have added too much.
chop them small if it’s being crunchy, cook on medium heat.
This was fantastic, thank you 🙂
awesome!
Wow, this recipe is really amazing.
Thanks!
This was amazing!! I cooked it a little longer to achieve desired tenderness of potatoes and cauliflower. My husband and son wanted to keep going back for more. This is now one of my husband’s favorite Indian dishes. Thanks for sharing this authentic recipe.
Wonderful recipe. Absolutely delicious and perfectly balanced. Thank you
My boyfriend is from the Punjab in India,so I was keen to try this version. He gave it thumbs up and so that’s a good enough endorsement for me. I did find I had to cook the potatoes and cauliflower a little longer than stated but hey that’s not a problem. I love Indian food and we always eat Desi style. ?
This sounds like a straightforward recipe. Aloo Gobi is my favorite I diwn dish. But where is the spice? I like “Indian hot” And there is nothing spicy here
Contrary to what you may believe, not everyone in India eats “super spicy” food. Certainly my family did not. This is the way it was made in my house. If you want to make this super spicy, add lots of thai green chilies and lots of red chili powder.
I made this tonight as I love Indian food and have always wanted to make it at home but thought it would be too complicated. I have accumulated the spices for other recipes and had cauliflower I needed to use, I always have potatoes, tomatoes and cilantro around. Super easy and the house smells amazing. I had no mango powder but I don’t miss it. We have an Indian market in town and I’m sure they must have some. I have yogurt and cucumbers around so next is raita.
This was the best aloo gobi I’ve tried. Second time making, and this time I parboiled the potatoes as I found they took too long to cook, and then fried them with the cauli until browned as per the recipe. I also added about half a cup of water towards the end so that the cauli could cook just enough.
I’ve also just made your palak paneer – really nice. Thank you for recipes!
glad to know!
This was terrific. Made it with cauliflower only. Would change nothing!
Absolutely delicious. I substituted fresh tomatoes for 1/2 a tin of chopped.
Vegetables were cooked perfectly and my husband loved it (he is not keen on cauliflower).
I would say this serves 4 as a side dish but my husband and I do eat small portions.
Will definitely make again. Thank you ?
Wow, this recipe is really amazing. Even though I had to improvise a bit.
Thank you so much for sharing it. The dinner made my day.
awesome!
My kitchen smells amazing! I added a teaspoon of curry powder as well and I found the squeezed lemon really added a nice flavour to all these ingredients. Yummy! Thanks for sharing ?
welcome! 🙂
Oh yum! Now this is how to use turmeric. Not that woo tosh on turmeric milk. Def making this this weekend. Though caulis in shorts supply this time of year here. End of season. But I’ll find one.
I’ve made versions of this before following recipes of celebrity chefs, but this wins hands down the best. It’s one of those meals you just can’t stop eating. The only change I made was using ghee instead of vegetable oil. I’m not a vegan; I eat everything.
yay! 🙂
My spices might be old but I had to triple the spices to get flavor. `
Spice levels are a personal preference. I share how it was always made in my home and how I Like it and clearly the majority likes it too ? you can always adjust spice levels to preference and yeah Indian spices lose their flavor when they are old.
Very nice recipe!
All steps are explained in details and it gives you the assurance you are doing well.
I personally think the amount of oil at fry stage should be larger then 2 teaspoons.
Did it yesterday for dinner side dish, it was wonderful! Thank you Manali!
Looking forward for the next dish 🙂
Making this for my husband. He is Indian and I have been trying to learn as much as I can on the internet because his mom doesn’t use recipes, of course. This is the closest recipe I’ve seen to what his mother does. I diverhed by tossing my potatoes and cauliflower in oil, salt, and pepper and put them in my air fryer while I made the rest. It’s awesome!
This recipe has great taste, but the timing is completely off. The potatoes should be half cooked prior to adding in the cauliflower, and everything needs longer to be cooked in general. After 45 minutes, I ended up having to take out the potatoes from the pan and putting them in the oven to cook for 10 minutes alone.
Hi Sam, the timing is fine. Maybe you just cut the potatoes and cauliflower into large pieces? If you see, the total time I cook the veggies is actually more than 20 minutes (combining everything) and that’s enough for diced potatoes and cauliflower to cook. Aloo gobi is something I grew up eating almost every week and even now make it very often so I can say I am confident that it does cook in the specified time.
It was sooooo yummy!! Thank you so much!
I added more veggies as I needed to use them and used canned tomatoes as I didn’t have natural ones and it still tasted ah-mazing!!
Next time I hope I cam find the mango powder to add it in.
You’ve got a new follower here 🙂
welcome! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe. The flavors were spot on but it was dry, I’m used to this having sauce when I order it at restaurants. Advice?
This is how aloo gobi is made in most homes in India everyday. It is dry and eaten mostly as a side with roti and dal. If you want it to have a sauce, add water.
Nice recipe bud, what kind of potatoes do you use? There’s a few different kinds available here in Canada. I Keep buying the wrong ones. lol!
russet or gold
I tried the recipe and unfortunately it seems I took a lot more cauliflower and potatoes than required. The veggies were undercooked and tasted bland too. Does 450 grams of both seem appropriate? If not, could you please include the approximate quantities of both? Thank you.
I will include the weight when I make it next. Not sure why it turned bland, the recipe is quite flavorful and extremely popular on the blog!
I think this might be the reason why some people ended up not as happy as others with the recipe.
When I finished cutting my cauliflower and potatoes, I looked at your pictures and realized that my veggies were much bigger!
So I adjusted both cooking time, and amount of spices, and the recipe turned out great.
If someone uses a big cauliflower and big potatoes without adjusting the recipe, they might get disappointed.
Greetings madam, please let me know how much salt you added if feasible. I am new to cooking unfortunately.
try around 1/2 teaspoon and then go from there
Hi Manali,
I would really like to try this recipe, but I couldn’t find the dry mango powder. Would you be able to recommend a substitute?
thanks!
squeeze fresh lemon juice!
🙂 I have all the spices, but not the mango powder. After googling a viable substitute, you confirmed with lemon juice. I did see lime: The spice adds sour taste like tamarind. Infact it has qualities as lemon or lime juice and if you do not have amchur, substitute three tablespoons of lemon or lime juice for one teaspoon of amchur.
But I have tamarind and will try that!
Looking forward to a new dish!
OMG This was AMAZING!
I made this aloo gobi this morning the gobi was very bitter please advise why this happened
Kind regards
Colleen
Hi Colleen, there’s nothing in the recipe that can make it bitter. My guess is that the onion that you used was bitter and you didn’t cook it for long enough. That can be the only reason.
Make sure you add enough salt, tasting mine before salting it was bitter with all those spices. Salt counteracts bitterness, it’s a good thing to know in general when cooking ?
Manali… Your recipe is wonderful ❤️ thankyou
Hi Colleen,
If you accidentally burn the garlic or ginger this will cause a bitter flavour.
Made today. it was wonderful. thanks for the recipe
I love your aloo gobi recipe. One time I accidentally “burnt” the masala and my husband said that it was the best he’s ever eaten. Since then, I deliberately accidentally burn the masala for that extra flavour. Turns out excellent, every time. Thanks!
haha well yeah little burnt masala tastes good at times!
Looking forward to trying this recipe, thank you. Just wondering how it will freeze, assuming I keep the cauli and potatoes a little under cooked and not add the cilantro until I thaw and re-heat. Amy tips would be most welcome please …
You can try freezing it. Unfortunately I won’t be able to help here since I have never frozen this.
Great recipe. So easy to follow. Have been cooking fir years but never have followed it in such a way to maximise flavour. Thank you so much.
I tried this recipe with one little variation. I added Maggi Magic Masala instead of amchur. It was damn tasty! My roommates loved it and wanted me to cook everyday for them lol.
Great recipe!
Thank you
I loved how this came out, tweaked it based on what I had available, made it with purple cauliflower and purple potatoes, came out good, used honey instead of mango, used a can of light coconut milk instead of adding water, baked the cauliflower and potato in the oven 1st and dusted with curry powder, nutritional yeast, and coconut amines and sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Tried to cut down on the oil a bit. Used 5 fresh thai chili peppers for spice. Wish I had fresh spices but only had dried. Didnt have fenugreek, would love to try that next time if I grab it at the store.
Lol why even bother with the recipe?
I swear these comments are satire sometimes.
Wonderful recipe! I made this for dinner last night and really enjoyed the flavor and texture. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thank you!
Good recipe iliked it very much make it today
glad to know 🙂
So good I nearly ate it all straight out of the pan! I had to add a little water to get it Al Dente! I added some spinach as it was hanging around fabulous…really looking forward to next time a great veggie dish…. spices perfect!
This was not a very authentic recipe and I think is really tailored to a western taste or those who arent used to eating aloo gobhi at home ..somewhat bland and very crunchy/not well roasted cauliflower. The tip to add salt at the end goes against the principle to always season potatoes and other absorbing vegetables early in the recipe. Sorry I will rate this as 4/10 if I was to rate it.
Sorry you didn’t like it but this is a very authentic recipe. I am an Indian who grew up in India eating aloo gobi like this so it will be totally wrong to say that the recipe is tailored to western taste. Every house has their own way of making aloo gobi in India, maybe you don’t like my version but it doesn’t mean it’s not homemade Indian aloo gobi- it very much is!
This recipe immediately smelt like my mother’s aloo gobi so its as authentic as it gets to me!!!
Thanks Amita 🙂
I picked this recipe as a way to dip my toes in and see if I could get good at it before I cooked some of the other, seemingly more complicated recipes. This was easy to understand for my first time doing it, where with the other recipes I hadn’t learned what “amchur” and some other things were yet, and I wanted to be able to cook it fast. Now I do though. This did taste really good. I’d gotten sick of the same old recipes and this stuff did the trick for something different. A friend made me Aloo Gobi years ago, and she also said every household does it differently. It’s easy to add or omit spices and things to your liking.