Instant Pot Aloo Gobi

Instant Pot Aloo Gobi – a simple yet classic Indian dish in which potatoes and cauliflower are cooked together with spices.

Everyone has their own way of making aloo gobi, but this one is my personal favorite- with lots of ginger, garlic and tomatoes.

This Instant Pot Aloo Gobi Recipe is from my cookbook Vegetarian Indian Cooking With Your Instant Pot.

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How was your Thanksgiving guys? I can’t believe the long weekend that I was so looking forward to is already over. I did a lot of shopping on black friday this year – bags, shoes, jackets you name it!

We didn’t really plan on shopping anything but it just happened and honestly we had fun. Rest of the weekend, we spent cleaning the house and just donating a bunch of stuff.

Now back to the grind and simple, healthy recipes. This Instant Pot Aloo Gobi is one of my favorite recipes from my cookbook.

It takes little time to put together and is such a comforting dish. Honestly, this recipe was the one that took me most number of trails to get it correct for my book.

Now, you may wonder why because my stove-top aloo gobi is one of the most popular recipes on the blog and I make it all the time so the Instant Pot version should be just as easy for me. Right?

But it wasn’t! Every time I made it, the cauliflower turned into a mush. Sometimes there was too much water, other times I just pressure cooked it for a very long time.

So after lot of trials, I finally landed up with this recipe which in my opinion makes the perfect aloo gobi in the Instant Pot.

Instant Pot Aloo Gobi Recipe

The process is pretty basic- you start with sauteing onion and tomatoes and then add the potatoes, cauliflower along with some basic Indian spices and pressure cook it.

But what may seem easy might not be that easy in practice!

Like, I mentioned above, every time I made aloo gobi in the IP, it just turned mush. So how did I come up with the right recipe for my cookbook?

How To Make Perfect Aloo Gobi In The Instant Pot

Without the cauliflower turning into a mush? Well, by following these things –

✓ Cut cauliflower florets into large pieces

✓ Dice potatoes into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces (no less!)

✓ Do not add a ton of water. The more water you add, the more time the pot takes to come to pressure > the more pressure cooked the veggies get> turn mush

✓ Cook the potatoes first on saute mode for few minutes, before adding the cauliflower

✓ Place the cauliflower in the pot at the end and on top of everything and do not stir after that

✓ Cook on low pressure for 3 minutes followed by a quick pressure release

And voila, you have made the perfect Aloo Gobi, all done in your Instant Pot!

For me, the texture of aloo gobi is very important. Yes, we are pressure cooking the sabzi but that doesn’t mean that I should be eating totally mushed up veggies in the name of food.

If you feel same as me, then you would love this instant pot aloo gobi. Because though it gets pressure cooked, the veggies retain their texture!

What If The Pot Doesn’t Come To Pressure?

The most important thing to keep in mind is to deglaze the pot. After the potatoes are cooked for few minutes on saute mode, you add water before adding the cauliflower florets on top.

So, before you add the cauliflower, make sure to deglaze the pot as you add the water. There should be no burnt bits at the bottom of the pot. If there are, it won’t come to pressure since we are not adding ton of water here.

Remember that it takes around 8 to 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure in this recipe. So don’t try to open the pot to check what’s going on if it doesn’t come to pressure. Wait for 8 to 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure.

If it doesn’t come to pressure even after that time or shows Burn message, open the pot, add couple of tablespoons more water and try again. You don’t need a lot of water here so don’t be tempted to add more than what is needed.

Some people have had problems while making this dish in 8qt and the newer IP models. These models are prone to giving BURN messages.

So if you have a 8 qt, add extra 1/4 cup water. It has a bigger surface area and thus might need more water.

I have not tested this recipe in a 8qt so I really can’t comment how much more water it would need. But I would say go with extra 1/4 cup.

This Instant Pot Aloo Gobi Recipe makes a simple and delicious meal, just like how it was made in my home in India. I love to eat it with warm rotis!

Just like almost every aloo gobi recipe is, this instant pot aloo gobi is also vegan and gluten-free.

 

Method

1- Press the saute button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add oil to the pot and then add the cumin seeds. Let the seeds sizzle for few seconds.

2- Then add the chopped onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for another minute.

3- Add the chopped tomatoes, stir and cook for 2 minutes until soft.

4- Then add in all the spices – coriander powder, turmeric powder, amchur (dried mango powder), red chili powder, garam masala and salt and mix. Cook the spices for 30 seconds.

5- Stir in the diced potatoes along with 2 tablespoons water. Cover the pot with a glass lid and let the potatoes cook for around 3 minutes. You may stir them once in between.

6- Remove the glass lid and add around 3 to 4 tablespoons water to the pot and deglaze it. There shouldn’t be any burnt bits at the bottom of the pot. Place the cauliflower florets on top and then sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Do not stir.

7- Close the pot with its lid and press the manual or pressure cook button. Use the adjust or pressure level button to set pressure to “low”. Cook on low pressure for 3 minutes, with the pressure valve in the sealing position.

The pot takes around 8 to 10 minutes to come to pressure so be patient. Do not try to open the pot in between and check if it has come to pressure or not – it will!

8- Do a quick pressure release. Open the pot and with a spoon gently mix the cauliflower with rest of the masala and the potatoes.

You may press the saute button to dry off any excess water. Serve aloo gobi with roti or paratha.

Reprinted with permission from Vegetarian Indian Cooking by Manali Singh, Page Street Publishing Co. 2018. 

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