but can David Beckham cook aloo gobi?

Aloo Gobi is a tasty and easy-to-make Indian dish containing potato(aloo) and cauliflower (gobi). I first made it after watching Bend it Like Beckham
with its famous quote along the lines of "anyone can cook aloo gobi, but nobody can bend it like Beckham." The DVD includes a special feature of the director Gurinder Chadha preparing aloo gobi in her own little cooking show, made all the more entertaining by the presence of her mother standing in the background kibitzing.

We happened to have a head of cauliflower and lots of potatoes in the refrigerator this week, so we had no choice but to make aloo gobi. I bought small hot peppers and garam masala at a local Indian market and was ready to go. Prep work took about 15 minutes at the most, but the potatoes took nearly 45 minutes of simmering to be done.


Here is the recipe:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large onion, peeled and cut into small pieces
Large bunch of fresh coriander, separated into stalks and leaves and roughly chopped
Small green chilies, chopped into small pieces (or one teaspoon chili powder)
1 large cauliflower, leaves removed and cut evenly into eighths
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into even pieces
1 LARGE 28oz can of diced tomatoes with juice (or two regular cans)
Fresh ginger, peeled and grated
Fresh garlic, chopped
1 Teaspoon Cumin seeds
2 Teaspoons Turmeric
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Garam Masala


Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan.
Add the chopped onion and one tablespoon of cumin seeds to the oil.
Stir together and cook until onions become creamy, golden, and translucent.
Add chopped coriander stalks, two teaspoons of turmeric, and one teaspoon of salt.
Add chopped chillis (according to taste)
Stir tomatoes into onion mixture.
Add ginger and garlic; mix thoroughly.
Add potatoes and cauliflower to the sauce plus a few tablespoons of water (ensuring that the mixture doesn't stick to the saucepan).
Ensure that the potatoes and cauliflower are coated with the curry sauce.
Cover and allow to simmer for twenty minutes [took me 45 minutes]
Add two teaspoons of Garam Masala and stir.
Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top of the curry.
Turn off the heat, cover, and leave for as long as possible before serving.


In the DVD, Chadha's mother tells her to start with whole canned tomatoes and then grate them with a cheese grater. When I tried that, my kitchen ended up looking like the scene of a chainsaw massacre. This time I took the easy way and bought diced tomatoes.

We served it with Khakhara (an indian flatbread), rice, and okra.

Aloo gobi as leftovers the next day. Doesn't look like much, but taste is what matters.

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