Truly Scrumptious

This is my general recipe for indian mixed vegetables – it is basically an aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower) recipe which you can adapt to suit your taste and to suit whatever you have in the cupboard.
It helps if you have green masala paste and dhania/jeera spice mix already made up, but don’t worry if not – you can adapt the recipe for a one-off version, but if you find that you are making it regularly, I would advise making up a batch of each to save time.
See my page on home made Indian food for instructions on dhania/jeera and green masala.

Aloo gobi

Here is the recipe for my aloo gobi, but feel free to change the vegetable content (carrots, broccoli, swede, spinach, capsicum, butter beans etc) – I would recommend always having potato and onion in it, but you can use sweet potato if you prefer. If you like a good variety of veg, you can make it with frozen diced mixed vegetables too.

Ingredients
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium to large onion – chop half of it finely and the other half quite chunky
1 -2 potatoes (or sweet potatoes) diced
half a cauliflower cut into bite sized pieces
2 ripe tomatoes chopped (skin them too if you are fussy)
2-3 large mushrooms sliced
1 tablespoon of dhania jeera mix (alternatively use a heaped half tablespoon of ground coriander and a heaped quarter tablespoon of ground cumin)
half a tablespoon of ground turmeric
2 teaspoons of green masala (alternatively grate a green chilli, 2cm ginger and 2 cloves garlic)
1-2 teaspoons sugar
half to one teaspoon salt (depending on taste)
a handful of frozen peas
a handful of fresh chopped coriander

Method:
1. Prepare all of the veg.
2. The amount of oil you need can vary depending in how many veggies you have and how watery they are – if you are not using tomatoes or mushrooms, add a little extra oil. Heat the oil in a large pan (use a huge saucepan or wok, but make sure it has a lid).
3. When the oil is hot add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds – fry until they pop and crackle.
4. Now add everything else except the peas and coriander. I find it easier to stir the spices and masala paste into the oil, then add the veggies. You won’t coat them all in spice to start with, leave them to reduce a bit and stir occasionally. Put the lid on throughout the cooking. If the veggies seem to be sticking a bit you can add a splash of water to help steam them, but don’t add too much water.
5. The veggies will take approx 30 minutes depending on how many hard veg you have. Stir them every 5 minutes and test them with a knife. When nearly done, add the frozen peas and coriander and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
6. Serve as a veggie curry on it’s own, or as a side dish, or in Indian bread with yoghurt.
Add fresh shopped chilli if you like it hotter. If it’s too hot, add a little extra sugar and stir it in well.