Perfect Punjabi-style Aloo Gobi from your pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Make this classic Indian vegan restaurant dish at home in minutes, without a lot of fuss.
Instant Pot Aloo Gobi
Short Hindi Lesson folks. Aloo = potatoes, Gobi = Cauliflower. Now you know.
Aloo gobi is a pretty standard dish at most Indian Restaurants, but it's actually quite a staple for home cooking as well. I wanted to make this in an Instant Pot so that I didn't have to stand and babysit it.
This recipe makes a great dish for Ramadan! You can find more great Instant Pot Ramadan recipes in my 15 Instant Pot Ramadan Recipes post.
The problem is that you need the potatoes and cauliflower to cook at the same time. My first attempt was tasty but a complete textural disaster.
Can You Freeze Aloo Gobi?
I freeze most of the food that I cook since we can't eat a large serving at once. When I freeze this Instant Pot Aloo Gobi, i slightly undercook it so when I reheat it it doesn't feel overcooked.
So this time, I did the obvious thing: cut the potatoes into thin slices so that they'd cook as quickly as the cauliflower did, but I also sautéd them in the pot a little longer, not only to pre-cook them but to also get some of the dark fond into the final product.
If you prefer firmer cauliflower, I'd leave the cauliflower into even larger pieces since it does tend to cook very quickly.
What Is Danthal?
In the picture below, you see some green things and I'm sure you're wondering what that those are. Well, in India, the stalks around the cauliflower are considered yummy eating, and are called danthal.
Sometimes at the bazaar, you can get just danthal and my mom used to love those. They're actually full of flavor.
So what you do is you take the outer stalks off, strip them of their leaves, and then cut them up into pieces.
Since they're a little tougher than the cauliflower, I put them in to cook with the potatoes.
How To Make Aloo Gobi
I cooked this on low pressure which not all Instant Pots have. If yours doesn't have a low pressure setting, try setting it for 0 mins pressure and doing a quick pressure release.
If you're low-carbing, leave out the potatoes and just have the cauliflower. Still very tasty.
Want Aloo Gobi Matar?
Peas are life. I'm sure a lot of you feel the same. If you want to add peas to this Aloo Gobi recipe, just place some frozen ones on top of the other veggies and cook per the recipe.
Want More Cauliflower Recipes?
- Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
- Cauliflower Chaffles
- Cauliflower Breadsticks
- Cauliflower and Cheese Casserole
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Oil
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) cumin seeds
- 4 cups (400 g) cauliflower florets, (about one medium cauliflower)
- 2 cups (420 g) Potatoes, sliced (about 1 large potato)
- 1/2 cup (74.5 g) Tomatoes, diced
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Garam Masala
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Ground Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Ground Coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
- 1/4 cup (62.5 g) Water
Instructions
- Heat the Instant Pot and when it's hot, add the oil, and when the oil shimmers, add the cumin seeds. They'll splutter like popcorn.
- Once this happens, add in the potatoes and sauté. You want the potatoes to brown and crisp a little, and you want good, brown fond at the bottom to flavor the final dish.
- At this point, add the spices and sauté briefly.
- Then add in the tomatoes and the water and scrape up all the lovely fond at the bottom. Make sure you get all the brown bits scraped off since if you don't, you will see the BURN message. If all the water evaporates as you do this, add in another 1/4 cup of water.
- Add in the cauliflower and set your Instant Pot to Low Pressure for 2 minutes.
- Quick release the pressure and garnish with chopped cilantro, if needed.
- If you have an 8 quart, you may need to double the recipe so as to not ge the BURN message.
- For a low carb version, omit potatoes and double up on the caulilflower. In this case, you can just place all ingredients into the pressure cooker at the same time and cook as directed--no need to brown the potatoes (what potatoes? 🙂 )
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Nutrition
Want More Easy Indian Recipes?
- Butter Chicken- What made me the "Butter Chicken Lady"
- Chicken Vindaloo- try it if you like something spicy.
- Homemade Ghee- Cheaper than buying it in the store.
- Chicken Biryani- a fan favorite.
- Chicken Tikka Bites- Chicken nuggets for adults.
Kristofer Soorus
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Lydia
This dish has been in our rotation for a couple of years, its SO GOOD. I love the way you write your recipes, your notes are perfect. The browning of the potatoes is key to next-level craveable deliciousness! The oil must be shimmering for the cumin seeds to sputter! I love that you include the small details that make a big difference. THANK YOU!