Aloo Gobi (Potato & Cauliflower Curry)

There’s something comforting about a warm, spicy, and flavor-packed bowl of Indian curry.

This aloo gobi recipe is the essence of Indian home cooking (in this case, Northern India, Punjab, and up to Pakistan), where simple ingredients come together to create a nourishing and satisfying dish.

There are countless variations of Aloo Gobi, from dry to gravy, from homecooked to restaurant-style aloo gobi masala.

Our interpretation of aloo gobi is one where the potatoes and the cauliflower are roasted in the oven before being mixed with the sauce.

Also, this isn’t a curry drowning in gravy; it’s more of a dry one.

If you want more sauce, check out our red lentil curry, chickpea curry, cauliflower curry, eggplant curry, tofu curry, or vegan curry.

Find the complete recipe with ingredients and instructions in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Potatoes

Use yellow Yukon gold potatoes (aloo).

We tried this recipe with other types of potatoes, like Russet potatoes and new potatoes, and they all worked well.

Cauliflower

We recommend using fresh cauliflower florets (gobhi) as they keep their shape well. Substitute frozen cauliflower for fresh.

Oil

You can use any vegetable oil for this curry. We prefer olive oil or avocado oil.

Onion

You can use white or yellow onion.

Ginger and Garlic

We recommend fresh ginger. You can use it with or without the peel. Grate the ginger into a paste that gets well distributed in the curry, or slice it thinly.

Try to use fresh garlic, not garlic powder. Like the ginger, we grate the garlic and turn it into a paste.

Substitute ginger garlic paste for fresh garlic and ginger.

Spices

• Cumin seeds.
• Turmeric powder.
• Ground coriander.
• Red pepper flakes, a small hot chili, or chilli powder.

We also like to add a teaspoon of garam masala once the dish is cooked to infuse it with fragrant, sweet, tangy, and warm aromas.

Other whole spices you can add to your aloo gobi are fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi), red chili powder, fresh chillies, mustard seeds, black cumin, and curry leaves.

Other ground spices you can add are mango powder (amchur), cayenne pepper, asafoetida, and curry leaves.

Important: Use our recipe as a guideline and add more or fewer spices based on your taste and spice strength. Our recipe is mild and a good start for most people.

Salt and pepper

We use fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Garnish

Garnish aloo gobi with cilantro (fresh coriander). If you don’t like cilantro, try fresh flat-leaf parsley.

You can top the curry with plain yogurt or sour cream, lemon juice, or lime juice.

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Arrange cauliflower florets and potatoes cut into bite-size pieces on a baking tray.

Toss with olive oil, salt, and black pepper and bake for 30 minutes or until slightly charred and tender. While the veggies cook, prep the gravy.

Heat the oil in a large skillet, then add the cumin seeds and toast them for 30 seconds or until they dance in the pan.

Add the chopped onion and fry it for 5 minutes.

Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red pepper flakes, grated garlic and ginger, and keep frying for about a minute or until you smell the spices’ fragrant aroma.

Add 2 cups of water, a pinch of salt, and a twist of black pepper, and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.

Add roasted potatoes, cauliflower, and garam masala to the gravy.

Toss gently until everything turns golden.

Let cool down for a few minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Garnish with fresh cilantro, lemon, or lime wedges, and eat it with naan bread, rice, or roti.

One Pot Aloo Gobi

Toast the cumin seeds in olive oil for 30 seconds. Add chopped onions, turmeric, coriander, red pepper flakes, grated garlic, ginger, and fry for a few more minutes.

Add chopped cauliflower and potatoes, 2 cups of water, salt, pepper, and simmer until veggies are soft. Stir in garam masala and serve.

This way of cooking aloo gobi is more traditional; however, we prefer roasting the vegetables because they preserve their texture, and the roasting improves their flavor.

As a main dish

• With roti, chapati, paratha, tortilla, or piadina.
• On top of basmati rice, jeera rice, or whole grain rice (gluten-free option)
• With naan bread brushed with garlic and olive oil, mango chutney, mint chutney, and cucumber yogurt sauce.

As a side dish

With protein–rich and tasty main dishes:

• Red lentil soup (celery, carrot, onion, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, vegetable broth, etc.)
• Lentil curry (red lentils, coconut milk, turmeric, curry, garam masala, garlic, etc.)
• Easy lentil vegetable soup (brown lentils, spinach, carrot, celery, canned tomatoes, etc.)
• Rice and lentil mujaddara (rice, caramelized onions, spring onions, cinnamon, turmeric, etc.)

Make Ahead: Aloo gobi is an excellent recipe to make ahead because its flavor gets even better the day after. We recommend it for meal prep.

Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freezer: Let cool down completely, transfer to a freezer-friendly bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or in the microwave. After thawing, the veggies will lose some texture.

Reheat: Warm it in the microwave for a couple of minutes with a splash of water.

If you like cooking with cauliflower, get more dinner ideas from these wholesome cauliflower recipes:

• Whole roasted cauliflower (harissa sauce, tahini dressing, chimichurri, toasted almonds, etc.)
• Cauliflower lentil salad (canned lentils, roasted cauliflower, cumin, hazelnuts, olive oil, etc.)
• Easy cauliflower soup (potato, garlic, onion, thyme, nutmeg, vegetable broth, etc.)
• Cauliflower mashed potatoes (potato, milk, nutmeg, parmesan, or dairy-free cheese, etc.)
• Pasta with cauliflower (spaghetti, parsley, lemon, pine nuts, red pepper flakes, parmesan, etc.)

Get more ideas for flavorful and easy curries with these Indian–inspired dinners:

• Cauliflower curry (coconut milk, ginger, garlic, onion, curry, turmeric, coriander, etc.)
• Tofu curry (tofu cubes, canned tomatoes, ginger, garlic, coconut milk, vegetable broth, etc.)
• Sweet potato curry (sweet potato, ginger, turmeric, garlic, garam masala, parsley, etc.)
• Tofu butter chicken (tofu, tomato paste, vegan cream, parsley, curry, cumin, coriander, etc.)
• Chana masala (chickpeas, garlic, ginger, diced tomatoes, turmeric, cumin, coriander, etc.)

For many more side dish ideas, check out our sides category page.