Gobi Matar Aloo Sabzi – Punjabi Cauliflower, Peas and Potato Recipe

Cauliflowers peas and potatoes dish

Gobi Matar Aloo Sabzi is a simple Punjabi home-style vegetable dish made with cauliflower, garden peas and potatoes. Gobi means cauliflower, matar means peas and aloo means potatoes – three everyday ingredients that come together beautifully with simple Indian spices.

This is a naturally vegan Indian vegetable dish, perfect for an easy midweek meal or as part of a larger Punjabi meal. The vegetables are cooked with onion, tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, coriander and Kashmiri chilli, then finished with kasuri methi and garam masala.

It is simple, comforting Punjabi home cooking – the sort of sabzi that works just as well on an everyday dinner table as it does alongside dal, roti and rice.

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 1 large cauliflower, approximately 100–150g, cut into small florets

• 1 handful garden peas

• 2 small potatoes, peeled, chopped and parboiled

• 1 small white onion, finely chopped

• 2 tomatoes, chopped

• ½ inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

Whole spices

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• A pinch of asafoetida

Ground spices

• ½ tsp turmeric powder

• ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

• 1 tsp coriander powder

• 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

• ½ tsp garam masala

• Salt, to taste

To garnish

• Fresh ginger, cut into fine juliennes

• A handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Other

• 2 tbsp nuetral oil, for cooking

• A little water, as required

Method

1. Prepare the vegetables: Cut the cauliflower into small florets, wash well and leave the florets in water until ready to cook. Peel and chop the potatoes, then parboil them until just tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Temper the spices: Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or kadai over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds. Add the asafoetida, followed by the chopped ginger.

3. Fry the onions: Add the chopped onion and cook until it has softened and turned a beautiful golden colour.

4. Add the powdered spices: Lower the heat and add the turmeric, Kashmiri red chilli powder and coriander powder. Stir well. Add about 1 teaspoon of water to the spices to prevent them from catching and burning, and cook gently for a few seconds.

5. Add the tomatoes: Add the chopped tomatoes and season with salt. Cook over a medium-low heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have softened and begun to break down.

6. Add the potatoes and peas: Add the parboiled potatoes and garden peas first. Stir gently to coat them in the spiced tomato mixture.

7. Add the cauliflower: Drain the cauliflower florets and add them to the pan. Mix everything together, then add a small dash of water.

8. Cook the vegetables: Cover the pan and cook over a low to medium heat for around 7–8 minutes, allowing the vegetables to cook gently in their own steam. Check occasionally and give everything a gentle stir. Add another small splash of water if needed, but this should remain a relatively dry sabzi rather than a gravy.

9. Finish with the spices: Once the vegetables are tender, crush the kasuri methi between your fingers and add it to the pan along with the garam masala. Stir gently and cook for another minute to allow the flavours to come together.

10. Garnish and serve: Finish with fresh coriander leaves and fine ginger juliennes. Serve hot with roti, chapati, paratha or alongside dal and rice.

    
    

Freshly made! Homestyle cooking of cauliflower, peas and patatoes

What is Gobi Matar Aloo Sabzi?

Gobi Matar Aloo is a classic North Indian combination of cauliflower, peas and potatoes. This Punjabi-style version is a dry vegetable sabzi, where the vegetables are cooked gently with onions, tomatoes and warming spices rather than being submerged in a rich gravy.

The combination of kasuri methi and garam masala at the end gives the sabzi its distinctive finishing flavour, while the parboiled potatoes help keep the cooking time short.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this Punjabi Gobi Matar Aloo Sabzi with:

• Roti or chapati

• Plain rice or jeera rice

• Dal and rice

• Paratha

• Naan

It is also perfect as one of several vegetable dishes served as part of a traditional Indian meal.

Recipe type: Vegan, Vegetarian, Indian, Punjabi

Cuisine: Punjabi, North Indian

Keywords: Gobi Matar Aloo, Gobi Matar Aloo Sabzi, cauliflower peas and potatoes, Punjabi cauliflower recipe, Punjabi sabzi, vegan Indian recipe, vegan Indian curry, Indian vegetable recipe, North Indian vegetable recipe, cauliflower and potato curry