The Secret Ingredient (Turmeric): Gobi Gobi

Gobi Gobi

Here is this week’s The Secret Ingredient, the last installment on turmeric.  I am a die-hard aloo gobi fan.  But this is my version, newly minted and a little different.  No potatoes, just lots of cauliflower with fresh ginger, garlic, chili, and cilantro, with some turmeric and cumin to spice it all up.  I toss it with a spoonful of butter at the end.  Unorthodox, but pale gold and lovely.

I am an enthusiastic frequenter of Indian restaurants, and I never leave without having Aloo Gobi, potatoes and cauliflower, cooking with coriander, cumin seeds, a bit of chili, and of course, turmeric, which gives it that golden kiss and earthen flavor.  It is an incredibly simple recipes as far as Indian dishes go, which I admittedly find unfamiliar and daunting in the kitchen.  I personally have more time for cauliflower than potatoes, so I made this my Gobi Gobi (which means cauliflower) recipe, all soft florets, earthy turmeric, a whole chili, smoky cumin seeds, hot fresh garlic and ginger, and piles of fresh cilantro.  It’s bright and light, but different and interesting and unexpected, especially if served in a non-Indian context, like along side seared fish or roast chicken.

Excerpted from my weekly column The Secret Ingredient on Serious Eats.