Aloo gobi, a classic Indian dish made of spiced potatoes and cauliflower, is one of the most popular Indian vegetarian recipes. This is a side dish that you’ll find in any Indian restaurant and it’s also served in many Indian homes.
Anyone who loves Indian food has heard of aloo gobi, a simple yet flavorful vegetarian/vegan dish made with spiced potatoes and cauliflower.
Aloo gobi literally translates to “potato cauliflower” – these two humble ingredients are known for their ability to soak up flavor and so when combined with spices, the dish transforms into something pretty darn special.
I am sharing my recipe for aloo gobi using two cooking methods: the instant pot and the stovetop. I personally prefer using my instant pot these days because it makes cooking so much easier but feel free to make it either way. I will share a few notes for those of you planning to use your pressure cooker to make this.
Instant Pot Aloo Gobi
Aloo gobi is a dry dish and yes, it is absolutely possible to make a dry dish in an instant pot. In fact, I have several “dry recipes” in my cookbook, Indian Food Under Pressure.
When using an electric pressure cooker, you need just enough water to bring the pot to pressure – and keep in mind that veggies release water too. As I’ve mentioned in the past, all of my electric pressure cooker recipes are tested using a 6 quart instant pot and so if you are using a larger or smaller pot, you may need to adjust the recipe. If you have questions, join my Indian instant pot facebook group and someone can hopefully help you out 🙂
As for the cauliflower – I prefer mine to be tender with a bit of bite to it so I cut my cauli into large florets. If you prefer soft cauliflower, then you can cut it into smaller florets. Feel free to adapt the recipe to your preference.
What can I serve aloo gobi with?
You can serve aloo gobi with anything! I prefer to pair this dry dish with a saucy dish. Here are some meal ideas for you:
- main dish: butter chicken Or butter chickpeas OR vegetable korma
- basics: basmati rice and/or naan and raita/yogurt and pickle
- sides: aloo gobi AND dal makhani
I can’t believe that I haven’t shared a recipe for aloo gobi on my blog until now. To be fair, I have a recipe for stovetop aloo gobi in my first ebook and an instant pot recipe in my second book (find both of my cookbooks here). So I suppose my recipes have been out in the word for a while now, just not on the world wide web. Now you can bookmark this page or visit my website any time from anywhere and make some delicious and authentic homemade aloo gobi 🙂
Aloo Gobi (Instant Pot and Stovetop)
Yield: 4 1x
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Aloo Gobi translates to “Potato Cauliflower.” This is a very flavorful dish mainly because these two vegetables are known for their ability soak up flavor. Some prefer the cauliflower in this dish to be soft, but I prefer mine to have a bit of crunch. Adapt this recipe to your preference: use small cauliflower florets if you like soft cauliflower or keep the pieces a little larger for extra crunch.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil of choice or ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 onion, diced
- ½ – 1 Serrano pepper or green chili, minced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 2 medium potatoes (approx. 1 pound), cut into 1-inch pieces
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
Spices
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne, adjust to taste
- Cilantro, garnish
Instructions
Instant Pot Directions:
- Press the sauté button, add the oil and allow it to heat up for a minute. Add the cumin and mustard seeds. Once the cumin seeds brown and the mustard seeds pop, add the onion and Serrano pepper. Stir-fry for 6-7 minutes, or until the onions begin to brown.
- Add the garlic, ginger, potatoes and and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Pour ¼ cup water into the pot, secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 3 minutes at high pressure.
- Open the valve to quick release any remaining pressure.
- Remove the lid, stir the potatoes, then add the cauliflower florets and sprinkle the spices on top of the florets. Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 1 minute on high pressure. Quick release remaining pressure.
- Remove the lid, mix well, garnish with cilantro and serve.
Stovetop Directions:
- Melt 2 tablespoons oil/ghee in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds.
- Once the seeds begin to splutter, add onions and stir frequently for for 5 minutes, or until they begin to brown.
- Add the potatoes and the remaining tablespoon of oil/ghee and continue to stir frequently for about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, ginger, Serrano pepper and spices. Stir for a minute, then add the cauliflower.
- Mix well, add ¼ cup water then cover the pot with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, stir, then cook for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Garnish with cilantro, serve.
Notes
- all of my electric pressure cooker recipes are tested using a 6 quart instant pot and so if you are using a larger or smaller pot, you may need to adjust the amount of water you use in the recipe.
Was excited to try this, but ended up with the “burn” message while cooking the potatoes. Will try increasing the water next time to see if that helps.
Hi Jen, just wanted to ask – are you using a 6 quart? In the post I mention that you may need to adjust the recipe if using another size so just thought I’d ask 🙂 Please let me know! I hope it works out next time!
Yes, 6 quart Duo 60. Recipe ended up tasting good, but the potatoes were mush after adding more water and recovering from the burn message.
Jen, aw man I am not sure why it did that – sorry about that! If you try it again, let me know how it goes.
I also got the burn message at the cauliflower stage, but I simply did a quick release and everything was fine. I saved this recipe, because it was AWESOME! This is the best aloo gobi recipe I’ve ever made and it was super quick and easy to boot! I lived in Delhi for two years and ate my share of aloo gobi, and I think this has a very authentic taste. Thank you! I’m going to check out more of your recipes. Yum, yum, yum.
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Heather, I’m so glad you liked it!! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes you try!
I made this today and only variation is added 1 cup frozen peas with cauliflower in the last 1 min. Loved how great and easy the IP version is.
Thank you Ashley for sharing this.
Looking fwd to making the other veg dishes on your site!
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Anisha, awesome! I’m so glad you liked the recipe 🙂 Can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes that you try!
Made the stovetop version because I had your butter chicken going in the Instant Pot. I overcooked it a little but it was still delicious. Great beginner recipe using common supermarket ingredients (no amchur, methi, hing).
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Sarah, love that you made both this and the butter chicken! I’m glad you liked it 🙂
Made this and my family loved it – the cauliflower and potatoes were not mushy – awesome recipe and easy to follow! Thanks Ashley!
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I’m so glad you and your fam liked the aloo gobi! Thanks for letting me know how it went 🙂
I loved this! Delicious and easy to make. Came on this site originally for a bitter melon recipe and can’t wait to try many of your recipes. Question though….do you buy your ghee? I know it’s a silly question🙂
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Renee, that’s so great to hear! I’m glad you liked this 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the bitter melon or any other recipes you try! As for ghee – I almost always make it myself because it’s so easy and economical but if you’re looking to buy then I suggest Pure Indian Foods – their ghee is great quality.
Turned out to be a great recipe! I felt the potatoes ended up being slightly overdone and the cauliflower slightly underdone, so next time I might reduce the cook time on the potatoes by 1 minute and increase the cook time by 1 minute after adding the cauliflower. But the flavor was really on point!
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Hi Ashley – I am loving all your instant pot recipes! I’m trying them out one by one. I did have a general question – I see that you use cayenne + paprika in your Indian recipes, as opposed to the traditional Indian chilli powder. Is there a specific reason for that?
Thanks!
Thank you!! I love that you are trying them out one by one! Great question – I do that because Indian chili powder can vary in spice level and I want to make sure that when my blog readers make my recipes they get consistent results (don’t want anyone to tell me I made something too spicy or too bland) but you can absolutely use Indian chili powder to taste if you prefer 🙂
This recipe did not work for me. The potatoes started off good, and they were done. I added the cauliflower, the spices on top, cooked per recipe. When I opened the lid, the cauliflower underdone almost raw like and the potatoes were mush, and burned the bottom of the pot. Transferred everything to the stove to finish. Does anyone have suggestions? I felt like there was not enough liquid? Did anyone cook the cauliflower longer?
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We kind of mixed everything up as we went. Once potatoes were done, they were very done and I was afraid they might mush, I added a little bit of spices, mixed it, added the cauliflower, and a little bit of spices, mixed it, then completed the spices and mixed it. So not just leaving the cauliflower and spices on top. Mixing everything as we went along really helped Cook more cauliflower toward the bottom and not leave as much soft potato at the bottom.
Yeah, either you have to load it up with more water and end up with mush, or you get a burn message repeatedly and ends up spoiling. This is on a 6 qt Duo , I’ve tried it a couple of times, mixing vs non-mixing, big pieces but no dice. Guess this one isn’t for me. Thanks for the recipe and all your work Ashley
Aw sorry to hear that Karl – I haven’t gotten the burn sign with this recipe but since that’s what’s happening to you maybe if you want to try it once more (totally get if you don’t), try the bigger pieces with a couple tablespoons more water then sauté to boil it off at the end? I’ll make a video for this one soon – hopefully that will help.
The cauliflowers turned out mushy. I did follow the recipe to a T. Not sure what went wrong. Bummer
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Soni, you can try cutting the florets a little bigger next time – you can adjust the size according to your preferred texture.
Hello Ashley, sadly add me to the burn notice group. Depressurized, added more water, scraped up the stuck on bits and tried again. Another burn noticed! By this time the potatoes were pretty well done so I scraped again and added the cauliflower and spices for 1 minute. Unfortunatey, lots of attention required but the end results were quite tasty. Next time I will start off off with 3/4 cup water.
Karen, aw man sorry to hear that! I am not sure why some get the burn notice and others do not… I myself have never gotten it before. Thanks for sharing how much water you plan to use next time. Just curious, are you using something other than a 6 quart by any chance?
I loved this recipe, although I too had a bit of a burn problem. At the end of cooking the potatoes, the stuff on the bottom of the pan was brown and well crusted and there was no pressure. I stirred the pan contents well and added an additional 1/4 cup of water in with the cauliflower and spices. The IP never attained enough pressure to pop the valve up while the cauliflower was cooking and after the timer went off saying the cycle was done, the bottom of the pot had near-burnt food. But the taste was great and will try it again. As Karen suggested, next time I will try adding 3/4 cup of water at the outset of cooking the potatoes and experiment with using larger pieces of potatoes and cauliflower.
I used an Instant Pot Duo 6 quart. I used unpeeled red potatoes and my elevation is 3500 ft. Interesting that some people have a burn problem and others don’t.
I loved your IP Spinach and Mustard Greens Saag recipe and 2-Ingredient IP Cheesecake. I’m looking forward to trying many more of your recipes.
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I’m glad you love the recipe! And thanks for sharing that feedback – hopefully it’ll be helpful to others. I’m not sure why this would be the case though as I’ve never had a burn issue… I wish I could help more! I’m glad you are enjoying my other recipes as well 🙂
Is it okay to substitute sweet potatoes in this recipe? Thanks.
Dianne, I don’t see why not! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Did you try it Dianne? I was literally just thinking this too and wondering if it would be good. I might also try it with just cauliflower (not supposed to eat white potatoes).
Made this tonight for dinner! It was absolutely delicious.. minded me of the last time I had aloo gobi at an Indian restaurant. I like mine on the slightly aldente side and so kept it under pressure for not more than a minute and added amchur for an extra kick! But all in all really good!
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Renee, I’m so happy to hear that you liked the aloo gobi so much! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
I like this recipe, but when I was cooking the gobi I got a burn message too. It tastes good, but both the potato and cauliflower were too mushy! I wonder if just putting both at the same time for 2 minutes would be enough. Will try next time.
Akhila, I’m glad you liked the recipe! If you try cutting them into slightly bigger pieces next time that should help keep them from getting too mushy – let me know what you try and how it goes!
Can you tell the time it took for each
cooking method (IP vs ST)
Thanks
Is the cook time and method still the same if you omit the potatoes all together?
Hi. Does the measurements, timings or method change if you omit the potatoes? Thanks!
Hello! I am going to make this for the first time this week and am making my grocery list now. In your opinion, what variety of potato works best for this recipe?
I just want it to turn out great! Thank you!
You can use any type of potato – I personally like gold potatoes or russet potatoes 🙂
I am going to make the thurka (garlic tomatoes) on the stove top but want to instant pot the actual cooking of the gobi. In this case would you add a bit of water in while the gobi is cooking in the pot for the 1minute??
I also got the burn notice at the cauliflower stage but man this recipe is good. I made two minor changes. I didn’t have mustard seeds on hand so I just omitted and then right before serving threw in some grainy Dijon mustard. So delicious! Also due to the burn notice shortly after I added the cauliflower, I added another 1/4 cup water and and then cooked for 0 minutes at high pressure. Worked like a charm! Making again for sure.
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I’ve tried so many recipes
From your site. Thank you so much. So I read the comments before making this esp around the burn msg bc that was my concern. I followed the recipe to the T but I like my onions well caramelized. So what I did was I added a bit more water and scrapped the water and didn’t get it. However the downside my potatoes came out mushy. So next time I’d do 2 minutes less on the potatoes and a min more on the cauliflower. Next
Time I make this should be fine. Thanks again. I kind of
Wish you had more videos those are fun to watch bit
I can’t complain I’m just learning how
To
Cook so this is just as good
I’m glad you liked this! Will work on adding more videos to my site 🙂
Hi
What changes should I make if I am
Using a 3quart IP ?
Also what changes shud I make if I am using 1 tomato in this recipe
Made this last night and turned out very well.
One suggestion I would have is to instruct giving a stir to the Cauliflower after adding spices. With the current instructions there are lumps of spices stuck on the florets when the pressure cooking is done.
Love your recipes.
P.S. Could you share the table of content of the recipes in your book.
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LOVE this recipe. I’ve made it 3 times now, but each time I get a “burn” message. Any advice?
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Joe, I’m so glad you like the recipe! As for the burn sign, I assume you are de-glazing the pot and that there’s nothing stuck when you close the lid, right? You can try adding a couple of extra tablespoons of water to see if that helps? Please let me know if that works!
Followed the recipe exactly for IP, ended up with cauliflower covered in mashed potatoes. I would recommend cooking both the cauliflower and potatoes together next time.
And I got a burn notice, with completely raw cauliflower. Honestly this recipe is not good.
I don’t think it’s fair to make a blanket statement that the recipe isn’t good. Many have made this recipe with success, as have I, tonight! First time I’ve made it, followed recipe exactly, just added a minute for less crunchy cauliflower. No issues, no burn error, and it was delicious, with no mushy anything. I’ll definitely make it again.
I have a 6 quart duo for about 4 years. I’ve read many times that newer versions give burn error much more often for some reason.
Sadly, mine burned too. I used double the amount of everything as I like to cook in bulk for my family.
I actually blended the onions instead of slicing them thinking that this would better coat the bottom of the IP so it wouldn’t burn. No such luck.
I transferred it to a regular pot as soon as I saw the burn sign. So it was saved. Tastes pretty good. A little too oniony though, so maybe less onion next time or don’t blend it, just sautee it.
I wonder if you can make all these recipes without onion too. Would be cool to have an alternative.
Otherwise, these recipes are really awesome. I pretty much am going thru trying all of them and most of them have been great!
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Oh, I was thinking if you do potato and cauliflower at the same time on pressure cook, maybe it won’t burn. Because I used twice the potato amount AND only 2 min on pressure cook and they were okay. A little mush, but not bad. The burn didn’t happen until the 2nd part – cauliflower. So I am going to try doing both at the same time on pressure cook next time. Will let you know how it goes.
I added sweet potatoes as well & it was so good!
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Rachel, that’s great! I’m really glad you liked this 🙂
I should have read the comments before I attempted this because I too received the burn message and both cauliflower and potatoes came out mushy and also burned.
Cooked this in my Le Crueset on the stove because I had rajma in the IP. Really great recipe. I added more salt and ginger at the end, plus a cup of peas. Fantastic and easy to make. I might add other veggies to this next time!
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Nina, that’s great to hear 🙂 I’m so glad you liked this!