The other night when Sarah was supposed to come for dinner I had planned a nice vegetarian meal for us to share. I had chosen to go with Indian as I knew she was a fan, and didn't cook it that often herself. It was also the first meal out we had together, celebrating her birthday with friends soon after we started working together.
I had a head of cauliflower already so Aloo Ghobi seemed the obvious choice. I'd never made it before, so turned to Manjula's Kitchen for guidance, although I made a few substitutions based on preference and a lack of ethnic ingredients. I decided to use sweet potato as I'm a big fan, and already had one in the pantry that needed using up. I lacked asofetida and having had this in my pantry before, there was no way I was stinking out my kitchen for this one meal! I was also missing mango powder (although I realised too late that I had actual mango!) but had read previously that a squeeze of lemon would do the trick, providing that little tartness to the curry. We served ours on rice with raita and some chutney, but some bread such as paranthas or roti would be even better. Oh and because Wil couldn't bear the thought of a meal without meat, he snuck to the supermarket and bought some beef samosas.
When thinking about side dishes I naturally thought of Cachoombar, which is my go-to side to serve with curries as it's bright, crispy vegetable flavours are a nice contrast to the often rich curry dishes. I usually amp up the cayenne in my cachoombar but Sarah is not a huge fan of spicy food so I wanted to do something a little different. Skipping the fresh chilies and adding just a pinch of cayenne I also brought forward the sweetness by using 1/3 of a fresh mango, sliced thinly. I love the spicy version, but this was a great alternative that will certainly be made again.
You can find the recipe for the Aloo Ghobi here on Manjula's Kitchen.
My standard Cachoombar recipe can be found here.
Mango Cachoombar
1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced cucumbers
1 cup diced red onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
a very teeny pinch of cayenne
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/4 cup sliced white radish
1/3 mango, sliced thinly
Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Serve with your favourite Indian curry or meat dishes.
Love Indian food? You can find some more inspiration here:
Henry's Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken)
Phall - The World's Hottest Curry
Tandoori Chicken Wraps
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