Deniz and I love Aloo Gobi, so when we decided to make it this week, we were really excited.  Now, normally we go grocery shopping together.  But this week I wasn’t feeling well, so he went on the mission by himself.  Best husband ever, he went to two grocery stores to get everything, and even unloaded the groceries without a compliant.  When we were ready to cook the next day, he took all the items out of the refrigerator.  No red potatoes.  I asked him where the red potatoes were.  And that’s when he showed me a sweet potato.  “It’s a red potato,” he said.  Sure enough, the sweet potato had a red skin, and yes it was a potato.  After we cut it open, we discovered that it was actually an Okinawan sweet potato, which is purple on the inside.  After laughing for 5 minutes, we debated for another 5 minutes whether to go back to the store and buy real red potatoes.  We decided to make do with the sweet potato and see what happened.  After all, I’ve always felt that aloo gobi is missing a sweet touch, so this would be a good way to fix that.  And that it did.  The aloo gobi turned out delicious and colorful.  Just the right balance of spice, salty and sweet.  We’re converts.  And here’s our recipe for Fusion Aloo Gobi:

Ingredients:

• 1/3 c veggie oil
• 1 t cumin seeds
• 1 large sweet potato (we used an Okinawan purple sweet potato), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 heads of cauliflower, pulled apart into bite-sized florettes
• 1/2 c water
• 2 tomatoes, chopped

Wet spices:

• 1 medium onion, minced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 T ginger, minced

Dry spices:

• 1/4 c dried fenugreek leaves, crushed
• 1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 T ground coriander seeds
• 1 t ground cumin
• 2 t salt
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• 1/2 t turmeric

Directions:

Combine the Wet Spices ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine the Dry Spices ingredients in a medium bowl.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add cumin seeds and sizzle for 1 minute.  Add the Wet Spices and stir-fry until the onion is golden brown.

Add the potatoes and mix until the potatoes are well coated in oil.  Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 8 minutes.

Add the Dry Spices and the cauliflower, and mix until everything is combined well.  Then add the water.

Cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.

Add in tomatoes and stir to combine. Continue cooking for 3 more minutes.

Sprinkle on extra chopped fresh cilantro for garnish.