Aloo Phool Kopir Tarkari | Bengali Potato Cauliflower Curry

Tying out new types of curries to go with steamed rice is something I love to do. So it is only natural that I prepare some curry for this week’s Blogging Marathon theme – Cooking from West Bengal…

Potato and cauliflower are an eternal favorite in our household and so when I read about this curry in several blogs, I knew I had to make it.While some in some blogs, this curry was a little watery and some showcased it as a dry curry, I stuck to the dry version….

The bengali cuisine makes use of sugar even in savory dishes but I have ised 1/2 teaspoon as my folks are not fans of sweetness in curries.Generally, the cauliflower florets and potato cubes are fried, but I have used minimal oil by pressure cooking the veggies so that they are almost cooked and don’t need extra oil for cooking.

I used:

Cauliflower – 1 small
Baby potatoes- 10 numbers
Tomato -1, chopped
Onion-1, sliced
Garlic – 3 pods, chopped
Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon
Red chilli powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – a large pinch
Salt to taste
Sugar – 1/2 teaspoon
Oil- 1 tablespoon

1. Clean and cut the cauliflower into florets. Half the baby potatoes.
2. Pressure cook the cauliflower florets and potato pieces for 1 whisltle or 5 minutes ot till almost done.
3. Heat oil in a pan and saute the onions,garlic and cook till onion turns translucent.
4. Add the tomato and cook for a minute.
5. Put in the cooked cauliflower florets and potato and mix well.
6. Next in goes the salt,sugar, turmeric powder, chilli powder and cumin powder.
7. Mix well to come and sprinkle a little water if the mixture is too dry.
8. Cook on low flame till the raw smell of the masala disappears.
9. Remove from heat and serve garnished with coriander leaves

Note :

• You can deep fry the cauliflower and potato before adding them into the pan.This will be more tastier than the steamed version.
• For making a gravy type curry, make a thin paste of turmeric, chilli powder and cumin powder. Add them to the pan after the onions and tomato is cooked. Cook till raw smell disappears and then and the raw veggies and enough water to cook them and some extra water for a thin gravy.
• Instead of pressure cooking the veggies you can also cook them in a microwave.

We had this with fenugreek sambar and roasted pappad…..

Hop over to the  Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#22

Bon Appetit…