Excess Runs, Excess Goals, and Exquisite Aloo Ghobi

Ooooohhh.  I woke up today to a double whammy of doom.  South Africa scored an excessive 584 runs against Pakistan yesterday.  In hockey, the Chicago Blackhawks scored an excessive 7 goals against the Canucks.

Canucks Goalie Roberto Luongo, regretting eating a deep-fried stick of butter for his dinner earlier in the evening.

Vancouver coach Alain Vignault says that the Canucks basically embarrassed themselved on home ice, scoring only one measly goal.  Well, Mr. Big Coach, did you check to see what your fellows ate for dinner?  Healthy food = healthy hockey.  Obviously the Canucks were ill-fed!  Shameful!
Enough about hockey.  It's cricket time.  South Africa did indeed score too many runs, but let's remember that debutant Tanvir Ahmed took six SA scalps, three right at the start of the SA innings! 

Tanvir Ahmed, showing no mercy to the South Africans on Day 1

Good show, Tanvir.  But day two, the Pakistan side was looking pooped.  No wonder...it's hot in the UAE!  You try standing for 8+ hours in the sun for two days in a row and let's see how YOU bowl!  That's right...you'd be a buffet bowler...the opposition would help themselves to runs.  So for today, day 3 of the test match, let's hope our lovely lads are well fed and well rested and that they blast off some 600+ runs!  Let's go Pakistan!

So what is a good dish to ensure good form in the field, good form in batting and even good form on the ice?  Cricketers, chefs, and ice hockey players, I give you Aloo Ghobi.  This is a dish that will put some hair on your chest...girls included*!  As I always say, go macho or go home.

Aloo in urdu means potato.  Ghobi means cauliflower; hence, this is a potato and cauliflower dish done in a rich tomato gravy.  Now usually, as we've seen in the Basic Vegetable Salan post, veggie salans (curries) usually do not have spices except for red chili powder, garlic, and salt.  However, because ghobi (I'll use urdu from now on) is a very strongly flavoured vegetable, it is almost treated like a meat and the meat spices are used with it.  This dish is a classic and is excellent to include in your repetoire.  So get out your pot, stop fooling around and let's get to business.

Ingredients
3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 8 pieces each
1 small head of cauliflower, broken up into small florets (the pieces that look like little trees)
1 big red tomato
1 onion, finely diced
7-8 cloves of garlic, crushed or very finely diced
3 cm piece of ginger, crushed or very finely diced
1 bay leaf
1 cinammon stick
1 star anise
5 black peppercorns
5 cloves
5 green cardamom pods
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4  teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon lal mirch (red chili powder)
chopped green chilies (or whole chilies) according to taste
kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) optional
chopped coriander (cilantro)
salt
oil for cooking
water

1.  Heat about 3 tablespoons of oil in a big pan and fry the diced onion till golden and slightly crispy.
2.  While the onion is frying, add bay leaf, cinammon stick, star anise, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom pods and cumin seeds.
3.  When onion is almost crispy, add the garlic and ginger, and fry a minute or two.  Don't burn the garlic!
4.  Add the turmeric and lal mirch.
5.  Add the chopped tomato and "bhunna" it:  ie frying it until it reduces and sticks to the pan, add about 1/3 cup water, reducing again, adding water again when it sticks.  Repeat this procedure 3 or 4 times, until the oil "leaks" from the mix and the mix looks like a thick paste.  Here's the link if you need a refresher on "bhunna" method:

http://kikiscookinforcricket.blogspot.com/2010/10/theory-and-practical-lesson-basic.html

6.  Add 3 or 4 cups of water, some salt, and bring to a boil.
7.  Add the cauliflower florets.  Cook for a few minutes.
8.  Add the potatoes and green chilies.
9.  Add some kasoori methi if you like, about a handful.
10. Simmer for around 30 or 40 minutes, until the cauliflower is very, very soft and almost all of the water has evaporated.  If the vegetables are still hard, add more water whenever needed.
11.  Double check to see if you need more salt.
12.  Garnish with chopped coriander, and serve with roti.  Here's the roti link if you don't remember how to make it:

http://kikiscookinforcricket.blogspot.com/2010/11/zulqarnain-empire-of-akmal-and-roti.html

And one quick note concerning kasoori methi:  the first time you eat it in your life, you're going to smell bad the next day.  But don't worry; the second time you eat it your body will be used to it and you'll smell absolutely normal the day after.  It only happens the very first time you eat it.  So don't go running a marathon the morning after eating kasoori methi if it's the first time you've eaten it!

And there you have it...exquisite Aloo Ghobi.  Look alive out in the field, batting and even on the ice and have a good one!

Happy eating, happy cricket, and for you Vancouver Canuck fans....uhmmmm...happy cricket, too!

*No, I don't have hair on my chest.  It's just an expression, people!