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    Home » Recipes » Curries and Stew

    Achari Gobi

    March 26, 2013 by Kankana Saxena

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Achari Gobi is a unique North Indian cauliflower curry prepared in pickled sauce. The taste is tangy, spice filled with robust flavor. Achari meaning pickled and Gobi meaning cauliflower, is a quick 30 minutes meal. It goes very well with rice or Indian flat bread. I find cauliflower not only easy to cook but also one of those veggies which can help you get creative and stay healthy.

    How to prepare the pickling sauce for the Achari Gobi?

    The key ingredient for this Achari gobi is the achari masala or the pickling spice mix. Once you have that handy, you can use to make the same curry using chicken/ paneer or tofu. You can even use the same spice mix to prepare your stew or lentil soup.
     
    The achari masala needs only five whole spices: 
    • Dry red chili - Use kashmiri red chili as it will give the gorgeous red hue instead of making it super spicy.
    • Fenugreek Seeds
    • Nigella seeds
    • Mustard Seeds
    • Cumin Seeds

    All these spices are dry roasted and then blend into spice powder. This spice blend is then mixed with fresh lemon juice to prepare the pickling sauce that is added while preparing the curry.

    Achari Gobi - Cauliflower in pickled sauce

    How to prepare this Achari Gobi Recipe?

    It's a very simple curry to prepare which takes about 30 minutes to prepare.

    • Prepare the spice powder and mix fresh lemon juice to it.
    • The bite size cauliflower florets are first stir fried in little oil and taken off the pan.
    • Then in the same pan, few whole spices (mustard seeds, nigella seeds and cinnamon sticks) are added. Followed by garlic, ginger and onion.
    • Then goest the pickling sauce and tomato puree. I like to use tomato puree (preferably canned) instead of fresh chopped tomato only because the canned tomato puree always gives the more gorgeous red hue to the curry.
    • Finally stir fried cauliflower florets are added and simmered for a while.
    • Because it's achari gobi which means you want the curry to have a refreshing tangy taste, I like to end it with little amount of plain yogurt. Finally few green chili and finely chopped cilantro leaves goes in.

    Cauliflower

    Ingredients for Cauliflower in pickled sauce

    The pickling spice used here is similar to what is normally used in every Indian home during summer to make multiple batches of pickles. It has a robust flavor, absolutely lip-smacking and helps elevating the palate. The mixture of the sauce with tomato puree gives a vibrant color to the curry, which I must say is very appealing.

    So, on a dull weekday, when Friday seems far from reach, try this famous North Indian curry and let me know what you think of it.

    Cauliflower in pickled sauce

    Here are few other cauliflower recipes that you will love to try! 

    Yogurt Cauliflower Stir Fried

    Mushroom Chicken Spiced Cauliflower Fried Rice

    Phulkopir Aloo Dalna

    Cauliflower in pickled sauce @ Playful Cooking

    Achari Gobi – Cauliflower In Pickled Sauce

    Kankana Saxena
    Achari Gobi is a unique North Indian cauliflower curry prepared in pickled sauce. The taste is tangy, spice filled with robust flavor.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Total Time 45 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Indian
    Servings 4 people

    Ingredients
     

    for the pickling sauce

    • 3 dry red chili
    • ½ teaspoon fenugreek
    • ½ teaspoon nigella
    • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

    rest of the ingredients

    • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
    • ½ teaspoon nigella seeds
    • 1 inch cinnamon stick
    • bite size florets of 1 cauliflower
    • 1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
    • ½ cup tomato puree or 1 tablespoon tomato paste
    • 1 tablespoon freshly grated garlic and ginger
    • 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • few green chili
    • ½ cup cilantro leaves (finely chopped)
    • oil
    • salt

    Instructions
     

    for the pickling sauce

    • Dry roast the spices and then, grind it to dust.
      achari gobi step 01 1
    • Pour spice dust in a bowl and add lemon juice to it. Give a mix and keep it aside to be used later.
      achari gobi step 02 1

    for achari gobi

    • In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil and sauté cauliflower florets with some salt, until they’re half cooked. It should take about 10 minutes. Once done, take it out of the pan and keep it aside to be used later.
      achari gobi step 03 1
    • In the same pan, add 1 more tablespoon of oil. Heat oil and then add cinnamon stick, nigella seeds and mustard seeds. Let it sizzle for a couple of seconds to release the aroma.
      achari gobi step 04 1
    • Next, add garlic, ginger and sliced onions. Season with salt and give it a toss. Continue cooking until the onion gets softened.
      achari gobi step 05 1
    • Add the pickling spice that was kept aside and the tomato (puree or paste). Sprinkle the sugar. Let it cook in medium heat for 5 minutes or until the spices are cooked through. Once done you should see oil separating from the sides.
      achari gobi step 06 1
    • Pour 1 ½ cup water, add the florets cover the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
      achari gobi step 07 1
    • Switch off the heat, and add the yogurt, fresh chili and cilantro leaves. Toss everything and check for salt. Add any if needed.
      achari gobi step 08 1
    • Serve warm.

    Video

    Notes

    This curry can be made with any kind of meat or any other kind of vegetable as well.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 4people
    Keyword 30 minutes meal, caulilower, curries, vegetarian meal
    Achari Gobi - Cauliflower in pickled sauce

     

    More Curries and Stew

    • Butter Chicken
      Butter Chicken
    • Dim jhol - Dimer Dalna
      Dimer Dalna
    • Whole Masoor Dal with methi
      Methi Masoor Dal
    • Kumro Palak
      Kumro Palak (Pumpkin with Spinach)

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Emma Galloway

      May 26, 2013 at 8:36 pm

      5 stars
      Yum!!! Can't wait to try this one, thank you for sharing! xx

    2. Anne Marie

      April 08, 2013 at 7:00 pm

      5 stars
      What a gorgeous blog! So glad I stopped by to find thsi boatload of beautiful images and delightful recipes.
      [email protected]

    3. Mallika

      April 02, 2013 at 9:39 am

      5 stars
      I love cauliflowers, but my florets never looked as beautiful as yours. Wonder what's it that you do to them to make them look so beautiful! Achari subzis are my favourites and your achari gobi will be no exception. Stunning as usual Kankana.

    4. Sanjana

      April 02, 2013 at 7:28 am

      5 stars
      Oooh! That looks absolutely scrumptious! Came here through haathi's blog. I see what she means now! 🙂

    5. Nishita

      April 02, 2013 at 1:08 am

      5 stars
      Tried this recipe today and it came out so well ! thanks for sharing it. Never thought gobi would taste so yum !

    6. [email protected]

      April 01, 2013 at 5:22 pm

      5 stars
      That looks beautiful!!! We also have homemade meals about 98% of the time.. going out to eat is a rare occurrence.

    7. Rose from Magpies Re

      March 31, 2013 at 2:08 pm

      5 stars
      You have such unique ideas K! This looks and sounds totally delcious!

    8. Yasmeen @ Wandering

      March 31, 2013 at 1:04 am

      5 stars
      Honestly, it's impossible for me to come here without my mouth watering! Impossible. Another beautiful recipe 🙂

    9. Chris

      March 30, 2013 at 6:02 am

      5 stars
      That looks delicious! I have added it to my list of "must try" food. Thanks.

    10. bhavani

      March 29, 2013 at 3:59 pm

      5 stars
      Looks simply lovely - had to pin the first pic! I also love Indian style/spices with cauliflower as it's pretty much the only way I eat it. Thanks for sharing!

    11. Sylvie @ GitK

      March 28, 2013 at 10:05 pm

      5 stars
      Oh I love cauliflower, especially with a bit of heat!

    12. carey

      March 28, 2013 at 4:28 pm

      5 stars
      Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables, and I've gotten some quizzical looks when I tell people that! It certainly isn't the most glamorous of veggies, but it makes up for that in taste and versatility. I was buying pickled cauliflower at the farmers' market last summer, and it was SO GOOD, and I was so sad when the summer market ended. This dish sounds delicious, and I think it might be the perfect thing to tide me over until May, and the return of my beloved pickle lady. 🙂

    13. Soma

      March 28, 2013 at 9:04 am

      5 stars
      Mouthwatering. Can't wait to make it.

    14. Pia

      March 28, 2013 at 8:15 am

      5 stars
      ki dekhte hoyechhe - and i bet it tastes even better than it looks! i love cauliflower cooked any old way, but i'm loving the colour and the list of ingredients in yours.

    15. jehanne

      March 28, 2013 at 8:08 am

      5 stars
      Guess what I had for dinner today? Yes, its this recipe! Thanks for sharing Kankana, they turned out absolutely delish, the onlyt hing is I didn't have nigella so had to omit that. Sharing this post on my FB page!

    « Older Comments

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