Instant Pot Aloo Gobi - Low-Calorie Recipe (2024)

Instant Pot Aloo Gobi is a famous Punjabi vegetarian dish that is widely found in all Indian restaurants across the UK. This simply curry made of potatoes and cauliflowers is perfect to eat with rice or roti(a healthier and thinner version of naan bread). Completely vegan and gluten-free too.

What is Aloo Gobi?

Aloo(Potatoes) and Gobi(cauliflowers) cooked with a blend of Indian spices to make this flavourful dish. Unlike other masala curries, this Instant pot Aloo Gobi is a very mild dish that is not packed with a ton of spices.

Everyone has their way of cooking aloo gobi, this is my healthier take on it using my instant pot(an electric pressure cooker) using minimal and effort.

Most of the people avoid eating potatoes when it comes to weight loss, but when cooked with less fats these humble spuds can be a good source of energy and potassium. In this version of my instant pot aloo gobi, I have tried to use more gobi/cauliflower to keep the overall calorific value of the dish lower.

Check out other low-calorie Indian recipes below

Instant Pot Rajma Masala

Instant Pot Matar Paneer

Winter is fast approaching, I went for my evening walk today with a light jacket but the cold wind had given me a tough time indicating summer is totally gone now. I will need to say goodbye for my evening walks soon, instead will be chasing sunrises in the coming days 🙂

Lately, I have been walking a lot, spending time with myself and Nature gives me a sense of calmness and also many of my new ideas were born during one of these tranquil walks. I do love an intense workout(although it’s been a while I did that) but a walk has got a special place in my heart.

Now let me dive into the actual content.

Ingredients for making Instant Pot Aloo Gobi

Potatoes – cut into big cubes so they don’t get mushy. Can choose any varieties , back in India we have only one variety as far as I knew.

Cauliflower – again cut into big florets which is very imp else they may get mashed easily.

Tomatoes – ripen vine tomatoes would be good or canned. I had some leftover canned tomatoes, hence used the same.

Onions – red, white, yellow anyting should be fine.

Green peas – this is optional and I added for my sake and to give some extra protein.

Ginger garlic paste (not pictured below)

Cumin seeds – essential for all Indian cooking.

Red chilli powder – you can also use paprika but it will be little bland I feel.

Coriander powder – from which most of the taste comes from.

Amchur powder – also known as dried mango powder, if you don’t have it like me, use chat masala.

Garam Masala – you only need a tiny bit of this honestly.

Kasuri Methi – dried fenugreek leaves adds a nice taste to the aloo gobi curry.

Instant Pot Aloo Gobi step by step recipe

The recipe is not very complicated and with instant pot, cooking gets even more easier.

The reason I have chosen instant pot to make aloo gobi is that

• It needs less oil making it ideal for my weight loss
• it doesn’t need constant stirring and sautéing.
• Saves so much of time and needs less attention.
• Taste exactly the same as how we make on the stovetop.

1- Press Sauté mode on and adjust to medium(if you press sautee button the second time, you can toggle between low, medium and high. Heat a teaspoon of oil and crackle cumin seeds.

2 -Add chopped onions, salt and fry for a couple of minutes in low to medium flames. Since we are using less oil, this toggle is necessary to avoid burning. If required use splash of water. Once onions turn pink add in ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.

4 – Add in chopped tomatoes and cook until they turn soft.4 to this, add in spice powders except for garam masala and Kasuri methi and fry for a couple of minutes.

5 – Add in the potato cubes, adjust salt and mix well so the onion tomato gravy and spices coat well. Sprinkle 2- tablespoons of water and Cook for 3-4 minutes with a glass lid covered.

6- then add in cauliflower and peas, mix well gently but not much. Add in 3-4 tablespoons of water(see notes without fail), mix well and deglaze the bottom making sure there is no burnt food in the bottom. Close the lid and cancel saute mode. Press Pressure Cook/Manual mode, select the pressure level to low and set the timer to 3 minutes by turning the pressure vale to cook.

the pot will take sometime to build the pressure before it comes to the 3 minute timer.

7- Once cooking is done, do a quick pressure release to stop further co*king of cauliflower. Add in kasuri methi, garam masala and mix gently.

8 – I always like to finish of my instant pot curry cooking process by simmering sautee mode that adds little depth to the dish. Press saute mode and cook for further 2 minutes. Sprinkle loads of chopped coriander leaves.

Tips to make Aloo Gobi in Instant Pot

Cut the potatoes and cauliflower into large chunks so they don’t get mashes during pressure cook and mixing etc.

• Use less amount of water always when cooking in the instant pot.
• always toggle between low to medium on saute mode to avoid burning the bottom as the recipes call for less oil. If needed, use splashes of water while frying onions.
• Doing quick release of pressure is very important to stop cauliflower getting overcooked.
• Always deglaze the bottom of the pot to avoid getting a BURN message.
• Use very less amount of water throughout as Instant pot requires more time to build pressure if using more water, more pressure means the vegetables gets mashed.
• If you end up having more liquid, simply simmer in saute mode until the extra liquid evaporates.

What if I get a BURN message?

• The texture of vegetables is very important for Aloo gobi and hence the recipe calls for a minimal amount of water.
• Sometimes depending upon the type and size of the pot, quality of ingredients, you may end up getting a burninging message, don’t panic, quickly release the pressure, deglaze the pot and add further 2-3 tablespoons of water and put it back to pressure cook again.
• Sometimes even though you get a burning message, the vegetables might have been cooked already, check and simmer in saute mode by adding few splashes of water.

Serving Suggestions

This instant pot aloo gobi is a classic dish for warm rotis served along with some crunchy onion slices.

You can also enjoy with plain basmati rice or pulao rice too. Check out this instant pot peas pulao and easy lemon rice recipes that go well with aloo gobi curry,

As always include some sort of salad that helps fill your tummy with less calories.

Storage Suggestions

The aloo gobi curry stays good in fridge for at least 3-4 days. I have never tried freezing this curry but I do think it should be fine. Let me know if you do.

Weight Loss Tips

• Use less potato and more cauliflower to make it low-calorie curry.
• Serve with oil-free rotis or plain rice instead of naans which are calorie-dense and full of white flour.
• Serve with plenty of salad made of onion, cucumber tomatoes.
• Stick to one teaspoon of oil and use splashes of water while frying the onions. or throughout. Instant pot anyways will need less oil.

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