As some of you know, I recently started my own company—MantraM Digital Media (yes, an anagram of sorts). It’s been just over a year since I began working for myself. I help small to mid-sized businesses with digital marketing and social media strategy. I’m still very much a solopreneur and growing, but it has been an incredible learning experience and an opportunity to grow from the inside out—working on focus, productivity, and discipline, while learning something new in the digital space every single day.
It’s a testament to the adage: you are always learning. I’m still scratching the surface when it comes to productivity and focus—it’s so easy to get caught checking your own social profile while managing a client’s, or going down an Instagram tip rabbit hole meant for business that somehow ends with browsing food stories instead. Managing social media is truly a double-edged sword. You can never fully switch off. That’s where discipline comes in—creating a schedule and sticking to it, getting dressed and showing up to work in my home office, and setting monthly, weekly, and daily goals to stay motivated. Still a work in progress.
Which makes it somewhat ironic—or maybe a little embarrassing—that I coach clients on content frequency and consistency across blogs, Facebook, and Instagram, while my own blog posting has been… well, the less said the better.
I have been fairly regular on social media—Instagram has essentially become my mini blog, as you can see—but I’d be lying if I said that was a deliberate new strategy. It’s simply been easier to shoot a few videos or stories, post on Instagram, cross-post to Facebook, add a few hashtags, and call it done. The thought of crafting a detailed blog post—the images, step-by-step photos, and the one thing I truly care about, the story—has been what I’ve been avoiding.
Then I read somewhere that we often put unnecessary pressure on ourselves to be perfect. Sometimes it’s okay to just get the work done and out the door, rather than procrastinate in pursuit of an A+.
Which brings me to today’s post—exactly seven months after my last one.
Since I always advise my clients to maintain a content calendar, I’ve finally decided to create one for myself. No big promises, but I’m hoping to post at least two recipes a month as I build this habit. I’ll need your help to stay accountable—you officially have permission to nudge me on social media and keep me on task.
This Punjabi Aloo Gobhi is something I tried about two weeks ago. We’ve been making a conscious effort to cook lighter, healthier meals—cutting down on rice and refined carbs, opting for millets, even for our rotis. Bajra and jowar rotis were a recent addition this month, especially to help lower the glycemic index for the diabetics in the family.
With rotis comes the need for a dal or bean-based gravy and a dry sabzi. Add some raw onions, green chilies, and a simple salad, and you have a wholesome, nutritious meal. I’ll share more about the bajra–jowar roti in the next post.
A chance YouTube search led me to this recipe, which looked incredibly authentic—a Punjabi-speaking sardar chef cooking on a choolha in his backyard somewhere in (possibly) Punjab. I followed his method closely, and this turned out to be the most authentic Punjabi aloo gobhi I’ve made so far. It’s a simple recipe with very few ingredients. While I’m sure it tastes even better cooked on a choolha, my induction stove and pressure-cooker kadai did the job just fine.
And yes—I cooked outdoors that day, purely for the effect.
Try it and let me know what you think.
- Cauliflower florets - 2½ cups
- Potato, peeled and roughly chopped - ¾ cup or 1 potato
- Red onion - 2, medium, sliced thin
- Tomatoes - 2 medium, roughly chopped
- Paste of ginger, garlic and green chili - 3-4 tsp
- Turmeric - ¼ -1/2 tsp
- Garam masala - ½ tsp
- Cumin or jeera - 1 tsp
- Fennel or saunf - ½ tsp
- Cilantro, chopped - ½ cup
- Mustard oil - 2 tbsp (you may use any oil but I believe mustard oil adds a characteristic flavor to Punjabi and other North Indian curries)
- Take a kadai or heavy bottom pan.
- Add 2 tbsp mustard oil. Let it heat well to smoking point. Keep in mind that mustard oil imparts its flavor only when heated to smoking, if not will taste raw.
- Add the cumin seeds or jeera and saute for a minute. Add the fennel or saunf and saute.
- Add the sliced onions. Let it cook until lightly browned.
- Add the ginger-garlic-chili paste now and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the turmeric powder, salt to taste.
- Now add the chopped tomatoes, and let it cook for 5 minutes. You may lightly mash the tomatoes and can also add about 3-4 tsp of water, no more, to just let it all come together.
- Add the potato now, and saute on a medium flame for 3-5 minutes. You may add another tsp of water to cook the potatoes.
- Add ½ tsp garam masala.
- Add the cauliflower, mix well.
- Cook on low to medium, covered for about 5-10 minutes until done.
- Garnish with ½ cup chopped cilantro.
- Serve hot with phulkas or parathas (rotis).
Hey Malini, We met at Anusuya aunty home yesterday.
This blog site is a treasure. Just wanted to send a note and thank you for articulating so beautifully.
Hi Janani – thank you so much. I hope to keep posting regularly:). Do check out Anusuya’s kitchen. Let’s make sure to keep that going with Aunty as well:)