Crockpot Aloo Gobi

Aloo gobi is an Indian mixed vegetable dish with cauliflower and potatoes, usually steamed and then sauteed until soft and a tiny bit caramelized. It comes out great in the crockpot. The only difference is that it makes a small amount of sauce, whereas the traditional aloo gobi is a rather dry dish. I think the sauce is delicious, and most of it gets absorbed into the veggies eventually anyway. You might have seen in my Cooking Philosophy that I have a particular fondness for one-pot meals (it makes cleanup so easy and makes it super easy to pack leftover meals). Aloo gobi often has green peas added, so I subbed in garbanzo beans to up the protein and promote it to complete meal status. It turned out fabulous! The potatoes and garbonzos added a comforting creamy contrast to the richly flavored spices.

Crockpot Aloo Gobi
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 large or two medium russet potatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces
1 large cauliflower, chopped into florets
2 bell peppers, sliced into strips
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained (Optional. If you want a more traditional aloo gobi, instead of garbonzos, stir in 1 cup frozen green peas after cooking.)
1 T minced garlic
2 t minced ginger
black pepper to taste
2 T curry powder of choice (I make my own: 1 T cumin seeds or 2 t ground cumin, 1 t turmeric, 1 1/2 t coriander, 1 t mustard seeds, 1/2 t cayenne, 1/4 t ground cinnamon, 1/4 t ground cardamom)
2 t salt (if your curry powder has salt in it, reduce the salt you add)
pinch of sugar or Splenda to round out flavor
1 T butter or coconut oil (Optional; adds richness)
1 10-15 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies

Garnish
1 handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional; add after cooking)

Directions
In a 5-7 quart slow cooker, layer ingredients in order of ingredient list (this ensures that the things that need to be cooked the most, like the onions and potatoes, are on the bottom, where it gets the hottest. Cook on low for 8 hours or high 4 hours. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.