Aloo Matar is a very common dish made in Indian households and needless to say, it is one of my favorites! I mean who doesn’t love potatoes and green peas!? Add to that a simple and amazingly flavorful gravy made with the simplest ingredients. This dish is almost a regular at my place especially when I have guests over. You know why? Because of how easy it is to make!
You know what, I realized last night that I have been on my low carb lifestyle since almost an year now. It was on March 18, 2017 that I took my food habits under my control and started this amazing journey of becoming a healthier me. I would be honest, like I always have and would admit that have not been very strict with my food habits, though. We did have a few days and sometimes even a month long cheat periods! No regrets though. They were all conscious decisions and ‘life’ had to e attended to.
Another fact is that each time we were on a cheat period, there was one dish that I invariably craved for. And that was especially since I took my trip to India a few months back. You know how it goes, right? You have the prospect of visiting your home and even before you get your air tickets done, you are ready with a list of ‘to eat’ items for you mom. For her to cook for you! Tell me, you do that too!?
Honestly, there is no replacement of mom cooked food. It really is not just food on your plate, it comes with a lot of fond memories and nostalgia. Like I have mentioned in a lot of my earlier posts, aloo matar is one of those things that I have never been able to cook like my mom. So of course, Aloo Matar was a part of my above mentioned ‘to eat’ list that I had handed over to my mother.
ALOO MATAR IS A REMINDER OF HOME FOR ME!
So, I come from a joint family. That means, before I got married I lived with my parents, my brother, my father’s elder brother and his wife along with their daughter. We all were a happy family. Aloo matar happens to be one of the dishes that my taiji used to make. Even my mom could not replicate. Just talking about right now is enough to get my salivary glands in full force!
If you are from an Indian household, you would have had aloo matar in probably one of two forms. The ‘rassey’ vale aloo matar n the ‘sookhe’ vale aloo matar. Roughly translated as aloo matar with a soupy gravy and aloo matar with no gravy, only masalas. The one which I happen to love is none of the above. I like something in between. Not a soupy gravy, neither dry but with a thicker masala which adds some amount of ‘liquidy-ness’ to the dish. I really hope I am making sense here!
You know why I like this particular consistency of the gravy? Well, I have a not-so-secret love affair with rice and this kind of consistency makes it perfect for rice as well as roti. There you go! It can be enjoyed with rice, roti, naan, paranthas and even pooris!
This is one of my favorite dishes and believe me, it can be yours too!
What’s more is that, potatoes and peas are two of the vegetables that you would find in almost all Indian households and if you ever have unplanned guests over, this dish can be your go-to! At least that is how I roll.
Without further ado, let us get right to the recipe.
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- 3 medium potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
- 2 cups green peas I used frozen peas
- 1 medium red onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 2 medium tomatoes
- a few green chillies
- 3 tbsp ghee/ oil ghee tastes better
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 dried red chillies
- 2 tsp kasuri methi/ dried fenugreek leaves optional
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/3 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/3 tsp garam masala powder
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida/ heeng
- fresh coriander for garnishing
Ingredients
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- Pureé the onions with the garlic and keep aside.
- In a pressure cooker, heat the ghee. Once it is heated, add the black cardamom, dried red chillies and the bay leaf. Sauté for about a minute.
- Add the cumin seeds and once they start to splutter, add the heeng also. Sauteê for a few seconds.
- Add the onion paste. Sauté till the onions turn golden brown and the oil begins to separate. You can add some salt to speed up this process. In the meanwhile, pureé the tomatoes with the ginger.
- Once the onions are done, add the tomato pureé. Add the salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder cook on low to medium heat till the masala is cooked and the oil separates.
- Add the chopped or slit green chillies along with kasuri methi and cook for a few minutes.
- Add half a cup of water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and the green peas. Pressure cook till one whistle. Potatoes cook really quickly, so you wouldn't want to overdo this.
- When the pressure releases on its own, open the pressure cooker and check for consistency. You can add water at this point. If you do, let it simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Garnish with fresh chopped coriander and enjoy hot!
A few tips!
- It is better to use fresh green peas but I just find the ease of using frozen ones too tempting to even try with fresh ones!
- You can adjust the level of consistency. Can be made dry or with more 'rassa'.
- Garam masala - I use my homemade garam masala in every single dish (you can find the recipe here). But this one comes pretty close.
- Ghee - I use my homemade ghee but you can buy from here.
If you are making this ahead of time, please know that this gravy thickens somewhat, so you may have to adjust the consistency when you are ready to serve!
There you have it! An easy and totally delectable recipe for you to enjoy!
You can take a look at some of my other favorite Indian dishes:
My mouth is watering. I will be looking forward to my next cheat period! Stay tuned and follow us around on Instagram, Twitter and on our Facebook Page.
Till then,
XO, Sakshi!
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