Recipe: Aloo Matar (spiced indian potato and pea curry)

This recipe hails from the North of India, but is extremely popular all over because of the simple and fresh ingredients used. Some households prefer a dryer texture, in which case omit the tomato and don’t make into a paste. This recipe is commonly enjoyed with Indian Basmati rice, poori and chapatis (roti).

Ingredients

– 2 medium potatoes (aloo), peeled and diced
– ¾ to 1 cup peas (matar)
– 1 tbsp almond flour
– half tsp (3g) Cumin Seeds
– Pinch of Asafoetida
– ½ to 1 tsp (3-5g) Mild chilli powder
– ¼ tsp (1g) Turmeric powder
– ½ tsp garam masala powder
– 2 to 3 tbsp vegetable oil
– 1.5 cups water for pressure cooking or 2 cups if making in a pan
– Salt as required, we prefer Himalayan Pink Salt
– 3-5 whole cloves

Grind to paste:
– 15g of pink onion powder (White onion powder also works fine)
– 1 large tomato. roughly chopped
– ½ inch ginger, chopped
– 3-4 garlic, chopped

Method

1. Make a paste with the onion, tomato, ginger and garlic in a blender.

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add in cumin seeds, wait for them to pop in a few seconds, then add the cloves and ground paste.

3. Stir and then add the almond powder.

4. Saute for about 1-2 minutes.

5. Add the asafoetida powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and garam masala powder. Add salt to taste.

6. Stir 10-15 seconds and then add the peas and potatoes. saute for a minute. add roughly a cup of water.

7. Stir well and cook covered until till the potatoes & peas are cooked completely. Add more water if necessary.

Optional: garnish with basil or coriander leaves.