Yet another curry, ever so popular all over India and usually cooked with different spices in different households. Aloo Matar is a simple dish of potatoes and peas in a spicy tomato based sauce.
It is easy to make, considerably quick and an adaptable recipe as per your requirement. The spicy does not have to be the hot kind; it can be mild dish but rich and aromatic with a blend of spices. A simple but a satisfying dish.
This is a great recipe when you are weighed down with too much to do (but not limited to just these busy times), just like I am right now. It can be served as a side, but makes a wonderful main dish too when served with rice or flat breads.
A lot going on right now and too many things scheduled together all of sudden, but not much to write about. Today I will leave you only with the recipe.
Few Notes:
Aloo=Potato Matar/Mattar/Mutter=Peas
- If you want a dry version (which usually works better if this is used as a side dish), use less water and cook till there is no more water left in the pan.
- This is kind of a comfort food, but can be taken at a more sophisticated level with the addition of a little bit cream at the tail end of the cooking process. The basic curry turns into a creamy goodness. I have not used any cream here, but have written the option in the recipe below. Do as you please.
- The cinnamon, cardamom and cloves along with the garam masala are all optional. Do not stop yourself from cooking this dish if your pantry is not stocked with these. The only difference will be the difference in flavor; it won’t be as fragrant.
Aloo Matar/Peas and Potato Curry
Ingredients: (serves 2-4, as main or side)
- 3 cups shelled/frozen peas
- 2 medium potatoes. peeled and cubed (each potato about 12 cubes)
- 1/2 medium onion, sliced into thin half moons
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 large hot house tomato, (or any tomato equivalent to this size), chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 cloves
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 small green cardamom
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder or chili flakes
- salt
- 1.5 teaspoons garam masala/or any other kind of curry powder (Optional)
- 3-4 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons cream or half and half (Optional)
- fresh cilantro/coriander and more pepper flakes for garnish
Preparation:Combine tomato, garlic and ginger and blend it to a puree till smooth. There is no need to add any water. Set aside
In a thick bottomed pan, add the cinnamon, clove and cardamom and dry roast for a minute. It will be fragrant; do not overheat, they will burn quick. Add oil in the pan and let the oil heat up. Add the cumin seeds to the oil; when they sizzle, add the onions and fry at high heat for about 2-4 minutes or till they are softened and the edges start to brown.
Add the potatoes to the pan and cook while tossing frequently for about 3 minutes. The potatoes will be coated with oil and will looked glazed. Add the tomato, ginger garlic puree to the pan and stir it well.
Combine salt, turmeric and chili powder with 1/4 cup of water and add to the pan. Cook everything together for about 12-15 minutes interchanging between low and medium heat while occasionally stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan.. The sauce would have got thicker and the oil will start to separate. The potatoes would be almost cooked.
Add the peas and about 2 cups of water to the pan. Simmer at medium heat for about 10-12 minutes or till the potatoes and the peas are cooked and there is still some sauce left. It is not going to be a dry dish. There should be enough sauce to mop it off with some flatbread or have it with rice.
If you are using the cream/half and half add it now. Add the garam masala if you are using it and simmer for a another 2 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro/coriander and pepper flakes.
Serve immediately with flat bread or over rice.
(If you are not serving immediately, you might need to reheat with some more water as the sauce usually is soaked up by the potatoes as it sits. Add a cup of water and simmer for about 7-10 minutes)
A warm spicy bowl of Aloo Matar and some bread makes a perfect meal. I usually serves some Raita (yogurt with veggies or fruits) and may be a salad on the side. A very comforting dish on a chilly night.
Sending this to Susan’s MLLA #28 hosted by Divya of Dilse.
Related Posts:
How to: Basic Curry Sauce and a Potato Curry
Aloo Palak/Spinach with Potatoes
Aloo Gobi/Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes
Dal Palak/Lentils with Spinach
I love it and think it will be a hit with some phulko luchi too. Great photography, Soma, like always.
Such a flavourful curry looks yummy
A great potato curry! Yummy.
cheers,
Rosa
Such a delectable aloo matar, wat a beautiful dish with stunning clicks..
Love the presentation Soma, and curry looks great!!
This curry dish looks fabulous…love the way you presented…SO cute the little bowl 🙂
Are we getting a bowl of this, each? ;P …delicious. Love this curry.
Delicious. I love curry. I like to add raisins to my curry dishes since they round out the heat so well.
Just today I have eaten a curry with potatoes but not peas. Really looks beautiful and healthy 🙂
All the best,
Gera
Delicious looking vegetables!!
Soma that looks AAHMAZING!! The pepper flakes on top of that aloo matar makes it even more inviting. Growing up I would only eat dishes made with potatoes and this was my mom’s all time go to curry 🙂
Very appealing and that piece of slate tile looks gr8 too. Tell me where u got it from, I want one too.. 🙂
Thanks! That slate tile is something which I picked up from a lake side in Oklahoma.
curry looks perfect
This really does look like a comfort food – potatoes, plus cinnamon and garam masala. What is it about those spices that just comforts the soul? Gorgeous photos.
wow so flavourful! Gorgeous presentation.
Love the combo. Beautiful pics and a very nice presentation! I’m addicted to your site.
Hey! Just stopping by to let you know we’re giving away a signed Sandra Lee cookbook with 1,001 recipes over at Chew on That! We’d love for you to enter! The giveaway ends on Halloween, so hurry over! 🙂
I love your recipes! I cant wait to try this one. Do you think you could make a spicy vegetable jambalaya? Similar to this http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/recipes/main-courses/vegetarian-jambalaya
The bright green peas look so great with the potatoes. This sounds like great comfort food!
Mmm my favorite curries are comforting simple vegetable curries like this. The sprinkling of pepper flakes over the top adds wonderful color to your photos. Love it!
This looks beautiful Soma. I adore aloo mutter and yours definitely looks fabulous! Love those bites of naan sitting prettily besides the gravy. That’s surely tempting!
This was fantastic!!!!! thanks for the recipe!
This was easy-to-follow and good! I wanted to make it spicier though–is there a special brand/kind of chili powder I should get at the store, or is there just plain “chili powder?” Thanks for any advice!
[…] when root vegetables and frozen peas are the most available. Luckily, while rummaging through eCurry, I came across Aloo Matar, an Indian dish featuring a mixture of potatoes and peas. Comforting and […]
looks delicious and fabulous
I was SOOO thrilled and inspired by finding your website! I had to wait all week to have the time to make this. It turned out very well! I didn’t have whole spices, or a piece of ginger, so I had to improvise a bit (how much bottled ginger puree is an inch???) Anyway, my tummy is all warm an happy for having given this a try and I will definitely be trying many of your other recipes. Thank you!!!
Thank you SO much!!
follow up – absolutely wonderful the next day too! 🙂 I am going to share it (and your website) with my best friends tonight! I am looking forward to my next cooking adventure with you 🙂
Thanks again 🙂
Beautiful pics Soma!
Love all your recipes, every time I see an email from your blog my heart skips a beat…such beautiful and wonderful stories/recipes/pictures.