Potatoes and peas nestled in a tomato curry steeped in warming spices, this Aloo Matar is by far my favourite way to indulge in the spud.
Using new potatoes means no peeling is necessary and the addition of frozen peas makes yet another shortcut to getting a meal on the table quick.
Enjoy with a flatbread of your choice.
Ingredients (feeds 4-6)
2 tbsp oil
Half tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 inch ginger, finely grated
500g new potatoes, washed and quartered
4 medium ripe tomatoes chopped or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Half tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp Kashmiri Chilli powder or Hot Paprika
1 cup of hot water
4 handfuls peas
1 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
Method
Bring the oil to heat on medium high in a large sauté or frying pan. When it’s hot, toss in the cumin seeds. As they sizzle up, mix in the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 10 minutes.
Now mix in the potatoes for two minutes. Add the tomatoes, the turmeric, coriander and chilli powders and stir well for another five minutes. Now add enough hot water to cover the potatoes and cook, covered for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time.
When the time is up, mix in the peas and garam masala and simmer until the peas are cooked through. Add salt to taste and enjoy hot. If you want more curry, just stir though hot water until you get the consistency of your choice.
Mallika Basu is an Indian food writer and columnist. See her recipes here and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @MallikaBasu_
