Aloo Matar – Indian Curried Potatoes and Peas

Posted by Jia

Mar 3

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Eating frugally means being willing to try new foods. Often this means being willing to experiment with vegetarian and even vegan entrees (even if you and your family still count yourselves as omnivores). Often this means being willing to eat dishes that come from different cultures and lands.

As I mentioned not too long ago, the family and I love Indian food. But eating out doesn’t really fit into a frugal lifestyle. As a result I’ve taught myself to make an ever growing variety of dishes, similar to those we might find at the local lunch buffet. One of our absolute favorites is Matar Paneer, but lacking a local Indian grocery to buy the Paneer (and being a bit too intimidated yet to try my hand at making these lovely cheese cubes from scratch) I have yet to be able to make the dish. But, the other day I had a craving and so I made something similar – a mix of potatoes and peas in a lovely tomato based curry.

It is a wonderful example of comfort food being good for you too. The soft potatoes, the sweet peas, the rich sauce – yum!

12 servings

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter*
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1.4 tsp coriander seed

1 large Spanish onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
5 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups peeled cubed potatoes (boiled until fork tender)
2 14.5 cans of diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp fresh or freeze-dried cilantro
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp turmeric

4 cups frozen peas

3/4 cup water

Directions:

Heat butter and oil together over medium heat until butter is melted. Add fennel and coriander and cook until fragrant.

Add onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add ginger and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes until softened and garlic is beginning to turn golden.

Add potatoes, tomatoes, and spices. Mix well and allow to cook for about 30 minutes.

Add frozen peas, cook until fully defrosted and heated through.

Add water at this point, if desired, to create more of a sauce.

12 servings

Serving:

This is filling enough, and the sauce thick enough, that you do not need a bed of rice to enjoy this meal. Just spoon in into a bowl and call it dinner.

However, a bed of fragrant jasmine rice is a perfect addition.

And, if you can get your hands on some Naan to go with it, even better.

Make it a feast with some Bengan Bhartha and Dal.

Nutritional Information:

Calories 232.3
Total Fat 7.3 g
Saturated Fat 3.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.3 g
Cholesterol 5.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 37.5 g
Dietary Fiber 6.9 g
Sugars 6.4 g
Protein 6.3 g

_{estimate via Recipe calculator via Sparkpeople.com}

Enjoy!

Jia

* Feel free to eliminate the butter and use all oil if you are looking for a vegan dish.

Shared at Simple Lives Thursday at A Little Bit Of Spain In Iowa, Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet, Frugal Food Thursday at Frugal Follies, Full Plate Thursdays at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Fight Back Friday at The Food Renegade, Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things In Life, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum, Fun With Food Friday at Paisley Passions, & Fat Camp Friday at Mangoes And Chutney

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Filed under: Food

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12 comments

Comment by Kelly on March 3, 2011 at 9:27 pm

Oh. My. Gods. I LOVE Aloo Matar, and I may actually have to try this recipe very soon… like, this weekend. I’m not even hungry and I want some NOW. LOL I think I probably love Indian food at least as much as you and your family does.

Comment by Jia on March 3, 2011 at 10:00 pm

Kelly

This is a particular favorite. I always have the ingredients on hand, it cooks up quick and oh sooooo good. Always great to meet another fan of the joys of Indian food. Stay tuned .. eventually I will make paneer too

Comment by Miz Helen on March 4, 2011 at 6:59 pm

Hi Jia,
Your dish of Potatoes and Peas looks delicious. I just love all the seasons you have in the recipe. I can almost smell it cooking. Thank you so much for sharing at Full Plate Thursday and please come back!
Miz Helen´s last [type] ..Full Plate Thursday 3-3-11

Comment by Jia on March 4, 2011 at 9:20 pm

Miz Helen

I love this dish and luckily the family enjoys it as well. Its one of those dishes that I can toss together with very little notice and feed a crowd on the cheap.

Comment by Lori @ Paisley Passions on March 5, 2011 at 5:52 pm

Looks like it would be fun to try for something really different for dinner Thanks for linking up to Fun w/Food Friday @ Paisley Passions. Hope you stop by again soon

~Lori @ Paisley Passions
Lori @ Paisley Passions´s last [type] ..Fun w- Food Friday Linky Party

Comment by erica on March 5, 2011 at 9:05 pm

made this tonight for me and j. was a big hit! we put a bit of brown sugar in it (a teaspoon or so in our individual bowls) to take “bite” out of some spice combos. good stuff! thanks for sharing the recipe; it’s good over basmati rice, too and i’ll wager also over quinoa! cheers!

Comment by Rebeca
Twitter: RebecaLynda
on March 5, 2011 at 9:06 pm

Oh my… I LOVE Indian food but am always intimidated by it but I think I could actually make this

Comment by Jia on March 5, 2011 at 9:45 pm

Rebeca

This is really a very easy dish. I was always intimidated by Indian food myself and can tell you honestly that it would make an easy first attempt to cook it at home.

Comment by Jia on March 5, 2011 at 9:51 pm

Erica

I never thought of adding sugar to it, but I can see how it would work, I may have to give it a try. I’m glad that you and J enjoyed it.

We’ve had it over basmati rice (tho’ personally I just love Jasmine rice) and I have to agree it would be really yummy over quinoa as well.

Comment by Jia on March 5, 2011 at 9:54 pm

Lori

I’m blessed with kids (and a hubby) that enjoy food from a wide range of cultures. So, it’s always fun to try a new ethnic dish. An added plus is that so many of them are full of healthy and frugal ingredients that they fit our budget as well.

Comment by Correen
Twitter: foodloverweb
on March 6, 2011 at 10:17 am

Perfection in a pot…nom nom! I even have a couple of things on hand, except for a couple of the spices. Which are now on my shopping list Thanks for the recipe and for popping by the blog today.
Correen´s last [type] ..7 Meals for 7 Days and a Spare

Comment by Jia on March 6, 2011 at 9:26 pm

Correen

I add new spices to my collection once every couple of months or so: a jar here, a bottle there is easier to absorb in the budget than buying 5 or 6 at one time in order to make a specific dish. I hope that you come by and let us know how you liked it if you ever get the chance to make it.