Aloo matar (potato and pea curry)
Tender potatoes and sweet peas in a gingery, spiced tomato gravy, an everyday Indian favorite that costs next to nothing.
- 50 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.43 a serving
- 560 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1½ cups frozen peas
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2¼ cups water
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1½ cups water
Each serving has about 560 calories, 18 g protein, 102 g carbs and 9 g fat, and costs about $2.43 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No Yukon Gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice, then bring it with 2¼ cups water and ½ teaspoon salt in a over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, turn to low and cook 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the onion, the garlic, the ginger and the potatoes.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the cumin for 20 seconds, then the onion, and cook until , 6 to 7 minutes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Stir in the garlic and ginger for 1 minute, then the turmeric, coriander, paprika and cayenne for 30 seconds.
Medium heat
Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, until thick and the oil starts to pool at the edges, about 5 minutes.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: When you see little shiny beads of oil around the edge, the tomatoes are cooked enough.Add the potatoes, 1½ cups water and 1½ teaspoons salt. .
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover and over medium-low until a fork slides into the potatoes, 15 to 18 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 16 min
Stir in the peas and garam masala and uncovered for 5 minutes. Mash a few potatoes against the pot to the gravy.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Serve over the rice with a spoonful of yogurt and the cilantro on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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