© Ashy Macbean 2002.
Aloo muttar
'Potatoes and green peas' in English. 'Aloo' is Hindi for potato and 'muttar'....guess what 'muttar' is in English. In India, menus in touristy places are often printed in English, but the names of some dishes are merely transliterated from Hindi rather than translated. This is one of them. I don't think I've ever seen 'Potatoes and green peas' on a menu in India. That's why I've called this recipe 'Aloo muttar'. Do you think I'm being pretentious? I don't care.
There are as many variations on this recipe theme as there are restaurants in India. The important thing is to have potatoes and peas in it. Everything else is optional. I'm going to give you a version with yoghurt in it. I think it goes especially well with the taste of the peas. Yoghurt often curdles when you add it to cooking food. I was once advised to stabilize the yoghurt by mixing a few drops of lemon juice into it before adding it to the pan. If you've got a lemon handy you might want to try this but don't be disappointed if the yoghurt still curdles. Mine usually does.
There are quite a lot of spices listed here. If you have a fully stocked spice cupboard that won't be a hassle, but if you don't, don't go out and buy everything on the list. Just buy one or two or use whatever you've got. Remember, this is Ashy's vegetarian cookbook, not 'Master Chef'.
Ingredients
3 or 4 potatoes
1 tin of drained and rinsed peas or a couple of handfuls of frozen
1 onion
1 mug of yoghurt
1 tsp. of coriander seed
Half a tsp. of cumin seed
A pinch of anise seeds
1 tsp. black mustard seeds
Half a tsp. of red chilli powder
Half a tsp. garam masala
Salt
Oil
Chop the potatoes into 3-4 cm pieces and chop the onion finely.
Heat a frying pan until it's really hot then roast the coriander, cumin and
anise seeds for a few seconds. Pour them into a mortar (or pestle - whichever
one is the bowl - I always forget) and add oil to the pan. Throw the whole mustard
seeds in and add the onions a few seconds later. Stir and allow them fry for
a few minutes while you pound the roasted spices. Add the pounded spices along
with the potatoes and stir again. Turn the heat down a bit and cover the pan.
After Five or ten minutes add the peas, yoghurt, chilli, garam masala and salt.
Stir and cover again. Cook until the potatoes are tender.
more
beans and pulses recipes
more
potato recipes
more
thali recipes