🍛 Curry · Level 1
Aloo Matar
The most practical Indian curry — potato and peas in a simple spiced tomato sauce. 30 minutes. The Tuesday night dinner of every North Indian household.
The most practical Indian curry — potato and peas in a simple spiced tomato sauce. 30 minutes. The Tuesday night dinner of every North Indian household.
Aloo matar is the most practical of all Indian curries — every ingredient is available everywhere, it takes 30 minutes, and it provides a complete meal with roti. Its simplicity is both its appeal and its challenge: with only potato, peas and a basic masala, there is nowhere to hide poor technique. The potato must be properly cooked and slightly golden, the masala must be fully bhunoed, and the gravy must be thick enough to coat rather than pool.
Fry cumin seeds in oil. Add onion, cook 10 minutes golden. Add ginger-garlic paste, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and all spices except garam masala. Bhuno until oil separates — 8 minutes. Add potato cubes — fry in the masala 3 minutes to coat and lightly seal.
Frying the raw potato cubes in the hot masala for 3 minutes before adding water performs two functions: the masala compounds coat and begin absorbing into the cut potato surfaces, and the Maillard browning begins on the potato edges. This pre-coating means the potato absorbs masala flavour more deeply during the subsequent braising than potato added directly to liquid.
Add 200ml water. Cover and cook on medium heat 10 minutes until potato is nearly cooked through. Add peas — cook 5 more minutes. Add garam masala and salt. Adjust consistency. Finish with fresh coriander.
Peas added at the 10-minute mark (when the potato is 80% cooked) experience only 5 minutes of simmering — preserving their colour and sweetness. Chlorophyll in peas degrades rapidly above 70°C — the 5-minute window keeps them green and sweet rather than the dull grey-green of overcooked peas. The garam masala added in the last minute preserves its volatile top-note aromatics.