Food Stories is a column in which Best of Vegan community members share recipes from their cultures and personal stories connected to those dishes. Today, Priya Narayanan of @spices.and.spoons shares five of her vegan Diwali recipes, including this Vegan Aloo Mattar.
This recipe was featured in this week’s Culture Tuesday column. Click here to see the full article.
Aloo mattar is a spicy potato (aloo) and pea (mattar) dish in which the potatoes and peas are simmered in a spicy sauce. The sauce is cooked with onions, garlic, ginger, aromatic herbs, and spices, green chillies, turmeric, chili powder, tomatoes, and salt. The sauce can be served light or thickened by mashing some of the potatoes and peas added to it.
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized potatoes - cubed
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 medium-sized purple onion - finely chopped
- 3 green chillies - finely chopped
- 2 medium-sized tomatoes - cubed
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- salt - to taste
- 1 cup water - to adjust consistency
Instructions
- In a pan, heat 1 tsp of a neutral-tasting oil.
- Add the mustard seeds to the pan and wait till they pop.
- Once they pop, add the cumin seeds, green chilies, ginger, and garlic paste. Saute on low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the onions and sauté until translucent.
- Add turmeric, coriander, and red chili powder. Sauté, stirring continuously to prevent burning, for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes, salt, and a ¼ cup of water. Cook for 5-6 minutes until tomatoes turn mushy and are well combined with the onions.
- Add cubed potatoes and another ¼ cup of water (if desired). Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Stir in the green peas. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes or until the peas are cooked through.
- Gently mash some of the potatoes with the back of a spatula or a potato masher. This will thicken the consistency of the sauce.
- Let the sauce cook down until it thickens to your desired consistency.
- Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and serve with pooris, naan, or roti.
Text, recipe & photography by Priya Narayanan (@spices.and.spoons).
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