Punjab inspired, but easy to make with things you already have on hand


Once, when I was just beginning my vegetarian adventure, I found myself in a town where I could not find a single vegetarian restaurant.
As a matter of fact, I had trouble finding a restaurant that served anything that didn't have some sort of fried meat as a part of the ingredient list.
Determined not to give in to temptations of the flesh (as it were), I made my way to a convenience store and thought I'd just get some fruit or cereal to have for dinner, rather than eat meat. There, I found, much to my delight, some pre-packaged Indian meals. I grabbed a variety of the bags and had fairly good food for the remainder of my stay.
I'm sure those pre-packaged foods were full of preservatives and artificial colors and flavors, but they didn't have meat, so they served their purpose.
One of my favorites was Aloo Matar, a Punjabi dish with potatoes (aloo) and peas (matar) in a spicy sauce. When I got home, I tried to recreate the recipe as best I could. As with most recipes, there are probably as many variations as there are people who make the dish. As long as the key ingredients are there, you could spice it up (or down) any way you'd like. I have one friend who uses a tomato sauce based sauce and another who piles on the curry in this recipe.
Start with this recipe and change it up to fit your taste.
Aloo Matar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped
4 green chilies, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 cup peas
4 potatoes, cubed (don't peel)
1 tablespoons coriander powder
1/2 cup hot water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium level and crackle the cumin seeds. Add the onion and garlic powder, ginger and green chilies. Fry the mixture just until the raw smell of ginger subsides a bit.
  • Add the peas and potato cubes. Mix well. Add the hot water and half of the coriander. Mix well and the whole thing to a bring to a boil.
  • Cook - on low -  for about 15 minutes (just until the potatoes are soft).
  • Mix in the lemon juice and the rest of the coriander.
Vegan.

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