By Kathleen Little

I adore eating international food, especially Indian cuisine, but it can be hard to find and even harder to reproduce at home. Aloo Matar is easy to make, fairly quick, delicious, crowd-pleasing, and cost effective. It may also give you a reason to explore some new spices!

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
• 1 medium white onion chopped small but not minced
• 5 cloves of whole peeled garlic
• 1 medium tomato (I prefer Romas)
• 1 to 1 ½ inches of fresh ginger root
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon turmeric 
• 5 medium potatoes chopped into ½-inch cubes
• 1 plus teaspoon of salt
• ⅔ cup of water
• ½ cup of coconut milk
• 1 cup of fresh, defrosted from frozen, or drained canned peas
• Freshly chopped cilantro to taste
• Optional - Fried eggs

Instructions:

1. In a blender, mix the garlic, ginger, and tomato into a puree. Leave the mixture in the blender to the side. If the puree is too thick a little bit of water can be used to loosen it up. 
2. In a large skillet that can be easily covered, sautee the onions with the cumin powder and a pinch of salt over medium-high heat until the onions become translucent (about 5 - 7 minutes). 
3. Add the blender puree, curry powder, garam masala, and turmeric to the skillet and cook for another 5 - 7 minutes while the mixture thickens. 
4. Add the potatoes, water, coconut milk, and another pinch of salt to the skillet and cook covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add peas, adjust salt and seasoning, then cook uncovered for another 10 minutes or until the dish reaches your desired consistency.
6. Serve hot garnished with cilantro. Eat as a side dish or add a fried egg to make it an entree. 

Tips and Tricks:

• I find that the best potatoes are all-purpose, Yukon gold, or even baking potatoes. Smaller potatoes like reds and mashers are too creamy and cannot withstand the cooking process without breaking down into a stewy mess. 

• Wait until towards the end of the preparation to add the bulk of your salt. You might be surprised by how much sodium this recipe can withstand, but keep in mind that potatoes suck up seasonings. Also, many curry powders and garam masala components can give a bland taste without the help of salt. While it is in no way accurate to the Indian nature of this dish, I often replace my salt with Creole seasoning for added zing and spice. I do this in many recipes and should probably just buy stock in Tony Chachere’s.

• You can absolutely replace the use of coconut milk for any other unsweetened dairy substitute, actual milk, half and half, or even heavy whipping cream. If you’d prefer, you can even omit the creamy ingredient altogether and use more water, vegetables stock, or chicken broth instead.

• Whatever liquid you choose, once your puree is in the pan, add that liquid to the empty blender and mix it to grab up all of that remaining deliciousness before adding it to the skillet.

Eat Well, Friends!