Shahi Aloo Matar | Potatoes and Peas in Rich Tomato Gravy

Making ‘No Onions, No Garlic’ recipes used to be a nightmare earlier, but these days I am finding them a lot easier to cook recipes without onion. When Thinking of making a subzi under the theme of gourmet subzi’s with smooth gravy, I came across this Shahi Aloo Matar recipe from Valli’s space. She had made this with just potatoes, but I had some peas in the freezer, so thought of making it with peas.

Why Potatoes and Peas – 

Aloo Matar / Potatoes and Peas is a classic combination when comes to subzi. One of our ever favorite Aloo matar is the ‘Benarasi Aloo Matar’ which also happens to be a ‘no onion, no garlic’ recipe. Making more and more dishes without onions are working out great for fasting days or Navarathri time, when I try to avoid onions and garlic. Earlier I used to resort to making just South Indian recipes, but after getting to know many similar recipes without onion, I have the ease of making rotis as well.

This recipe is quite rich and creamy as it has cashews and milk. The acidity from the tomatoes is well balanced by the cashews and milk. It was super quick to make and we can use the same recipe to make cauliflower, paneer, bell pepper and many similar vegetables. We can also use a bit of all the vegetables and make it into a mixed vegetable dish.

Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – 40 minutes
Difficulty level – easy
Recipe adapted from – Spice your Life

Ingredients to make Shahi Aloo Matar – (serves 6)

• Aloo / Potatoes – 4 large
• Peas – 1 cup (I used frozen peas)
• Tomato puree – from 4 large tomatoes
• Milk – ½ cup
• Chili powder – 1 ½ tsp
• Dhania Jeera Powder / Coriander cumin powder – 2 tsp
• Garam Masala – ½ tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Bay leaf – 1
• Salt – To taste
• Oil / butter – 3 tbsp
• Cilantro – to garnish

To be ground in to a paste –

• Cashews – 10 to 12 (soaked in warm water)

Masala paste to be ground –

• Cinnamon – 1 inch
• Cardamom – 2
• Cloves – 6
• Pepper – ½ tsp
• Ginger – 1 inch piece
• Yogurt – ¼ cup

Shahi Aloo Matar

Procedure to make Shahi Aloo Matar –

• Soak the cashew nuts in warm water for few minutes and grind it into a smooth paste and keep it aside. Grind the tomatoes into puree and keep it aside.
• Masala Paste – Add all the dry ingredients mentioned in the list to the small jar of the blender and grind to a coarse powder. Now add the yogurt and grind again to make a smooth mixture. Keep this aside as well.

Shahi Aloo Matar

• Peel the potatoes and cut them into bite size cubes. Add the potato cubes to boiling water and cook until they are fork tender. Do not overcook the potatoes.
• When the potatoes are almost cooked, add the frozen peas to the water as well to cook for couple of minutes. Drain the vegetables and keep it ready.

Shahi Aloo Matar

• In a pan, heat the oil/butter and add the cumin seeds and the bay leaf. When the cumin seeds crackle, add the ground masala mixture and cook until the raw smell disappears. This might take about 5 to 6 minutes in medium flame.

Shahi Aloo Matar

• Now add the pureed tomatoes and cook for about 7 to 8 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked. The mixture will splatter all over when cooking, so keep the pan covered when cooking.
• Add the spice powders; chili powder, turmeric powder, dhania-jeera powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well and cook until the oil separates from the masala. This will take a good 10 minutes in medium flame.
• Next add the cooked potatoes and peas and coat with the masala.

Shahi Aloo Matar

• Add the cashew nut paste and the milk and mix well. Adjust the consistency of the subzi by adding water if needed.

Shahi Aloo Matar

• Cover the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes for the flavors to combine.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with roti, chapathi or rice.

Shahi Aloo Matar