Friday 26 February 2010

Aloo Matar Rassewala / Potatoes and Green Peas curry




Lots of things going on these days. Life sure has a way of reminding you that not all will stay hunky dory. Not always. So even before we have had enough of our whatever little good time we get, there comes a jolt that brings us back to reality.

And I find myself taking solace in Mirakkel ( an absolutely wonderful Bengali stand up comedy show on Zee Bangla ) more and more ... just so that I know I am still humane enough ... that I can still forget reality and laugh for an hour.

I'll not write anything about the blast in a favourite hangout ... the German Bakery ... in the quiet lanes of Koregaon Park of my city.
The reason being too many things are being written and said.

I for a change will just say quiet ... and keep trying to figure out why the release of a movie is so important than the lives of innocent citizens. And why was the police, patrolling KP for so long, sent to guard multiplexes so that a movie can be released ... so that some already filthy rich could make some more money. Citizens life be damned.
No ... I'd rather stay mum.
Cook. Serve. Eat. Live.


And to add to my woes, my TP crashed. Finally got it back whole. And fell in love with the "Mark all as read" button.
Much as I would have loved to visit all the beautiful blogs and leave lines, the number on my reader overwhelmed me and I scurried to get rid of it. But I do promise to start visiting all of you again.

On a slightly happier note, I did get to make a small trip to the beach in the past long weekend ( post coming up in my travelogue soon ). After almost a whole rough year, I got to breath awhile.

Coming to today's dish, it is a family favourite that is ridiculously simple to make yet wonderfully flavourful. A huge help when you have family or close friends visiting. Makes a cosy quick dinner or a very filling breakfast too. This dish is made very regularly at my in-laws place. I have added fresh green peas as they are in season. Can be skipped too.



Need : Boiled potatoes, green peas [optional],
a pinch of haldi / turmeric powder, a pinch of hing / asafoetida, a little jeera / cumin seeds,
a little red chilli powder, cooking oil, a pinch amchur powder / dried mango powder,
salt to taste, water to cook.

How to : Skin the potatoes and lightly crush them by hand. Do not mash them completely ... do keep a few medium sized pieces.

Heat oil in a wok or kadahi. Add the jeera. When it starts to splutter add a little hing ( if you like the flavour of hing, you can add enough to make the dish pungent ... else keep it to just a little).

Add the potatoes, the peas and toss around a little on high heat.

Add the haldi, chilli, amchur powder and salt. Add enough water to cover the potato pieces.

Lower heat, cover and cook.

Let it stay on heat and simmer for a longish time. Do remove the cover and check in between if it needs more water. If the gravy is turning thickish, then add more water and cook for some more time.

The more you boil this, the better the flavours are absorbed by the potatoes.



Done!
Pair it off with hot rotis or parathas or puri/luchi.
This tastes best when it has been kept over for a day or overnight. Try it out this weekend for brunch or dinner. :-)

TC all !!



34 comments:

  1. Potatoes & Green peas always a yum combo,looks gud!

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  2. love the curry clicks..nice and tasty..would taste great with parathas or nice hot rotis.

    www.foodlyrics.com

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  3. Sharmila,
    aloo rasa subzi,yum I can have it with kochuri/luchi any time.
    and ours society as such is hero worshipping( we can make and break at the same day thats another story), so we like to worship cine stars as our ideal.So,lot of our time and effort goes into copying them and following them.When Sachin scores 100 we go mad and when he scores 0 we even go more mad LOL..and if a normal Indian citizen is frisked at the time of US entry that makes no headline news.But when SRK or any celebrity gets frisked it always make big news.To sum up -everything which is saleable is always given high priorty or even Z security LOL..
    anyways good that you are back again .
    hugs and smiles

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  4. Sharmila, first up it is nice to see you again.

    Second we take solace and comfort in these simple but delightful dishes. Love the looks of it and I am sure it offered loads of comfort.

    When I asked my mom why she did not hear more about the historical snow in our parts, she said the airwaves were taken exclusively by some movie star (yes the same one that Jaya talks about in her comment I think). Let those idiots be damned.

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  5. lovely potatoes curry! Again looks so wonderful...
    I guess the key is boiling it for a long time. I make this with tomatoes and sometimes it tastes great and sometimes it is OK. I guess the key is how long you boil it. Thanks for the tip...

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  6. YUM! Great for Parathas, gravy looks so good.

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  7. Nice combination dear....Curry looks mouthwatering and creamy...

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  8. Thanks Sharmilee! :-)

    Thanks Deepa! :-)

    Thanks Jaya! And yes, I have boycotted not only MNIK but SRK too for good. :-)

    Thanks ISG! You are right .. but I also know no amount of damning will get the innocent lives lost back. How can one movie star's movie be so important than so many citizens lives ... beats me.

    Thanks Somoo! Yes, the more you boil it the more tasty it becomes. Notice how little or no masala has been used. :-)

    Thanks Asha! :-)

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  9. er modhye ami bodhay 2-3 bar ese ghure gelam tomar page theke. bhabchilam ki holo anekdin online dekhina tomay. jaihok tomra bhalo acho jene bhalo lagche.
    this blast has made me sick Sharmila. you wont believe I have stopped going out with the baby in the evening. am always scared that on that next turn itself some gunmen are hiding...none thinks of the common men.
    anyways, the alu mattar is lovely. is our family fav too. love to read your posts so keep on posting.

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  10. Lovely dish - so perfect for puris!!

    Apu

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  11. You've been missed, Sharmila.:) Love the look of that aloo-matar curry. Would love to scoop that up with some fluffy puris!

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  12. Hello Sharmila - it's good to see you back in action. The dish looks inviting - am planning to make it for dinner today. Thanks for this!

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  13. What a perfect aaloo matar..looks nice..can be paired with paratha..yumm

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  14. Dear Sharmila
    This dish is very new to me...alu matar is common dish...I mean your recipe is very new
    I take note and will remember too that you are coming out with a travelogue, so dont forget
    have a nice weekend

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  15. Thanks Tina! :-)

    Thanks Sayantani! It is indeed difficult not to be scared these days. Will surely keep on posting. :-)

    Thanks Apu! :-)

    Thanks Vaishali! They do go great with puris. :-)

    Thanks Vaishnavi! Am sure you'll like it. :-)

    Thanks A2Z! :-)

    Thanks Ushnishda! I already have a travelogue .. will just make a new post. :-)

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  16. Sharmila

    Onekdin por tomake dekhe khub bhalo laglo. Sottiy life e khushhi majhe majhe khuje nite hoy, emniy ar paoa jai na.
    Ami ekdin Mirakkel dekhlam YouTube e, darun!! Ami emniteo Mir er fan chilam jokhon prothom FM shuru holo Banglay. Rituparno niye ekta episode dekhlam, shomoy hoy ni tarpor ar dekhar.

    Rassewala shunei bhalo lagche, mone hoy khub ymm

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  17. Hi Sharmi,

    So good to see you back with this all time favorite of I should say all Indians :-)
    Love it with roti/parantha/luchi for breakfast...yummm!!

    I echo Jaya's words...some are made a thrown in the clouds to sit on and obviously get used to it!!
    I dont find any reason to bring them up for discussion unless of course normal life gets disrupted due to them!

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  18. Thanks Sandeepa! Amio Mir er biraat fan ... Mirakkel 1 thekei follow korchi. Shudhu Rituparno noy aro onek ke o darun mimic kore. :-)

    Thanks Joyeeta! I think a bomb blast killing people is enough disruption else wouldn't have given place in my blog. :-)

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  19. I agree with you Sharmi...and I had meant to type throne in my earlier comment.

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  20. Nice to see you back! Never seen "Mira..." and really don't care about movie stars.

    But I do love this rasewala dish! Rice or paratha and some achar. perfect.

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  21. This is one of my faves too, Sharmila! Simple, tasty and so versatile.

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  22. This is my kids favorite curry .Goes well hot rotis and puris.New to your space.Do drop by
    http://padhuskitchen.blogspot.com/

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  23. I just made this curry yesterday for lunch :) One of my fav and so easy! Wishing you and your family a very happy holi :)

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  24. Sharmila,
    wish you a very happy holi
    hugs and smiles

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  25. love the pics..great recipe .perfect with hot chapatis

    www.myyatradiary.blogspot.com

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  26. :-) Joyee.

    Thanks Soma! Give Mirakkel a try sometime ... you'll never regret it. :-)

    Thanks Harini! :-)

    Thanks Padhu! And welcome. :-)

    Thanks Parita! Wish you the same too. :-)

    Thanks Jaya! Happy holi to you too. :-)

    Thanks Arti! :-)

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  27. :-) Joyee.

    Thanks Soma! Give Mirakkel a try sometime ... you'll never regret it. :-)

    Thanks Harini! :-)

    Thanks Padhu! And welcome. :-)

    Thanks Parita! Wish you the same too. :-)

    Thanks Jaya! Happy holi to you too. :-)

    Thanks Arti! :-)

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  28. Aloo is my all time favourite. Can't ever think of giving it up. The reason I dread diabetes is that if I ever have it, I will have to give potatoes up for good and for me that is as good as not living.
    Good to see you post. On a more sombre note, let me tell you that I grew up during the height of Khalistan terrorism in Delhi and it was the worst time. No amount of police protection can ever stop an evil mind. If it wasn't MNIK, it would have been something else.
    But this is a long discussion and I don't want to take up your space.
    I hope the people affected in this tragedy find some peace in their lives.

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  29. Yeah, that sucks, doesn't it? I'm now in the midst of all the drama over little things in a way, ignorance was really bliss before!) and it bothers me so much! The priorities of people in authority are so skewed. And the things that hneed to be given importance are just shrugged away.

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  30. Happy holi, Aloo Mattar looks very yummy, saucy and delicious!!! Lovely color!!

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  31. You can write as much as you want to here Aparna ... no probs. And you are right ... it would have been something else. Guess I just needed something to blame it all on.
    And don't worry ... u'll never get diabetes. Besides, moderation is the keyword ... a distant cousin has diabetes and she does eat the good ole aloo once in a while. :-)

    I know what you mean dear Vani. It is always difficult for those who have stayed in the US ... this irregularity, callous attitude to people, negligence ... and the 'look the other way' attitude. All I can say is "Chin up". :-)

    Thanks Ramya! Happy Holi to you too! :-)

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  32. Hey Sharmila, hope all's well now. You have me worried. Completely agree with you on MNIK versus GB. And then there was an armed at robbery at Churchill, Colaba a couple of days later.

    The alu korai shooti looks so tempting

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  33. Thanks Kalyan! Things are limping back to normal here ... 1 casualty every day ... and it is indeed difficult not to feel scared. A cup of coffee and a bite with friends at cafes is turning out to be too expensive.

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  34. Thanks for the simple and delicious receipe ....:)

    Please stop by @ kitchenrooster.blogspot.com

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