Aloo Gobi Matar is a delectable side dish prepared with potatoes, cauliflower and peas seasoned with Indian spices and served with either hot roti or rice.
Table of Contents
Aloo Gobi Matar
Aloo Gobi Matar literally translates to potatoes, cauliflower and peas, but it is much more that the three vegetables combined in a pan. People from the North of India widely regard this dish as a comfort food.
A combination of common Indian spices is used to prepare this vegetarian dish in an onion-tomato gravy base.
You can serve this as a side dish for ghee laden rotis or jeera rice or just plain rice.
This recipe is a dry or stir-fry version of Aloo Gobi Matar, with a few spices that I have readily available in my pantry. For a gravy version of this dish, please refer to the section – Prep Work.
The first time I heard about and saw Aloo Gobi was in the movie Bend it like Beckham. The mother teaches the daughter how to make Aloo Gobi and gol-gol rotis while the main character was on a time-out for some incident with her travelling abroad without telling her parents.
Ingredients for Aloo Gobi Matar
As the title indicates, you will need potatoes, cauliflower and peas. Please refer to the recipe card below for measurements. You will need equal quantities of potatoes and cauliflower florets and a handful of peas to add colour and flavour.
The ingredients for the base sauce are onions and tomatoes. You will also need finely chopped garlic, ginger and thinly sliced green chillies. The dry spices I have used are just bay leaves and jeera, but you can add cloves and star anise too.
The spice powders that I have used in this recipe are turmeric powder, red chilli powder, jeera powder and coriander powder.
For the garnish, you will need finely chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice. You can also add garam masala as a final garnish.
How to make Aloo Gobi Matar
Prep Work
Cut off the leaves from the cauliflower and pluck out equal sized florets from the cauliflower. Add them to a bowl of hot water and salt. This will help in removing any dirt or worms that might live in the crevices of the cauliflower. Leave aside for 10-15 minutes.
Peel the potatoes, and diced them into chunks similar to that of the cauliflower florets. Cutting them in equal sizes helps in making sure that all the vegetables cook evenly.
I mostly use frozen peas. But you may use fresh peas as well. If you are using frozen peas, take a handful and dunk it in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Frozen peas are already par-cooked before the freezing process, so you do not need to cook it for a long time.
If using fresh peas, you can add them add them along with the potatoes and onions in the initial cooking process.
Chop the onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Take the tomatoes and cut them into large chunks. Add them to a mixer and make a puree. Keep aside. If you are plannig to make this as a gravy, add 3 more tomatoes to the mixer for the puree.
Now, let’s make the Aloo Gobi Matar.
Cooking the Dish
Place a medium-sized pan on medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons of oil. Once the oil is warm, add the bay leaves and jeera. Toast it for 10-15 seconds.
Next, add the ginger, garlic, onions and green chillies. Saute them until the onions are soft. This will take 2-3 minutes.
Next, add the tomato puree and all the spice powders – turmeric, red chilli, jeera and coriander. Mix them all well and allow them to cook in a low flame with the pan covered. Give it another two minutes.
Now, add the cauliflower and potatoes. (If using fresh peas, add them now along with aloo and gobi). Mix all the ingredients well and season the dish with salt. Add 1/2 cup of water and close the lid for the vegetables to cook. Close the pan with a lid and allow it to steam cook for 8-10 minutes. The larges the pieces are, the longer it will take. (You might need to add more water if that is the case).
Remove a piece of the potato and cauliflower to check if they are cooked. If the potato and cauliflower are not cooked yet, add 1/4 cup more water and simmer for another minute or two.
Once you cook the potatoes and cauliflowers, add the thawed peas and mix well. Check for seasonings and let it cook with the lid open for another minute or two.
(If you are making a gravy version of the dish, check if there is enough tomato onion gravy base. If not, add a little more water to increase the quantity. You may also add some roasted besan if you have added too much water and you want to thicken the dish. )
Turn off the heat and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
Serve Aloo Gobi Matar as a side dish with ghee rotis, phulkas, jeera rice or plain rice.
Shelf Life and Storage
Eating hot off the pan Aloo gobi matar is the best, but I have to tell you that this dish tastes great even when cold. So they make a great lunch box recipe.
You can keep Aloo Gobi Matar on the counter for a couple of hours, but put it in the fridge soon after. You can store them in the fridge for up to 2 days. Once removed from the fridge, heat it up and consume it all during that meal. It’s best not to reheat it again.
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Recipe
Aloo Gobi Matar
Ingredients
- 3 Potatoes medium sized (250g)
- 300-400 g Cauliflower florets
- ½ cup Peas frozen
- 2 tsp Cooking Oil
- 1 tsp Jeera
- 1-2 Bay Leaves
- 1 Onion small, finely diced
- 1 tbsp Ginger finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Garlic finely chopped
- 1-2 Green Chillies vertically sliced
- 2 Tomatoes medium-sized, pureed
- 1 tsp Salt adjust accordingly
Spice Powders
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- ¾ tsp Red Chilli Powder
- ½ tsp Jeera Powder
- ½ tsp Coriander Powder
Garnish
- 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves finely chopped
- 1 Lemon juice
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower leaves off and pluck equal sized florets. Dunk them in a bowl of hot water and a teaspoon of salt. Peel the potatoes and dice them up in the same size as the cauliflower florets. Take a handful of frozen peas and add them to a bowl of hot water as well.
- Chop your onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic. Puree the tomatoes and keep aside.
- Place a medium-sized pan on medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil. Once the oil is warm, add the jeera and bay leaves. Toast for 10-15 seconds.
- Next, add the ginger, garlic, green chillies and onions. Saute them all together until the onions are soft.
- Now, add the tomato puree and all the spice powders – turmeric, red chilli, coriander and jeera. Mix all of them well and cook them with the pan closed for about two minutes.
- To this onion-tomato base mixture, add the cauliflower florets and potatoes. Mix well until all the pieces are coated with the base mixture. Add salt and mix again.
- Add 1/2 cup of water and close the pan with a lid. Let it cook for 8-10 minutes. Check the water level in the pan regularly while checking the progress of the doneness of the vegetables as well.
- Once the vegetables have cooked, add the thawed peas to the pan and mix well. Let all the ingredients cook without the lid for a minute or two while continuosly stirring.
- Turn off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice.
- Serve Aloo Gobi Matar with rice or roti.
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