JEERA ALOO

Awaken your senses with the exotic flavor of Jeera Aloo. The stir-fried potatoes are tampered with the flavors of cumin seeds, asafoetida, mango powder and other dry spices. It's an excellent side dish that goes well with poori, roti or parantha. It's a real treat for all potato lovers!!

This fabulous dish can be made for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can also prepare this for fasting. It's a delicious recipe and can be prepared in minutes. It's definitely a lunch that you can put together in a tiffin, when you are in a rush and don't have much time in the morning.

The secret ingredient of this recipe is cumin seeds. While these light brown cumin seeds are small but enough to provide plenty of flavor. To infuse the entire dish with the cumin goodness, fry them in hot oil until they make crackling sound, but don't cook for a longer time, as they can burn easily. They are added at the beginning of the dish. Cumin has a deep and warm aroma with a complex profile and a unique property of enhancing the flavor of the dish.

This dish is usually prepared with boiled potatoes but I choose to use uncooked potatoes to get the nutty and crunchy flavor of the dish. I love eating Jeera Aloo with a bowl of fresh yogurt. I know, it's a weird food combination but it taste really good!! I think I really like this dish and I'll be making this one again soon.

Oh before I sign off, I want to thank you all for following me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. Thank you for all the love I keep receiving. It really motivates me a lot. Thank you once again.

Have a wonderful weekend and stop by again as next few weeks are shaping up to be good with few posts in a pipeline!
Much love
Anshika
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Jeera Aloo

Serves: 2-3 people
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Author: The Food Root


Ingredients

4-5 medium size - Potatoes, cut them into thin circular slices

2 tablespoon - Olive oil or clarified butter
Pinch of asafoetida

1 teaspoon - Cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon - Turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon - Red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon - Coriander powder
1 teaspoon - Salt or as per taste
1 teaspoon - Mango powder
1/4 teaspoon - Garam masala
2 green chillis, chopped

Chopped coriander leaves

Method

1. Wash the potatoes under the running water. Place the potato on a chopping board, than slice them into thin circular slices, using a sharp knife. Soak them into water so that they don't turn black.

2. Heat olive oil or clarified butter in a non-stick skillet. Add a pinch of asafoetida and cumin seeds. Sauté the cumin seeds until they crackle.

3 Now, lower down the heat and add all the dry spices (salt, turmeric, red chili and coriander) except mango powder and garam masala and stir it for few seconds.

4. Add the sliced potatoes, followed by chopped green chillis and toss it for 5 minutes on high medium flame, stirring constantly to prevent burning.

5. Mix in the mango powder and garam masala. Sauté it constantly. Cook until potatoes are tender but still crisp.

6. Garnish them with chopped coriander leaves and transfer immediately to a serving bowl. Pair it hot with roti, parantha or poori.

7. Enjoy!!!

Notes
1. You can boil the potatoes if you want but for not more than 5 minutes.

2. Cut potato slices into desired shape and thickness.

3. If you don't have mango powder, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of lime juice for 1 teaspoon of mango powder.

NEW POTATOES AND SPRING PEAS IN A TANGY TOMATO GRAVY

Get ready to tingle your tastebuds with these new potatoes and spring peas in a tangy tomato gravy

This winter, let's make these beautiful New Potatoes with Spring Peas in a tangy tomato gravy. This is a fantastically easy dish to make and it's pretty tasty too!! It's a classic Punjabi dish which is very popular in the northern part of India and goes well with Indian breads or rice. It is popularly known as Aloo-Matar in India.

It was a huge hit with everyone in my house. I love the combination of new potatoes and spring peas. It's different and very delicious. You can make this flavorful dish by combining these two veggies in a tangy tomato sauce.

You can add any type of potato in this dish and cut them in small or large chunks. Since, I'm adding the new potatoes in my dish. I don't feel the need to cut them as they are already very small in sizes.

Let's talk about these two veggies. Peas is considered as a 'starchy vegetables'. They are widely grown as a cool season vegetable. I like all kinds of peas, spring peas is one of them. Spring peas are very sweet and tender. They are a seasonal vegetable. They are grown and harvested in Spring when the weather is cool.

Potatoes are the most humble and versatile ingredient which is widely used in all types of cuisines. It is the fondest root vegetable which is loved by everyone. There are various types of potatoes but new potatoes are my favorites. New potatoes are the first potatoes that are dug in spring or early in summer. Since, new potatoes are harvested before reaching maturity, their skin is very thin and tender. They have a delicate sweet flavor and creamy texture. They can be stored in a paper bag but should be eaten within a week.

I usually don't boil new potatoes. I prefer to cook it with the traditional low and slow cooking method which gives it an intense flavor. I lower down the heat, loosely cover the pan and simmer the flame for about 18-20 minutes. Simmering cooks the food gently and slowly. It allows various tastes to mingle and layer one over the other. It helps to keep the flavor of ingredients separates and also helps to keep the crunchy texture.

This dish is cooked without onion and garlic. There are many people who think, if they don't use onions and garlic in their curry, the end result will be bland but let me tell you, it is just a myth. It is very much possible to make the gravy flavorful and richer without using onion and garlic. It's purely a tomato based curry. It's very easy to make and it's delicious too!! I do hope you try this recipe out. Serve this dish with Indian breads or rice and you'll love it.

NEW POTATOES AND SPRING PEAS IN A TANGY TOMATO GRAVY

Preparation time: 7-8 minutes
Cooking time: 30-35 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Author: The Food Root

INGREDIENTS
4 medium size tomatoes - puree
4-5 new potatoes
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
2 cups of water
1/2 inch ginger - peeled, grated
2 tablespoon - ghee/clarified butter or oil
1 or 2 green chilli, chopped
pinch of asafoetida
1/4 teaspoon - red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon - coriander powder (sukha dhania)
1/4 teaspoon - turmeric powder
1/4 - garam masala
Salt to taste
coriander leaves (chopped)

METHOD
1. Prepare the tomato puree tempering: Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan, add a pinch of asafoetida powder followed by ginger. Fry them until they are golden brown. Now, add 1 cup of tomato puree and 2 chopped green chilli and sauté it for about 5-6 minutes on low flame. Next, add in the spices - 1/4 teaspoon of red chili powder, 1/2 tea teaspoon of coriander powder, 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder and stir it well. Let the mixture cook until the oil separates.

2. Add the raw new potatoes: Now add 4-5 raw new potatoes and cover the pan. Let them cook for around 6-7 minutes on low medium flame. When the potatoes are cooked, add salt and mix it well.

3. Add the peas: Next, add 1 cup of peas and cover the pan for next 4-5 minutes on a low flame.

4. Prepare the gravy: Add 2 cups of boiling water and cook it for about 7-8 minutes. Once boiling point is achieved boil it gentle over a low heat of 2 minutes.

5. Garnish and serve: Next, add 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala and chopped coriander leaves and stir it for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove it. Serve it with roti, naan or rice.

NOTES
1. You can save your time and add the cooked (boiled) potatoes in the dish if you wish. I like the crisp flavor of the new potatoes so I didn't boiled them.
2. You can add any type of potatoes in this dish and cut them in small or large chunks. Since, I'm adding the new potatoes in my dish. I don't feel the need to cut them as they are already very small in sizes.
3. You can also add the frozen peas, just allow it to warm for 5-7 minutes before adding them in the pan.
4. The peas will always remain bright green if the salt is added while preparing the tomato puree tempering. In this case, add salt, after cooking the potatoes.