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Recipes
Aaloo Mattar Made Easy
Mahadevan Ramesh
Folks, in this post I will give you an 'aloo'grithm to make your
very own pot of Aaloo Mattar, with a slight variation on the
main recipe. For those of you who reckon Indian dishes in
western terminologies, this is the same as Curried Potatoes and
Peas in a creamy sauce with tomatoes and fresh coriander. It may
sound a little odd for a South Indian to give the recipe for a
typically North Indian dish - sort of like males trying to sing
Meera Bhajans. But let the finger-licking results speak for
themselves.
Let us start with chopping about five medium sized onions. My
grandmother always told me that you can tell a lot about a
person by the way he or she chopped onions. I mean there are
those machisimos who shed no tears while chopping them by the
dozens, the impressionists-cubists who refine it to an artform
and the messy ones. Hold the onion by their non-bushy end, chop
the hairy cap off. Oops, you should have kept your finger
slightly away from the knife. It is always easy to peel off the
skin once the onion is cut into two halves. Make those
longitudinal incisions first and then while holding the onion
firmly and gently, make perpendicular cuts. Make sure the
pieces are finely chopped. Then chop about two tablespoons of
fresh ginger and about five cloves of garlic. Chop fresh
coriander and set aside a third of it for later garnishing.
Don't forget the tomatoes. Take about three of them and chop
them finely.
It is potato time now. Nothing seems so commonplace and lowly
like the potatoes. (Well, actually there are tinda, louky and
parwal - I apologize to people who don't know hindi, but the
names of these vegetables defy any english translation) In our
lifetimes we would have consumed about two tons of this bore.
But, folks, remember to treat them with some respect. It may
come as a surprise to you, but in the ancient times, potatoes
were considered to be aphrodisiacs in India and were cultivated
everywhere. This can be evidenced from an ancient sanskrit
couplet:
@begin(verbatim)
Aalookam svetam, maha subjikam
Kaamam agnim, sampoorna nirvanam
(Translation: "White potato, great vegetable
[results in] fiery passion, joy unimcompletable")
@end(verbatim)
You don't believe me, right ? Have you ever stopped and wondered
why there are so many Indians in this world ?
Well, chop about five potatoes to bite size pieces. Saute them
in medium heat in oil or margarine or a little butter, turning
them every once in a while. Set aside when they are browned.
Indian cooking is always done at low to medium heat and you take
all the time in the world about it. One wrong move, you would
have already made a gravy error of gastronomical proportions.
Self, for example, is a slow cooker, not a 'pressure' cooker.
Now heat some oil in a pot and when slightly heated, add a
teaspoon of jeera. (and don't pronounce it as 'kyoomin', it is
'cummin') When the seeds crackle, add the onions and fry in
medium heat till they almost become brown (about five minutes)
add the tomatoes and fry for a while (about ten to twenty
minutes) till the whole thing becomes one solid glob with oil
separating out on the sides. When it is almost on the verge of
getting burnt, add ginger-garlic, coriander. Don't forget to
keep stirring. Add also ten cloves, about six cardamoms (or one
black elaichi) two teaspoons of coriander powder and about three
(broken) two-inch sticks of cinnamon and cook for additional two
minutes. Cinnamon always has a special place in a tamilian's
life. Ajay Palvayanteeswaran, for example, uses the cinnamon
sticks to pick his teeth. Cinnamon stick was also an election
symbol for one of the kazhagams. Anyways, once all this is
fried, set aside and let it cool a while.
Then blend this mix in a blender, in two installments if
necessary, to a coarse, but homogeneous pulp, with an 8 Oz of
whipping cream. (you can find this in the dairy section) For a
change, you can add ten almonds while blending. Then return the
blent glob to the pot. Heat it to medium low, add water, 6 Oz of
tomato paste, about a teaspoon and a half of chili powder, salt
to taste and stir it to homogenize. Add water to make your gravy
watery or thick. Add the potatoes and also a cup of thawed
frozen peas. Cover the top and let it cook and stir every once
in a while, with tender loving care. Don't stand too close to
the pot, my dear, or you will get those little red spots
splattered all over your white shirt. You will see that the
gravy changes color from a dull rose to an appetizing brown.
When you think it has cooked enough, take it off and let it
cool. Check for spicyness. Since this has a lot of cream and
tomato paste, it may taste a little weak for some bold people.
In that case, add some more spices and let it cook some more.
Garnish with chopped coriander.
This is also a generic gravy to which you can add other things
and make other dishes. Instead of potatoes, you can add
bite-sized chicken pieces shallow-fried in butter. Or, you can
bake riccotta cheese in a cookie tray at 250 degrees for a half
an hour and cut it into small paneer cubes and fry them in
butter and make mattar paneer. See, it is simple.
It would be splendid if someone chronicled the greatest moments
in the history of Indian cooking. Like the time the prototype of
an Aaloo paratha was made in that unassuming dhabha in Ambala
district, or when a gentleman of unknown origin thought of
adding a layer of silver foil to badaam barfi.
There was also this story associated with the great Mughal
emperor, Shahanshah Akbar. One autumn day, the emperor was
getting bored. There were no more wars to be fought, his
subjects were more or less happy and he was growing tired of
discussions on religion. So he convened his royal court and told
Tansen to compose an utterly new Raag, his court jester Birbal
to come up with a new joke and his royal Chef, Munna Lal to
create the most exotic dish - all within twenty four hours. The
next day, Tansen enthralled the great emperor with his new
creation, which has later come to be called Raag Miya Ki Todi.
Munna crafted a fine pot of Rajhma. And, that by the way, was
also Birbal's joke. Of course, it is only a minor historical
footnote that Munna was summarily executed the next day for his
affront. His recipes are lost forever, except for some in the
hands of his descendants, who form the famed Kanpur Gharana,
some of whom work as cooks in IIT Kanpur.
And friends, like most Indian dishes, Aaloo Mattar too tastes
better the next day, after a little fermentation. Reheat it
slowly, since the dish would have become quite solid after
sitting in the fridge overnight. And as always, remember to
share with friends.
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