Aloo Mattar Makhani - Curry with Potatoes and Peas

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When most people think of Indian curries, they think of chana masala or palak paneer, but not necessarily potatoes and peas. Aloo Mattar Makhani shows that there is another way, and that these relatively bland ingredients can be turned into a very tasty curry - as long as you have the right spices.

Makhani sauce is a spicy tomato sauce with a dash of cream. The dried fenugreek gives it a unique flavour, which is supported by the other spices.

Tandoori masala and garam masala are spice mixtures that are both very similar and are also essentially a mixture of cumin, paprika, chilli, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. There are many variations of these spice blends, sometimes including cardamom or cloves.

The recipe is inspired by Aloo Matar from Cook with Manali and Aloo Matar Makhani from Foodina.

Recipe #

Aloo Mattar Makhani - Curry with Potatoes and Peas

45 minutes

2 portions

Ingredients #

For the potatoes

• 500 g potatoes
• 1 pinch of turmeric
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 teaspoon tandoori masala
• Salt

For the sauce

• 1 small onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 15 g ginger
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon tomato puree
• 300 g tinned tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek
• 1 teaspoon chili
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 150 g frozen peas
• 50 g cream
• Salt
• as a side dish: about 120 g rice

Directions #

1. Peel and chop the potatoes, then cook in a pan of salted water with a little turmeric. Drain the water and steam the potatoes briefly. Set aside - we will fry them later.
2. Prepare the rice as a side dish: Wash the rice and cook in double the amount of water with a little salt for about 15 minutes. You can also leave the rice for longer with the stove off but still warm.
3. To make the sauce, peel and chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Roast some cumin seeds in a high pan until they are fragrant but not black. Add the onion and fry over a medium heat. When the onion cubes are translucent, add the garlic, ginger and tomato paste. When these are slightly browned, add the tinned tomatoes and deglaze the sauce.
4. Reduce the heat slightly and add the turmeric, coriander, chilli, fenugreek and garam masala and stir well. Continue to cook until the sauce has thickened.
5. Add the peas and cream to the sauce. Bring to the boil, season to taste and keep warm over a low heat.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes with the tandoori masala and a little salt for about 10 minutes.
7. Serve the rice with the sauce and the potatoes.

Carbon Footprint #

In total, two portions of Aloo Mattar Makhani have an estimated carbon footprint of 1703 g.

This ranks it number 31 out of 53 recipes published on the blog so far in terms of estimated carbon footprint.

The carbon footprint of the recipe is therefore slightly higher than the average of the other recipes here on the blog: At least 50% of the recipes cause less emissions, but it is not yet in the worst third of the recipes. 🤨

Canned tomatoes, cream and rice are the most striking individual ingredients. In the case of cream, this is mainly due to livestock farming. Rice may seem surprising at first, but traditional rice cultivation in terraces releases a relatively large amount of methane, which is very harmful to the climate (source). Potatoes, on the other hand, have a very good carbon footprint: they make up around 40% of the weight of the ingredients, but only 6% of the curry’s emissions.

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