I gave this recipe 5 stars because it was easy to make, tasted great, and best of all, it was the first Indian dish I have ever prepared. I didn't have a wok but found that using a large, non-stick pot worked well. I substituted sesame oil for the vegetable oil but used the same quantity. I used one medium onion (diced), two seemed like an awful lot. I used a cup of tomatoe puree and, next time, I'd probably add a 1 1/2 or 2 cups of peas instead of just one. The garlic/ginger paste is a little hard to find so I substituted a finely minced concoction of a few small cloves of fresh garlic and an equal quantity of fresh ginger. The spice Garam masala is now available from the spice company McCormick and is sold at large supermarkets in my area (Giant Food in No. VA). The amount of paprika specified was to my liking (but I'm a paprika fan). Give this dish a try, you won't be disappointed!
Great recipe...I tend to change things alot though: I only used 2 potatoes and an entire large bag of frozen peas. Also doubled or even tripled spices. Rather than sugar I used about a tsp. each of cinnamon and cloves and rather than paprika I used curry and chili powder to spice it up a bit. To reduce fat I only used about a tsp. of oil and that worked just fine. Using crused or diced tomatoes rather than puree adds some moisture to the sauce to pour over rice or dip Naan into.
I thought it was good but it really needing some spicing up. Only 1 1/2 tsp of garam masala? I probably used at least 2 TBS just in order to taste it. I used chopped garlic and ginger worked fine. I pre-cooked the potatoes in a large pot with garlic salt and pepper. And sauteed the onions/garlic separately then mixed together when the potatoes were about done (about 20 mins). I also used a small can of tomato paste and topped it off with some V8 juice (about 2 cups)... it made it nice and creamy. Added fresh tomatoes and lots of peas... some dried chili flakes. Served it over garlic-tasted pita... delish!
I made a few modifications but it turned out to be delicious. I used a combination of fresh ginger and garlic for the garlic ginger paste. I also couldn't find the darn garam masala at the store so I made my own mixture of cloves cinnamon cumin ground mustard and tumeric (mostly tumeric). I added water to the potatoes to help them along and added the peas when adding the tomatoes etc. I'm eating it right now and it tastes fabulous.
Very good however there was a little too much paprika for my taste. After cutting down on that this is a very good way to make to Aloo Matar.
This tasted pretty good at first, but quickly got old. It's essential to partly cook the potatoes first. Through doing this there's no need to add extra tomato puree, as this just made the meal too soupy. With those couple of changes I think this would make an average side dish, but nothing spectacular.
This is a great dish; the recipe is easy to make and the ingredients are easy to obtain.
I'd hate for someone not to try this recipe because they can't find "ginger garlic paste." It is really easy to make -- its just equal parts ginger and garlic. Peel, mince, and smash!
Next time I make this I'm going to try adding some heat: cumin, tumeric, and some type of chillies.
This was so good! I really loved it and it's really cheap and easy to boot. I also used a large pot rather than a wok and used 12 tablespoon each of grated ginger and crushed garlic rather than the ginger garlic paste. If you don't have garam masala on hand don't buy it from the spice department of your grocery store - it's far too expensive that way. Go to a grocery store with a good natural foods section and buy it in bulk. I bought more of it in bulk for 2.00 than you can get for 7.00 in the bottle.
Not enough flavor. Too much potatoe not enough peas.
