Aloo Mutter and my crazy, pea-loving Dog

What a week it's been... Coco's boyfriend, Brownie, is becoming a permanent fixture outside my door, even though he's not so taken with her now because she's no longer in heat. He's a good guard dog - so much so that if any delivery boy comes to our floor, they end up hiding in the lift until they can be rescued!

As he hangs out with us all day I've tried to feed him, but it turns out that Brownie is very fussy about his food. He doesn't like Coco's plain chicken, rice and veg - no that's not good enough for him. His food has to be spicy, but not with any of those rubbish veggies in it. Coco, on the other hand, will eat just about anything, as previously documented in my blog.

One food that she always begs for is Aloo Mutter - she'll eat it straight out of the pan given chance, but prefers to be hand-fed Aloo Mutter with Chapatti. I have to be careful that she doesn't try to eat my fingers too!

It's also one of my favourites, and is simple to make too. I use fresh peas as I love to sit and shell them, but you could easily use frozen peas if you prefer. Coco loves helping to shell peas. She steals peapods at every chance. If they're young and fresh she eats them whole, otherwise she opens them up and chases the peas around the floor. Crazy, pea-loving dog!


Aloo Mutter

1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)
1 teaspoon rai (mustard seeds)
pinch of hing
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 cup of peas
1/4 teaspoon haldi (turmeric powder)
1 teaspoon dhaniya (coriander powder)
1/2 teaspoon jeera powder (cumin powder)
1 teapoon chilli powder
salt to taste
water
Coriander leaves to garnish

1. Heat oil over medium flame. Add jeera, rai and hing.
2. When seeds start to splutter add potato and peas and stir until well mixed.
3. Add haldi, dhaniya, jeera, chilli powder and salt. Mix well.
4. Add a small amount of water - just enough to cook the potatoes and peas - you can always add more throughout the cooking.
5. Cook on a low heat until potatoes are cooked.
6. Garnish with chopped coriander and eat with chapattis.

This version is a 'dry' dish - not a gravy dish. I need to learn how to make some gravy dishes... So if you have any gravy versions, please let me know!