Aloo Pyaz ki Bhujiya: Potato Onion Dry Sabzi

15 Jan

Staple, durable veggies – potatoes and onions – join forces to give us this easy dry sabzi: aloo pyaz ki bhujiya. It’s vegan and very light on spices, just right for the lunchbox or a shared picnic basket.

The lone shining spice in this recipe is fenugreek (methi). With methi, a little goes a long way. If you aren’t familiar with its taste, I suggest giving it a trial run with only a few seeds the first time. Not everyone warms up to fenugreek’s bitterness: if you are among them, feel free to substitute fenugreek seeds with cumin.

Aloo Pyaz Bhujiya

You Need:

Potatoes – 4 medium
Onions – 4 medium
Dry red chilies – 2-3
Salt – to taste
Fenugreek seeds* – 1/4 teaspoon
Mustard oil – 2 tablespoons

*If not using fenugreek seeds, go for 1/2 a teaspoon of cumin seeds instead.

How To Make Aloo Pyaz ki Bhujiya:

Peel the potatoes and onions.

Aloo Pyaz - Potato Halves and Skinned Onions

Chop the potatoes into bite-sized pieces.

Heat two tablespoons of mustard oil in a skillet or kadhai.

When the oil is hot, add to it 1/4 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds. As soon as the fenugreek seeds turn dark, add broken dry red chilies and chopped potatoes to the pan.

Stir and cook covered on medium flame for five minutes.

While the potatoes cook, chop the onions into similar-sized pieces.

Toss the potato pieces – they would have started getting gold-edged by this time.

Spread a layer of chopped onions on top of the potatoes. Let it cook covered for two minutes.

Uncover the pan and give it all a good stir.

Aloo Pyaz Bhujiya, Cooking

Continue to cook covered on low heat till the vegetables are done. This should take about 15 minutes.

Aloo Pyaz Cooked

How to check that the vegetables are done: Use a toothpick or fork to prick a piece of potato. If it pierces the potato easily, it is time to stop cooking. [Beware: if the potato crumbles on contact, it is overdone.]

Aloo pyaz ki bhujiya is ready.

Aloo Pyaz Bhujiya