cheap eats: beans aloo (potato)

As someone who loves food, and home cooking, as much as I do, weekly grocery bills can creep up pretty quickly. There will be weeks where I am testing recipes or buy unique ingredients for special meals, or just dealing with the general increase in food prices. It got me thinking, that many of you may be looking for ways to balance the spend at the end of the week or month.

Presenting: Cheap Eats, a monthly series where I share a recipe that will come in around the $5 mark, depending on where you get your groceries. They will typically be quite quick and easy, the perfect weeknight meal.

I’m starting with Beans Aloo (potato). This vegetarian dish is perfect with naan, and I will often make it alongside channa masala. One of my guilty pleasures is having it with white Wonder Bread. Cumin seeds are the central spice to this dish, so you want to make sure you’re using fresh seeds, ones that haven’t been sitting in your pantry for too long. As the potato cooks down, it adds a creaminess to the dish but the peels crisp up on the bottom of the pan and are little bits of heaven.

Beans Aloo

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tbsp neurtral oil or ghee

• 2 medium potatoes

• 2 ½ cup chopped beans (1 inch pieces)

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• ½ tsp turmeric

• ½ tsp red chili powder

• 1 tsp salt

Method

• In a skillet or kadai heat 1 tbsp of oil on medium high.

• Once the oil is hot, add in the cumin seeds and cook until aromatic. You want to watch them carefully that the seeds don’t start to burn.

• Sprinkle in the remaining spices and stir.

• Add in potatoes, stir until they’re coated. After 30 seconds, add in the beans and stir to combine. Drizzle in the remaining ½ tsp oil and stir.

• Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

• Take the lid off, turn the heat up to high and cook for 2 minutes. It’s okay if it’s sticking to the bottom a little, those crispy bits are amazing!