As a food lover and mom, nothing makes me happier than discovering a new recipe that tastes great, is kid friendly, and easy to make! Recently I made a delicious recipe discovery that checks all three boxes – aloo bharta, thanks to my friend Aziz. During one of our heated debates over the virtues of Bengali food vs Punjabi food, he told me about Bangladeshi aloo bharta (or should I say bhorta?) Since I have an unhealthy obsession with baingan bharta, I was instantly intrigued with the idea.
After hitting up YouTube for an authentic recipe, and watching a number of videos I couldn’t understand (language barrier), I’m happy to say, I’ve figured out a recipe for aloo bharta that works for me and my family. The first time I made this bharta my mom was visiting on the weekend and made us some hot fresh puris to go with it, that was perfection. It also works really well in a roti wrap for school lunches.
Aloo Bharta Recipe
Ingredients:
2 baking potatoes (boiled and mashed)
1 small red onion chopped
10-12 leaves kadi pata (fresh or dry)
5 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup washed and chopped cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons mustard oil
1 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
1 tablespoon rai/mustard seeds
2 dry red chillis (optional)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Directions:
Heat mustard oil to a medium heat in a pan. Once it is warmed up add mustard and cumin seeds. Allow to cook for 30-60 seconds, while stirring.
Add kadi pata and chopped onion and fry for 3-4 minutes.
Once the onion is fried, add in the dried red chilli (if you are using it), and the garlic. Fry everything together for 1-2 minutes. Add salt to the mixture and stir well.
Add the chopped cilantro leaves to the onion and garlic mixture.
Add the boiled mashed potatoes to your tempering and mix everything together. Fry this on a low heat so the potatoes don’t stick to the pot, for 5-6 minutes.
Serve warm with puris or roti & enjoy!
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PS: if you like aloo (potatoes) you might also like Dum Aloo Biryani, Aloo Mattar, or my favourite Aloo Methi recipe.
Just discovered your blog and I’m excited to try some of your recipes. As a fan of anything with potatoes, I loved it when my mom made this and haven’t had it in years. The mustard oil may be a bit challenging for my kids but my “American” i.e. non-Desi husband is usually up for anything.