Aloo Matar is a quick and easy Indian potato and peas curry made in the Instant Pot or stovetop. This vegan and gluten-free Aloo Matar Masala is perfect for a delicious warm weeknight dinner!
This is a simple Indian homestyle recipe, which is made with very basic ingredients that you will always have in your pantry. I always have potatoes and frozen green peas, along with onions and tomatoes, which are a must for any Indian cooking. This is my go-to quick dinner when I don’t have anything specific in mind 🙂
Another popular homestyle dish is Matar Paneer, a green peas and paneer curry. Here is a tip: replace the potato with paneer in this recipe, and it will work perfectly. I have also shared a restaurant-style creamy Matar Paneer recipe for the instant pot. If you’re looking for more recipes, you can find all of my Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes.
Table of Contents
- Watch How to Make Instant Pot Aloo Matar
- What is Aloo Matar?
- How to make Aloo Matar in Instant Pot?
- How to make Aloo Matar on the stovetop?
- Can I make Aloo Matar without onions & garlic?
- Can I use prepared Onion Tomato Masala to make this Aloo Matar?
- Variations for Aloo Matar Curry
- You will love this Aloo Matar:
- More Vegetarian Curry Recipes
- Instant Pot Aloo Matar Recipe (Potato & Peas Curry) Recipe
Watch How to Make Instant Pot Aloo Matar
What is Aloo Matar?
Aloo means potato, and Matar means green peas, hence the name Aloo Matar for this curry. This is a Punjabi Aloo Matar (or Aloo Mutter) recipe with gravy. The gravy is made with onion, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic and cooked with basic spices. Aloo Matar can also be made as a dry stir fry, which I will share later.
Aloo Matar goes well with Indian flatbreads such as roti, paratha, and naan, or it is perfect for serving over basmati rice.
How to make Aloo Matar in Instant Pot?
Let’s start with making Aloo Matar in the instant pot. If you are new to the instant pot, check out this setup guide.
- Start the instant pot in sauté mode and add oil, cumin seeds, and green chili pepper. I typically use Thai, Birdeye, or Serrano Chili Pepper in my recipes. To make this curry less spicy, you can always skip green chili.
- Then add the chopped onions, ginger, and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Then add chopped tomatoes and spices and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. I just chopped the tomatoes, but you can also puree them to get a smoother gravy.
- Now, just add the green peas, potatoes, and water. Stir and close the instant pot.
- Pressure cook for 2 minutes on high pressure and then release the pressure 5 minutes after the instant pot beeps (5-minute NPR)
- Add the garam masala and garnish with cilantro.
Aloo Matar is ready to be served. So delicious and yet so easy to make!
How to make Aloo Matar on the stovetop?
You can make Aloo Matar on a stovetop in a pan or a stovetop pressure cooker.
- Heat oil in the pan or pressure cooker. Add oil, cumin seeds, and green chili pepper.
- Add the chopped onions and sauté them for 3 minutes.
- Then add chopped tomatoes and spices and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. You can cover it with a lid. I just chopped the tomatoes, but you can also puree them to get a smoother gravy.
- Add green peas, potato, and water.
- For a pan, cover it with a lid and cook for about 10-15 minutes on low heat, stirring frequently. For a stovetop pressure cooker, cook for 2 whistles on medium heat.
- After the cooking time is done, add Garam Masala and garnish with cilantro.
Can I make Aloo Matar without onions & garlic?
Yes! Just skip onions and garlic in this recipe. You can add an extra tomato to compensate for the onions, but it is not necessary.
Can I use prepared Onion Tomato Masala to make this Aloo Matar?
Yes, here is my recipe for making Onion tomato masala for meal prepping. Use half a cup of this masala to make this Aloo Matar recipe. Skip adding onion, tomato, ginger, and garlic to this recipe, and adjust the spices to your taste. If you have frozen masala, then you don’t have to thaw it.
Variations for Aloo Matar Curry
- Creamy Aloo Matar: Add cream or coconut milk to make this curry creamy and milder in taste.
- Matar Paneer: Skip potato and add paneer to make Matar Paneer curry. The same cooking time will work.
- Aloo Matar Paneer: Add 1 potato and 1 cup paneer cubes in this recipe. The same cooking time will work.
- Mushroom Matar: Skip potato and add 2 cups sliced mushroom to make Mushroom Matar. Again, the same cooking time will work.
You will love this Aloo Matar:
√ It is easy to make.
√ Uses simple ingredients that you will have in your pantry.
√ So quick, it takes just 20 minutes to make.
√ Vegan and Gluten free
You will love how easy it is to make this flavorful Aloo Matar curry. Serve it with roti, paratha, or rice.
More Vegetarian Curry Recipes
Instant Pot Aloo Matar Recipe (Potato & Peas Curry)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 Green Chili Pepper, slit into two pieces (optional)
- 1 cup Onions , diced
- 1 teaspoon Ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
- 1 cup Tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup Water
- 2 Potatoes , medium, cut into 3/4 inch cubes, I used russett potatoes
- 1 cup Green peas
- 1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala , adjust to taste
- Cilantro, to garnish
Spices
- 2 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, mild, adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Start the pressure cooker in sauté mode and let it heat. Add oil and cumin seeds. Saute for 30 seconds.
- When the cumin seeds change color, add green chili, onions, ginger and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes until the onions become golden brown while stirring frequently.
- Add tomato and spices. Stir and let them cook for 2 minutes until the tomatoes are softened. You can optionally cover with a lid.
- Add potatoes, peas and water. Stir and scrape off anything stuck to the bottom of the pot. Press Cancel and close lid with vent in sealing position.
- Change the instant pot setting to manual or pressure cook mode at high pressure for 2 mins. After the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then quick release the pressure manually.
- Open the pot. Sprinkle Garam Masala and mix with the curry.
- Garnish with cilantro. Serve aloo matar with roti, naan or rice.
For stovetop:
- Follow the same steps as above. For cooking in a pan on stovetop, cover with a lid and cook for about 10-15 minutes on low heat, while stirring frequently. For a stovetop pressure cooker, cook for 2 whistles on medium heat.
I have cooked to this recipe multiple times now. I find that the curry is not spicy enough and it becomes more bland as it becomes cold. Is there an alteration you suggest to make it more spicy? Thanks!
Update: perhaps the spiciness is down to size of potatoes being used. Any case, I doubled the amount of red chili powder and green chili when I cooked it yesterday, and I thought it made a big positive difference in taste, even after the curry became cold. If there are other changes I can make, please share. Thanks.
Have tried many similar curries, but finally found a keeper! The spice mix was different than what I had tried before, and the instant pot leads to very tender results.
Hi Jeanne – That’s awesome to hear! I’m so glad you found a keeper with this recipe. The Instant Pot really does wonders for making everything tender! 😊
Loved this recipe, just like all recipes on this site. Made this for dinner, served with some Malabar Paratha and Jeera rice. Will add Kasoori Methi next time.
Hi Bermet – So happy to hear you loved the recipe! 🙂
Absolutely marvelous curry recipe. My husband, from India, loves this.
Hi Amanda – So glad you both enjoyed the curry.
I made this for dinner last night and it was a BIG hit. My husband (who is the real cook in the family) said it might be his favorite of all the curries I’ve made!
One change I made was to leave the peas out until the potatoes were cooked, then I just stirred them into the curry and allowed them to come to temperature. And I did add some kasoori methi as suggested.
I didn’t have any garam masala, so I just used a little Madras curry powder at the end of cooking.
We will definitely try this one again!!
Hi Mindy – Glad to hear you both enjoyed the curry. Thanks for sharing the changes you made!
This was easy and delicious and nutritious!! And super quick. Your videos are so helpful too – thanks!
Hi – So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it 🙂
Hi, is it possible to make it with slow cooker mode? and if yes, for how much time? Thank you?
Hello – Sorry, I have not tried this aloo matar in the slow cook mode, so cannot say for sure how long it will take to cook them. Please do share if you try!
I subscribed after making this recipe and I have NEVER subscribed to any of the many food blogs I follow. I am an American who was just introduced to the wonders of Indian food a few months ago and I just can’t get enough! I have never tasted something so flavorful… This was my first attempt at making Indian food in my own kitchen and I am blown away by how delicious and EASY this was. I roasted some cauliflower in the oven and added it in after it was all done cooking in the pot! As a mom to three littles, I VERY much appreciate these Instant Pot recipes and how quickly it all comes together! I love vegetarian meals and you have so many on your blog. I do eat meat ad well and I am so excited to try your chicken Tikka masala next! I am a fan for life! Thank you so much! ❤️
Kendra H.
Hi Kendra – So happy to hear that. Thank you so much for sharing back your experience. 🥰
This was easy to make and delicious! Perhaps the one person who thought it wasn’t spicy enough had old spices. It was quite well balanced, made it exactly as written and will definitely make again. Thanks!
Hi – So glad to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂