How to make rasedar aloo sabzi without onion or garlic for Kanya Pujan meal

Kanya Pujan is performed during Navratri, and it is customary to cook sattvik food without onion and garlic for it. Many people wonder how a vegetable dish can taste good without onion and garlic, or fear the food will turn bland. That is not so. Made the right way, this dish can taste better than an ordinary vegetable curry. All it takes is following the recipe properly.

The right spices give the curry a good flavour. Tomatoes lend it a good colour and a mild tang. At the Kanya Pujan meal, this potato curry can be served with puri.

The ingredients are: 2 teaspoons ghee or oil, 2 bay leaves, 1 large cardamom, 5-7 black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon whole coriander, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida, 1 inch of ginger, 3-4 green chillies, 3-4 medium-sized tomatoes and 2-3 boiled potatoes.

You will also need half a teaspoon of red chilli powder, half a teaspoon of coriander powder, half a teaspoon of roasted cumin powder, 1 teaspoon of dry mango powder, 1 teaspoon of rock salt, 2 teaspoons of coriander leaves and 1.5 cups of water.

First, place a pan on the gas and heat the ghee in it. Now add the bay leaves, black cardamom, black peppercorns, coarsely ground coriander, fennel seeds and a pinch of asafoetida. Add the finely crushed ginger and chopped green chillies as well. Let everything cook on a low flame for about 2 minutes.

Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. When the tomatoes turn soft, add the red chilli powder, coriander powder, roasted cumin powder, dry mango powder and rock salt. When the oil begins to separate well from the spice mix, add the boiled potatoes, cut into pieces.

Now add water as required, cover with a lid and let the curry cook on a low flame. Finally, add the chopped coriander leaves and switch off the gas.