Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Sarasondane wali Phali aur Alu
Sarasondane wali Phali aur Alu (Green Beans & New Potatoes in Mustard Seed Curry)

Sarasondane wali Phali aur Alu

Green Beans & New Potatoes in Mustard Seed Curry
VegetarianPrep 15 minutes, plus soaking timeCook 20–25 minutes

A vibrant, earthy vegetable curry featuring tender new potatoes and crisp green beans simmered in a spiced tomato and mustard seed gravy.

Ground spices for the sauce

21 gAdded to the tomato base in step 2
01
Ground cumin · Jeera Powder
8 g1 tablespoon
spice
02
Black mustard seed · Raiground
10 g1 tablespoon
spice
03
Ground turmeric · Haldi
3 g1 teaspoon
spice
Stir together to combine.

Everything else

01
New potato · Naye Aloo
250 g
vegetable
02
Ghee or vegetable oil · Ghee ya tel
114 g125 ml
oil/fat
03
Tomato · Tamatarlarge, puréed
720 g6 tomatoes
vegetable
04
Salt · Namak
12 g2 teaspoons
salt
05
Green bean · Phalistrings removed, cut in half lengthways
250 g
vegetable

Method

  1. Submerge 250 g new potatoes in cold water for 10 minutes to remove any soil. Drain, rinse well, and cut each into 4 to 6 slices.
  2. Set a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add 114 g vegetable oil or ghee along with 720 g puréed tomatoes. Stir in the ground spices for the sauce, 11.6 g salt, and 1 tablespoon crushed chilli flakes, cooking for 5 to 8 minutes until oil glistens on the surface.
  3. Add 1 litre of water and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 12 to 14 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is smoothly emulsified.
  4. Carefully add the sliced potatoes, cover with a lid, and maintain a steady boil for 5 to 8 minutes.
  5. Take off the lid and stir in 250 g green beans (strings removed and halved lengthways). Cook uncovered for 5 minutes more until the vegetables are tender, then serve hot.

Don't have something?

New potato
  • Baby potatoes

    Use the same weight. Scrub and leave whole or halve if large; they cook in about the same time and give a similar waxy bite.

  • Small potato

    Use the same weight. Peel only if the recipe needs it; cut to the size of new potatoes so they cook evenly. The flesh is slightly more floury.

  • Potato

    Use the same weight, cut into even walnut-sized pieces. It may break down a little more in long cooking, thickening the gravy.

Ghee or vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use equal weight; handles high tempering heat well and keeps flavours neutral.

  • Butter

    Use equal weight; cook over gentle heat to prevent browning the milk solids too quickly.

Tomato
  • Tomato purée

    Use 40% to 50% of the fresh tomato weight mixed with a splash of water. Imparts a deeper red colour, thicker sauce, and slightly sweeter cooked flavour.

  • Plain yogurt

    Use 60% of the weight, whisked smooth and added on low heat. Provides rich body and sourness, though the gravy becomes paler and creamier.

Ground cumin
  • Cumin seed

    Dry-roast briefly and grind finely; use equal weight (1:1). Imparts an even punchier, nuttier, toasty aroma than pre-ground cumin.

  • Ground coriander

    Use equal weight (1:1). Adds mild, lemony sweetness rather than cumin's smoky, earthy bite; curries will taste lighter and less savoury.

  • Black cumin seeds

    Grind finely; use 60% to 75% of the weight. Produces a darker, more complex, smoky-herbal flavour suited to rich gravies.

Black mustard seed
  • Mustard seeds

    Use equal weight. Pop in hot fat until they crackle and turn greyish; yields an almost identical nutty, pungent finish.

  • Yellow mustard seeds

    Use equal weight. Fry over medium heat; delivers a milder, sweeter pop and turns bitter quickly if the oil is excessively hot.

Dried red chilli flakes
  • Crushed dried red chilli

    Use the same weight. Crush whole dried red chillies in a mortar, shaking out some seeds if you want less heat. Gives the same heat but a coarser, more uneven texture.

  • Dried red chilli

    Use the same weight. Soak in hot water for 10 minutes if the recipe needs a paste, or crush dry for a flake-like texture. Slightly more work and less uniform.

  • Red chilli powder

    Use about 75% of the weight, as powder is denser and disperses faster. Adds heat and colour but no flake texture; reduce if the powder is very hot.

Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

Green bean
  • French bean

    Use the same weight, top and tail; same result.

  • French green bean

    Use the same weight; same result.

  • Cluster bean

    Use the same weight, cut into lengths; firmer and earthier, cook slightly longer.

Similar dishes

Gujarati Choli Nu Shaak
Green Beans with Carom Seeds, Chilli and Coriander
It tastes savoury and lightly spicy with a warm spice aroma and slight sweetness, while this dish is tangier from tomato and has mustard-seed heat.
  • Same: Gujarati Choli Nu Shaak shares green beans, potato, turmeric, salt and vegetable oil with this dish.
  • Different: It uses carom seeds, Kashmiri chilli powder, coriander seeds and sugar and cooks as a dry shaak with water, while this dish uses tomato, cumin, black mustard seed and dried red chilli flakes in a simmered tomato gravy with more oil or ghee and no sugar.
Bengali Aloo Posto
Spiced Potatoes with White Poppy Seeds, Turmeric and Green Chillies
Bengali Aloo Posto tastes nutty and mild with green chilli heat and slight sweetness, while this dish tastes earthy and tomato-forward with mustard seed and dried red chilli.
  • Same: Bengali Aloo Posto shares new potatoes, ground turmeric, oil and salt with this dish.
  • Different: Bengali Aloo Posto uses white poppy seeds, nigella seeds, green bird’s eye chillies, sugar and water, while this dish uses tomato, green beans, black mustard seed, cumin and dried red chilli flakes.
Heeng Jeere ke Aloo
Asafoetida & Cumin-flavoured Potatoes
Heeng Jeere ke Aloo tastes tangy from pomegranate, pungent from asafoetida and toasted cumin, with a crisp exterior, while this dish tastes more tomato-rich and mustard-seed forward with a wet gravy.
  • Same: Heeng Jeere ke Aloo and this dish both use new potatoes and ground turmeric, and both are cooked with ghee or oil as the fat.
  • Different: Heeng Jeere ke Aloo is a dry potato curry with asafoetida, cumin seed, ginger, green chilli, pomegranate seed and chilli powder, while this dish is a tomato-and-mustard-seed gravy with green beans and no asafoetida or pomegranate.
Lucknowi Khatte Aloo
Spiced Potatoes with Pomegranate Powder, Ginger and Green Chilli
Lucknowi Khatte Aloo is tart from anardana with sugar and gently hot from green chilli, whereas this dish is an earthy tomato and mustard-seed gravy with green beans.
  • Same: Lucknowi Khatte Aloo shares new potatoes, vegetable oil, cumin, turmeric and salt with this dish, and both are Indian potato curries.
  • Different: Lucknowi Khatte Aloo uses an asafoetida and cumin-seed tempering, ginger, green bird’s eye chilli, Kashmiri chilli powder, anardana powder, sugar, coriander leaf and water, while this dish uses tomato, black mustard seed, dried red chilli flakes and green beans and lacks those Lucknowi ingredients.