Vrat Ke Aloo is a simple fasting sabji made with potatoes and tomatoes.This aloo sabji is made without onion or garlic and is eaten during Hindu fasting days like Navratri, ekadashi vrat, pradosh, Maha Shivratri etc. We call it rasedaar aloo tamatar and it takes barely 20 minutes or so to make. Serve with kuttu ki poori.
My grandma use to cook a lot of satvic vrat recipes for Navratri fasting. I sometimes fast and sometimes dont, but whenever its navratri time, I love to prepare a few dishes and relive the food memories 🙂
What can you eat for vrat?
Vrat Or Upvas = Fasting. During Hindu fasting, eating certain grains and vegetables and spices is not allowed. The rules differ from home to home so please consult someone elderly in your family about it. In my home, we make vrat recipes using root vegetables like potatoes, yam, arbi(taro), paneer etc. There are a few grains like kuttu (buckwheat), rajgira (amaranth), samo rice, sabudana (tapioca) nuts etc that we eat as well while fasting.
Since fasting is a time of restraint, the idea is to eat foods that provide the body with nourishment and instant energy. No wonder dishes loaded in carbohydrates top the list and this aloo sabji is quite popular especially in north india.
Vrat Wale Aloo
There are many ways to make vrat ke aloo, I make both dry or rasedaar (with gravy). I am sharing the latter in this post today. This simple aalu sabji was always on the menu at my grandma's. The gravy has a pronounced sour taste from the tomatoes with a sharp hint of black pepper, its is very delicious.
Whether you are fasting or not, you can make it anytime and serve it with poori or paratha.
Ingredients
You need 10 ingredients for this recipe. Please adjust ingredients as per your fasting preferences.
- Potatoes - I like using yellow or gold potatoes, you can use any kind of potatoes you like.
- Green Chilies- I dont use red chili powder in this recipe so the heat in this sabji is solely from green chilies. I buy from indian store and the heat level is similar to thai bird chilies.
- Sendha Namak -We consume sendha namak (indian rock salt) during fasting.
- Ghee- Adds the most wonderful taste and aroma to this aalu sabzi.
- Cilantro Stems :- Are so so flavorful and here in this sabji they add a nice fresh flavor to the gravy. Please dont skip.
- Other ingredients - Cilantro leaves, black pepper, tomatoes, lemon juice etc
How To Make Vrat Wale Aloo
- Start by boiling the potatoes. You can boil them in pressure cooker or instant pot. Add potatoes to the cooker and add enough water to cover the potatoes. Close the lid and cook for 3-5 whistles on medium heat. Peel the cooled potatoes. Using your hands, crumble the potatoes such that there are big and small chunks.
- Using mortar & pestle, pound the ginger and green chilli.
- Crush the tomatoes using a blender. Dont puree the tomatoes.
- Temper the ghee with cumin and minced ginger & chili. Once crackling, add the tomatoes and saute on medium heat for 4-7 minutes. We dont want to dry out the tomatoes. Just cook so that the raw taste goes away.
- Add the salt, pepper and potatoes. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add water, cilantro stems. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 10-12 minutes.
- Finish with lemon juice and chopped cilantro.
Few Tips & Variations
- Completely cool down the potatoes before using them to make the sabji. Else the potatoes tend to overcook or get super soft.
- Dont crumble the potatoes very small. This sabji tastes good with big chunks of potatoes.
- You may add any extra spices as per your liking or if they are eaten in your family during fasting.
- I mostly use campari tomatoes for my curries, they are sour so I dont need to add a lot of lemon juice. Please adjust lemon juice in the recipe depending on how tangy the tomatoes that you are using are.
- If you want to make aloo sabji without tomatoes, simply add ⅓ cup whisked yogurt to make the gravy.
- You can add some paneer cubes to the sabjii to bump up protein.
Few Recipes To Try
Vrat Wale Aloo (Navratri Fasting Recipe)
Ingredients
- 3-4 (~400g) potatoes
- 1 inch (8g) ginger
- 2 green chilies hot variety
- 3 tablespoon ghee
- 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 (~150g) tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoon sendha namak rock salt, adjust to taste
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice adjust to taste
- 12-15 cilantro (leaves & stems chopped sepetately)
Instructions
Preparation
- Boil the potatoes. You can boil them in pressure cooker or instant pot. Add washed potatoes to the pressure cooker and add enough water to cover them Close the lid and cook for 3-5 whistles on medium heat. Let pressure release naturally.
- Discard the water once pressure is released. Let the potatoes cool down. Peel the cooled potatoes.
- Using your hands, crumble the potatoes such that there are big and small chunks.
- Using mortar & pestle, pound the ginger and green chilli to a coarse paste. Add tomatoes to a blender and crush them. Dont puree the tomatoes.
- Chop the cilantro stems and the leaves seperately. We are going to use both while making the sabji.
Cook Vrat Ke Aloo
- In a pot, warm up the ghee. Once ghee is melted, temper with cumin and minced ginger chili. Once the cumin seeds crackle, add the tomatoes. Saute on medium heat for 4-6 minutes stirring intermittently. We dont want to dry out the tomatoes. Just cook a little until the raw taste goes away. You will notice that the color of tomatoes will deepen.
- Next add the salt, pepper and potatoes. Mix well and then saute the potatoes for 2-3 minutes with the tomatoes.
- Add hot water and cilantro stems next. Mix and bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 10-12 minutes.
- Finish with lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Serve warm.
Notes
- Completely cool down the potatoes before using them to make the sabji. Else the potatoes tend to overcook or get super soft.
- Dont crush the potatoes very small. This sabji tastes good with big chunks of potatoes.
- You may add any extra spices as per your liking or if they are eaten in your family during fasting.
- If you want to make aloo sabji without tomatoes, simply add ⅓ cup whisked yogurt to make the gravy.
- You can add some paneer cubes to the sabji to bump up protein.
- Not just for fasting, this aloo sabji taste great with pooris and parathas anytime.
- I mostly use campari tomatoes for my curries, they are sour so I dont need to add a lot of lemon juice. Please adjust lemon juice in the recipe depending on how tangy the tomatoes that you are using are.
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