Potatoes, bamboo shoots, and black-eyed peas, referred to as Aloo-Tama, is one of the most popular Nepali dishes. It is served as a curry, and goes especially well with rice or bread.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried black-eyed peas
- 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 3g Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 5g fenugreek seeds
- 2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- Salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons red chili powder
- 2 cups fermented bamboo shoots
- 3 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 1 cup water
- 1 bunch of fresh chopped coriander
Methods of Preparation
- Place the black-eyed peas in a bowl and cover them with water by at least an inch. Soak at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Drain and set aside.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a large cast-iron skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the Sichuan pepper seeds and cumin seeds and fry until the cumin seeds are dark brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden brown and soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and cook over medium heat, uncovered and stirring often, until the potatoes start to soften, about 15 minutes. Stir in the soaked, drained black-eyed peas. Add the salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and red chile powder and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spices are very fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add the bamboo shoots, stirring again to mix, and cook until the shoots are very soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the 1 cup water, and stir.
- Cook over low heat until the potatoes and beans are very soft and the tomatoes are almost completely broken down, about 20 minutes.
- Stir properly and finish with chopped coriander.
