Friday, January 24, 2014

Aloo Matar in Turmeric Sauce

When a brand new company called "Saucee" contacted me about trying their 100% organic sauces made in the San Francisco bay area, I jumped at the chance. The first one I opened was the Turmeric No. 2 sauce and it just screamed Indian to me! So, I made a traditional Punjabi dish called "Aloo Matar," which just means potatoes and green peas and it turned out awesome!


Saucee was launched as a Kickstarter campaign by founders Mohit Jain & Himanshu Shah. They met as roommates at UC Berkeley, but ventured off on their own paths in the corporate world. They ultimately got back together to start creating sauces because they found most sauces not to have a good heat/flavor balance, too much vinegar, and full of unnecessary gums and preservatives. As soon as I heard this, I knew these sauces were right up my alley as I feel the same way!


The Turmeric No. 2 sauce in particular has just the right balance of heat and flavor. When I tasted it, I thought -- wow! it has a great taste and a little heat and there are no preservatives! The ingredients are just yellow bell peppers, water, onions, apple cider vinegar, garlic, sea salt, ginger, coriander, turmeric, amchur powder, and dried habanero peppers. The color and mild flavor come from the yellow bell peppers and the spice from the habanero along with the anti-inflammatory benefits of turmeric root. And I love that the jars are the perfect size for one meal so you don't have half a jar taking up space in your refrigerator. Light and spicy -- perfect for the Aloo Matar. I predict these sauces will begin winning awards -- that is how good they are.

Aloo Matar
Serves 6

Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/8 tsp asafoetida
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • 3 russet potatoes, diced and boiled for about 15 min
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 jar Saucee Turmeric No. 2
  • 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
  •  1 cup brown basmati rice, cooked

Instructions
Heat oil at medium heat in a saute pan. Add the cumin seeds and asafoetida for about a minute, stirring regularly until cumin seeds begin to pop. Add green peas and stir for one minute, until thawed. Add potatoes, salt, and sauce. Turn down to medium low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and fold in cilantro.


Garnish with cilantro, if desired. Serve over basmati rice. Enjoy!


Full Disclosure: Although the products were provided to me for free to review, that in no way influenced my veracious opinion. 

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