Pressure Cooker Bombay Sagu| One Pot Aloo Sagu For Pooris

Here’s wishing you a happy, happy new year, people! May 2018 bring loads of warmth, love, peace and happiness to all of us!

So, what are you eating this New Year’s day?

I’m making some Bombay sagu with pooris for breakfast today, which the family absolutely adores. We don’t do much of pooris, so it has to be a wonderful occasion (like new year’s day!) to warrant for some frying.

I follow a very simple proceedure to make the Bombay sagu (I’ve no clue why it is called that!), the way my mother and my grandmother before her have always done. It is a recipe that is super easy to put together, yet tastes beautiful. Pooris and aloo sagu = simple comfort food that speaks of home for both the husband and me.

Here’s how we make the Bombay sagu!

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

To pressure cook:

1. 6 medium-sized potatoes
2. 1 large onion
3. 4 medium-sized tomatoes
4. 2 green chillies, or to taste
5. A 1-inch piece of ginger
6. About 10 fresh curry leaves

Other ingredients:

1. Salt, to taste
2. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
3. Red chilli powder, to taste (optional)
4. 2 teaspoons oil
5. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
6. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
7. A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
8. Lemon juice to taste (optional)
9. 1 tablespoon of gram flour (besan)
10. A few stalks of fresh coriander leaves

Method:

1. Peel and cut the potatoes into halves. Chop the tomatoes into halves. Cut the onion length-wise. Peel the ginger and chop finely. Slit the green chillies length-wise. Take the chopped potatoes, tomatoes, onions, ginger and green chillies in a pressure cooker container. Add in just enough water to cover the veggies and the curry leaves. Place the container in the pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 4 whistles. Allow the pressure to release naturally.
2. Meanwhile, chop the coriander leaves finely. Keep aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix the gram flour with about 2 tablespoons water. Keep aside.
4. When the pressure has released completely, remove the container from the cooker and slightly mash the cooked veggies with a masher. Keep aside.
5. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the mustard seeds, and allow them to pop. Add the cumin and asafoetida, and allow them to stay in for a couple of seconds.
6. Now, reduce the flame to medium. Add the cooked and mashed veggies (along with the water the veggies were cooked in), as well as salt to taste, red chilli powder to taste (if using) and turmeric powder. Cook for a couple of minutes.
7. Now, add the gram flour-water paste to the pan. Mix well. Cook on medium flame till the gravy thickens, 2-3 minutes. Add a little more water and adjust seasonings, if needed. Switch off the gas when the gravy has thickened but still quite runny. It thickens further on cooling.
8. Mix in lemon juice to taste (if using) and the finely chopped coriander. Serve piping hot with pooris or rotis.

Notes:

1. If you think the heat from the ginger and green chillies is enough, you can skip the red chilli powder entirely.
2. Adjust the quantity of green chillies you use, depending upon how hot you want the sagu to be.
3. Use country tomatoes (nati tomatoes) for best results.
4. Adjust the quantity of gram flour you use depending upon how thick you want the gravy to be.
5. You can use ghee instead of oil to make the sagu.
6. Skip the lemon juice if you think the tanginess from the tomatoes is enough.

Do you like aloo sagu aka Bombay sagu? How do you make it?

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This post is for the Foodie Monday Blog Hop. The theme for this week is ‘New Year Recipes’ (of course!).