Pick up the plate and enjoy a full-bodied batata rassa bhaji to have for dinner. This easy-to-master Maharashtrian potato gravy is a must-try from Indian cuisine. D0 you have your plates ready?
The flavours from Maharashtrian cuisine have a special place in Indian cuisine. The versatile potatoes do find an easy place in my day-to-day run and appear as a lot of curries and stir-fries. Still, the one that I love to make is this batata rassa bhaji.
Here are a quick few potato options that I tend to repeat
What is a rassa bhaji?
Bhaji is a vegetable-based curry in Maharashtrian. Now these can be dry stirfries that resemble warm salads or with a gravy. The gravy is rassa, here adds specificity. Rassa is a thin gravy, not a creamy thick one. Batata rassa bhaji there for is a thin gravy made with potatoes usually served with puris or rice.
Ingredients to make Maharashtrian potato curry
Potatoes: the skill of making the flavours right for an Indian curry lies also in choosing the right potatoes. In this curry, you want to be able to break down the potatoes easily, but it should not be a creamy mash. So waxy or baking potatoes will not be suitable. A good all-rounder white or spuds are fantastic.
Other vegetables: Peas and onions are added in this recipe along with the potatoes. You can use fresh peas if in season or frozen to make this curry. If you don’t like peas, remove them completely. We have used red onions in two parts, one part is roasted along with some aromatics and the second part is ground into a paste.
Nuts and seeds: cashews, coconut and poppy seeds give the curry its gravy part. it is not too thick and creamy but light and delicious. Adjust based on your preference for thickness the amount of masala paste you add.
Spices and aromatics: the spices are added both as whole spices or as powder. The main flavour is goda masala, a unique spice mix from Maharastrian cuisine. We have used homemade goda masala in this recipe- Check out the link to make a batch for yourself. Along with this mustard seeds, fenugreek, turmeric, red chilli, coriander both leaves and seeds, all make it to the recipe.
Sourness and sweetness: there is a bit of delicate balancing going on with the spices, the sourness fro the tamarind and the sweetness from the jaggery in this curry. This is essential to bring out the best flavour of this cuisine. The tamarind can be freshly squeezed or a premade paste. Add small amounts of the paste till the desired flavour is achieved as the paste can be very intense.
Variations to the rassa bhaji
Rassa bhajis are made with seasonal vegetables. Cauliflower, dried peas (vatana) or brinjal are used to make this recipe. The recipe does turn out good with daikons, swedes and breadfruit.
Meal prep and storage
Batata rassa baaji without a doubt is easy on the meal prep and stays good for up to three days in the fridge. However, the potato curry does not freeze well.
Serving ideas for batata rassa baaji
If you are planning a Maharashtrian platter, make the puffy puris to go with this potato curry. You can make a full aamras thali with this as the curry option complete with varan bhaat and pickle. The batata rassa baaji also pairs well with rice or fragrant kalonji rice. Hope you like these combinations.
Battata Rassa baaji
Pick up the plate and enjoy a full-bodied batata rassa bhaji to have for dinner. This easy-to-master Maharashtrian potato gravy is a must-try from Indian cuisine. D0 you have your plates ready?
Equipment
- deep pot
- blender
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 3 medium potatoes
- 1 cup peas ( Fresh or Frozen)
- 1 large Onion chopped
- 3 cups drinking water
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste or extract from a small lime sized tamarind.
Masala paste
- 8-10 curry leaves
- 2 tbsp peanuts
- 5-6 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup grated coconut
- 1 inch fresh ginger root
Masala powder
- 1 tbsp goda masala
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp jaggery (optional)
- salt to taste
For tempering
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tap fenugreek seeds
- 1/4 tsp Nigella seeds
- 1 pinch Asafoetida
for garnish
- 1-2 curry leaves
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves (chopped)
Instructions
- Cube the potatoes about 1/2 inch cubes and set aside
- Roast the poppy seeds and cashews and set them aside to cool.
- Wash, peel and roughly chop the onions
- Remove 1 tbsp of these chopped one and finely chop them, add 2-3 curry leaves also and set aside
- Into the blender add the coconut, chopped onions, roasted poppy seeds, peanuts, ginger and garlic and make a fine paste.
- Into a pressure pan add the oil for tempering followed by, mustard seeds, cumin, nigella and fenugreek seeds.
- Once they start to sizzle and splutter add the curry leaves and onion, turmeric powder and chilli powder and saute till the onion turns slightly golden.
- Add the potatoes and mix them to coat the masala well.
- Add the tamarind paste, the ground masala paste, salt to taste, frozen peas (or fresh), water and mix well.
- Add the goda masala, jaggery, coriander powder and salt and mix the curry base well.
- Pressure cook for 3 whistles and remove from heat.
- Once cool and the pressure releases, open the pressure cooker and add curry leaves and chopped coriander leaves and the gravy is ready to serve.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Stay connected
The recipe was originally published on our blog as early as Nov 2018 and has been very popular picking up at least 20 to 30 visits per week. though the recipe remains the same, small changes and a content update are due. Thanks to the prompt from Foodies redoing old posts, this recipe gets its much-needed facelift.
When you make this recipe, do share if you like the changes and if the recipe turned out good.
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I just love all the ingredients went in this curry Seema…looks and sounds delicious…looking forward for the malvani masala recipe
I love Gujarati-style potato bhaji, and I am guessing this would be quite close. Looks absolutely awesome!
Hubby loves peas and potato curry. I can make it a bit different by following your recipe. Looks so welcoming with some bhakri, but may not make it too spicy.
Wow this looks lip smacking delicious. I love potato curry and this a different version to try.
While watching Sanjeev Kapoor’s old shows, he would always have this rassas… I am wondering where I can get that special spice, that gravy looks amazingly tempting…
That platter with all the bhajis and this curry is awseome, Seema 🙂 greatpick for the theme !
I like any version of potato gravy.. Urs look too tempting.. Can be enjoyed with rotis r rice.. Lip-smacking rassa
Love the addition of peanuts here, never thought of adding peanuts in a potato curry. Battata rassa looks absolutely delicious, prefect side dish for rotis definitely.
Seema I love your masala. Sounds delicious especially with potato being capable of picking up any flavours it will be one Awesome vegetable.
Coconut, peanuts, jaggery… I love the flavours in your dish! Potato is such a versatile ingredient and pairs so nicely with different flavours. Thanks for sharing!
Maharashtrians can make Rassa out of anything, though potato is the preferred veggie. Isn’t Malvani masala so versatile? You can add it to any dish to amp up the flavour.
I love the Rassa Sabzi with Bhakris and I usually make this more during winters when gravies are demanded more at home. This goes well with rice and seriously takes just less time with basic prep work. Glad you enjoyed the malvani masala, I had brought some from my trip to Ganpatipule too and enjoyed making some curries at home with it.
Potato gravy sounds so flavourful and lipsmackingly delicious. I love potato and peas curry and this curry with goda masala looks mouthwatering. Lovely share.
Loved this one, it will be relished at my home. I just need some phulkas to finish it.
I always look for side dishes for chapath. This potato peas curry can be made with almost all the ingredients easily available at home(except for the Malvani masala powder). I am bookmarking this and surely going to give it a try.
The sabzi looks so delicious and inviting.. The masalas used are so different and the gravy looks really flavourful.
wow…another potato curry. My daughter a potato lover would love to have this any day.
Such a flavourful and delicious curry to serve with Rice and Roti.. Yummy!
Battata Rassa Bhaaji looks absolutely flavorful Seema and the platter looks stunning !
Batata Rassa Baaji – even the name is mouthwatering, Seema! Aloo mutter with a coconut peanut paste, goda masala and in gravy . I can’t think of anything tastier with garma garam phulka for dinner. Dipping a piece of roti in the gravy and scooping up a slice of potato – sounds like a step closer to foodie paradise! Lovely post!
Reminds me of rasa walu batata nu shaak…yumm..nice share
Ahh there we go, now we have another one to try. Thanks
Looks absolutely awesome this maharastrian potato bhaji ! awesome share 🙂
I made this batata rassa bhaji and it was awesome.