Name: Masala Vegetable Stew
Ingredients: 1 Tbs. vegetable oil; 2 medium onions, chopped; 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced; 4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced; 4 medium carrots, sliced; 1/2 medium head cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces; 2 cups frozen cut green beans; 1 to 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger; 2 fresh mild chile peppers, seeded and minced; 2 tsp. garam masala or good-quality curry powder, or to taste; 1 tsp. ground coriander; 1/2 tsp. turmeric; 15-oz. can lite coconut milk; 1 cup frozen green peas; 1/4 tsp. chopped cilantro

Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Carrot + gingertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Garlic + potatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,517 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Onions: Cooked until golden, they add sweetness and a savory base to the stew.
Potatoes: Partly mashed, they release starch that thickens the stew and gives body.
Coconut milk: Adds fat and richness, softening the spices and giving the stew a creamy texture.
Cauliflower: Adds bulk and a mild vegetable flavor while staying tender in the simmering stew.
Carrots: Add natural sweetness and body as they soften during simmering.

The step that matters

Mashing some potatoes. Crushing some potato releases starch into the liquid, which thickens the stew. Mash too little and the stew stays thin; mash too much and it turns gluey.

Swap the green beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, clove, garlic, potato, carrot, cauliflower, ginger):

Broccolifits better
Turnipfits better
Chivefits better
Green beansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, clove, garlic, potato, carrot, cauliflower, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Coconut	1/2 cup shredded (40g)	283
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Coriander	not in our table	0

Masala Vegetable Stew