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Masala Curry Potatoes Recipe

A spiced potato curry simmered with tomatoes, onions, and coriander.

From the NHS (UK) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and potato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 9,019 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

The recipe

Time8 to 10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the masala base

  1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, then add the cumin, ground coriander, and onion. Fry on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often to prevent the spices from sticking.

  2. Add the chilli and potatoes, season with pepper to taste, and cook for a few more minutes.

Cook the potatoes and finish

  1. Add the water, cover the pan and cook on high for 8 to 10 minutes.

  2. Tip in the tomatoes and cook uncovered for another 5 to 7 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

  3. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh coriander just before serving.

Recipe from the NHS (UK).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Onion + potatotop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together9,019 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together14,164 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Coriander + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3,966 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  5. Cumin + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together3,272 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Provide the bulk of the dish and become soft and tender as they cook through in the liquid.
Onion
Softens and sweetens as it fries, forming the flavour base of the dish.
Chopped tomatoes
Add acidity and moisture, creating a sauce that coats the potatoes.
Cumin seeds
Release aromatic oils when fried in hot oil, giving a warm, earthy flavour.

The step that matters

Frying the spices and onion. Cooking the onion over medium heat with frequent stirring browns it gently and blooms the spices in oil. Too much heat or too little stirring can scorch the spices and make the dish bitter.

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, coriander, cumin, potato, pepper, tomato):

  1. Capsicumbetter flavor fit
  2. Carrotbetter flavor fit
  3. Spinachbetter flavor fit
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, coriander, cumin, potato, pepper, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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.

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