ਆਲੂ

What does aloo mean in Punjabi? Aloo (ਆਲੂ) means potato: the starchy, round tuber that grows underground at the swollen ends of the potato plant's stems. The Punjabi name covers both the raw vegetable sold in the market and the cooked dishes made from it, from an everyday dry sabzi to the spiced filling of an aloo paratha.

Where did the aloo come from?

The potato is native to the Peruvian-Bolivian Andes in South America. Andean peoples, including the Inca, were growing it more than 7,000 years ago and developed hundreds of varieties suited to different heights, climates and soils, so it became a staple food of Andean civilisations. Spanish colonisers carried the potato to Europe in the second half of the 16th century, and from there it spread around the world. Today it is grown on every inhabited continent and ranks among the world's main food crops, valued for its heavy yields and its ability to grow in many climates. Punjab took to the newcomer completely: few Punjabi kitchens today are without a sack of aloo.

What does the aloo plant look like?

The potato, Solanum tuberosum, is an annual plant in the nightshade family. Above ground it carries spirally arranged compound leaves and white, lavender or purple flowers. The part that is eaten never sees the sun while it grows: the stems run underground as stolons, and their swollen tips form the tubers. A tuber skin ranges from brownish white to deep purple, and the starchy flesh inside is usually white to yellow. The small buds on a tuber, called eyes, can sprout and grow into new plants, which is how growers plant the next crop. Eaten with their skins, aloo also give vitamin C, potassium, thiamin, niacin and dietary fibre.

How is aloo cooked in Punjab?

The most everyday form is a dry sabzi: cubed aloo cooked with onion, tomato and spices until tender. A much loved combination is aloo gajar matar, potato with carrot and peas, a popular dry curry from Punjab that is eaten with roti, phulka or paratha. Boiled and mashed aloo, spiced and tangy, becomes the filling of the aloo paratha, the popular Punjabi breakfast flatbread that is rolled out and roasted on a tawa with oil or ghee and served with yogurt, butter or pickle. The same vegetable is also served mashed or whole as a cooked vegetable elsewhere, and is ground into potato flour and cut into fries and chips.