Aloo Beans Recipe - Potato & Green Beans Sabji

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Aloo Beans Sabji Recipe

Green Beans & Potato Sabji. Sigh. This is one of those dishes where I’ve had a love-hate relationship with growing up! You know what I mean, when the menu item is laid out but you really wish you weren’t eating it? Let me know in the comments if that’s relatable! Also, let me know what you think of all the love-hate dishes I’ve had when growing up! What’s the number? I’ve lost count! Kids are crazy, huh!

No offense to my mom, but she didn’t make this well! I know I feel I’ve said that so many times on the blog - but trust me, she’s got masterpieces such as Masoor Dal and Mom’s Grilled Cheese (which is why it’s named after her!) - but unfortunately this dish was one of her flops when I was a kid! I’m not sure why I didn’t like it, but I think I’ve always found the green beans to be so bland and tasteless. They just weren’t exciting!

In Delhi, this dish made me hate green beans. I’ve got a couple of recipes where green beans are on the side, such as my Oven-Baked Salmon with Lemon & Herbs or Sheet Pan Chicken Shawarma Dinner, but I’ve really went out of my way to make those the best green beans I’ve ever had!

Needless to say, I’ve never jumped for joy or woken up in the morning thinking to myself “I’ll make myself Aloo Beans sabzi today.” I’ve made this dish for my girlfriend since she loves green beans and potatoes prepared in any way, and I’d taste it myself while cooking it, but I never made it for myself until literally recording this recipe - be sure to check out the recipe video at the bottom of this post so you can follow along as I prepare the ingredients! I do personally think it’s a lot more tangible to watch a recipe being made than reading alone, so that’s why I love sharing my recipes on my YouTube channel - be sure to subscribe there if you’re not already so you don’t miss out when the next delicious recipe is premiering live! I love to premiere my new recipes so I get the opportunity to chat with you and answer any questions you may have about the recipe in real time!

I have to admit I’ve officially been converted! I used to hate this dish but now I’m loving it! These are the best aloo and beans I’ve ever made, and now I wish my mom had prepared them like this! If she did, then I wouldn’t have the aversion to green beans that I have!

This sabji is so quick to make and unbelievably healthy. It’s also vegan and has NO ginger or garlic! The longest part of this recipe is cooking the potatoes and getting them crispy, but after that this comes together in no time! I’m sure it’ll be kid-friendly and it will complete the perfect comforting meal for your family! Let’s get to the recipe!

Tools Needed

• Nonstick pan
• Cutting board
• Paring knife
• Wooden spoon
• Spatula

Ingredients for French Beans & Potatoes

This recipe is simply prepared and won’t need many ingredients! Remember, this is a homestyle dish, so let’s let the potatoes and the green beans truly shine! Let’s review our main stars and the spices that will be used in this recipe. Remember, all quantities can be found at the bottom of this post in the FULL, PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD! You can save the recipe and print it for later when you’re ready to cook!

• Potatoes: Peel the potatoes and rinse thoroughly, then cut into bite sized cubes. I recommend you use yellow potatoes because they will give the best flavor, but if you can’t find Yukon gold yellow potatoes, white potatoes or russet potatoes will work just fine.
• French Green Beans: I’m using the long, thin French beans. You could use regular green beans if you want.
• Oil: For this recipe I’m using olive oil, and that’s what my mom always used. Feel free to use your favorite plant-based oil to ensure that the recipe is vegan. You can use ghee if you want, but the recipe will no longer be vegan.
• Whole spices: Cumin seeds and dried Kashmiri red chilies add warmth and complete this dish.
• Ground spices: Hing, red chili powder, Turmeric, Ground Coriander and Garam Masala. A little bit of each!
• Salt. To taste, as always!

How to Make Potato & Beans Curry

1. Heat pan on medium heat and add olive oil, cumin seeds, dried chilies and hing. Add the dried Kashmiri chili as well if using. Let the spices crackle or until the cumin seeds turns reddish brown and fragrant.
2. Rinse the cubed potatoes, drain and add to pan, mix well and cover and cook for 4-6 minutes.
3. Then, remove the cover and stir well. Add the green beans, along with the red chili powder, turmeric and ground coriander. Add salt to taste and mix well.
4. Turn down the heat, cover again and cook for 8-12 more minutes.
5. Check if the potatoes are cooked by breaking large pieces with the back of a spatula/wooden spoon. Potatoes should be soft and lightly browned and the beans should have softened.
6. Once potatoes and beans are cooked, add garam masala and fresh cilantro for garnish. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve with your favorite bread or rice.

Serving Suggestions

You could serve this dish in so many ways! Whether you have it with rice, dal, roti, or all of the above, the possibilities are endless! When preparing this sabji, I enjoyed it with my favorite Pyaaz Paratha, or onion-stuffed paratha! That was an amazing combination!

Here are my serving suggestions to make Potato & Green Beans Sabji part of a nutritious, balanced, and wholesome meal:

• Basmati Rice - Boiled or Steamed
• Paratha
• Homestyle Roti
• Any stuffed paratha, such as Hari Mirchi Paratha
• Maseladar Chana Dal or Mixed Dal Tadka

I love having some pickle on the side - green chili is my go-to! Of course, to cool things down, dahi (yogurt), is essential and really complements the spices. You could also have a cool Cucumber Raita to pair!

In fact, another cool way to serve extra Beans Aloo Sabzi is to stuff it in a sandwich! My mom used to do this all the time when we ran out of atta flour or she didn’t feel like making roti or paratha!

Storing Leftovers

You can certainly make this sabji in advance and keep the rest for later! To save the leftovers, store in an airtight container and refrigerate. This dish will stay fresh in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Of course, this dish is best served fresh since the potatoes will be crispy and your green beans will be colorful and vibrant! The leftovers don’t TASTE bad at all, but they won’t look as good as when they were fresh off the pan!

You can reheat leftover Potato & Beans Curry in the microwave. Heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the dish is entirely warmed through.

Tips for Success

• Cook the potatoes half way on medium to medium high heat to add color and flavor. This will also help prevent overcooking the green beans.
• Use the freshest vegetables available and don’t overdo the ground spices. A little bit goes a long way.
• Finish cooking the dish on low to medium heat to ensure potatoes cook all the way and the beans don’t overcook.
• Pair with paratha or roti with a side of yogurt for one of the best, simplest combinations.

Loved This Dish? Try Out These Other Indian Aloo Recipes!

• Crispy Aloo Bhindi - Stir Fried Okra & Potatoes
• Homestyle Bombay Pav Bhaji
• Crispy Aloo Bhujia
• Aloo Gobi Matar
• Aloo Baingan Sabji

Frequently Asked Questions

Easy Ingredient Swaps

Don't have every spice on hand? This homestyle sabji is forgiving, so a few simple swaps will still keep it authentic:

• No cumin seeds? Stir in about ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin instead. It's a touch less aromatic, but still warm and earthy.
• Out of hing (asafoetida)? A small pinch of garlic powder or onion powder stands in nicely. Use it sparingly, since it's milder and less pungent.
• For the dried Kashmiri chili, a dried ancho or guajillo gives you that same deep red color with gentle heat.
• Swap the red chili powder for an equal amount of cayenne if you like it spicy, or reach for smoked paprika when you want the color with a mellow, smoky note instead of heat.

What Is Not in This Beans Aloo Recipe, and Why

Most aloo beans recipes you will find start by building a masala base with chopped onions and tomatoes. This one has neither, and that is deliberate. It is a homestyle sabji, so the potatoes and the green beans are the dish, not a vehicle for a gravy. There is no ginger and no garlic either, which is what makes it so quick.

There is also no water in the ingredient list at all. Nothing goes into the pan but 2 teaspoons of olive oil, the whole spices and the veggies, and the potatoes and beans cook in their own moisture under the lid. If your pan does run dry before the potatoes soften, a little water will rescue it, but you will trade away some of the crispness that makes this worth making.

Nothing sour goes in either. A lot of cooks finish a sabji with a pinch of dry mango powder, which you may see sold as amchur powder, or a squeeze of lemon juice at the end. Here the finish is garam masala and fresh cilantro instead. If you like that brightness, add it off the heat right before serving rather than during cooking, and start with less than you think you need.

And there is no pressure cook step and no Instant Pot version of this. It is a nonstick pan on the stove, start to finish. Pressure cooking would get you soft potatoes, but it would also get you soft potatoes, and the lightly browned edges are the entire point of cooking them uncovered for the first few minutes.

On the oil, mustard oil is the traditional choice in a lot of North Indian kitchens and it will work here. Be aware it is far more pungent than the olive oil I use, and it will change the character of the dish rather than just swapping one fat for another.

Cutting, Cook Time and What a Serving Looks Like

The knife work is the whole of the prep and it takes about 8 minutes. Peel one medium potato and chop it into 1 inch pieces, bite sized cubes rather than slices, so they can brown on the outside and still cook through. You want 2 cups of chopped green beans, diced to roughly the length of the potato cubes so the two are ready at the same time. I use the long thin French beans, which you may see labeled haricots verts, but regular green beans are fine.

This recipe is measured in teaspoons rather than tablespoons the whole way through: 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon of red chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander, which is the same thing as coriander powder, 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder, a pinch of hing and 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala at the end. There is not a tablespoon of anything in it. That is what people mean when they call this a basic spices, minimal spices kind of sabji, and it is why it tastes of potato and green bean rather than of masala.

The first minute is a sauté and the rest is steam. Oil, cumin seeds and hing over medium heat until the seeds turn reddish brown, then the potatoes go in and the lid goes on for 4 to 6 minutes. The lid comes off for the beans and the ground spices, then back on over lower heat for another 8 to 12. Cook time is 25 minutes on top of the 8 minutes of prep, so 33 minutes from start to table.

It makes 2 servings, and per serving the recipe card works out to 123 calories, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat and 310 mg of sodium. That is a genuinely light dish, and the sodium is almost entirely the salt you add to taste, so it is in your hands.