Green Beans and Potatoes (Aloo Beans)

Green Beans and Potatoes are steam cooked and stir fried with minimal spices to make this Aloo Beans. This simple North Indian dish is a healthy, flavour-packed and delicious vegetarian side for your meals. It is naturally gluten-free, vegan and goes well with just anything! This is a one-pan dish, gets done under 35 mins & is easy to make for a weeknight dinner. I share stovetop and instant pot versions in this post.

Aloo Beans is a dry dish (sabzi) and I don’t use any onions or tomatoes to save time. You need only basic spices to flavor the green beans and potatoes. It goes perfectly well with rice, roti/phulka, chapati alongside dal, lentil curry or South Indian tomato rasam.

I am using fine green beans here but the recipe can be made with any other kind of tender/young beans like French beans/haricots verts, yard long beans etc. The cook time and preparation changes with other kind of beans. Read my expert tips section to know more on using other beans varieties.

Fine green beans are the stringless variety that are harvested early. They save a lot of your time as you don’t need to string them and they also cook faster. I use equal amounts of green beans and potatoes but you may alter the ratio to your choice.

Carrots, radish and sweet potatoes make a good substitute for potatoes. A lot of times I also make this dish with just green beans omitting the potatoes or include white button mushrooms. Here are the other staples you need.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Fresh ginger and garlic add their own spicy and pungent flavors to the dish. If you don’t like to bite into the ginger juliennes you may mince them but be cautious as they can burn faster. If you don’t have the fresh spices, use ¼ teaspoon ground dried ginger and ½ teaspoon garlic powder at the finishing stage. They don’t make perfect substitutes but still work.
• Ground Spices: Turmeric, Kashmiri red chili powder (for heat) and garam masala (for flavor) are the ground spices required. You may omit turmeric and replace Kashmiri chili with paprika or a mix of cayenne and paprika. If you are using a strong garam masala, you will also need cumin powder and coriander powder.
• Chaat Masala (or lemon juice) : We love chaat masala in this dish and it totally elevates the flavor. But a dash of lemon juice or amchur (dried mango powder) adds the same tang, with their unique flavor profiles. Feel free to use what you have.

Photo Guide

How to cook Green Beans and Potatoes (Stepwise Photos)

This recipe serves 4. But you can halve to make 2 servings or double to make 8 servings. You can store this in the refrigerator for 2 days & heat up.

Preparation

1. Prep up the potatoes, ginger and garlic first and begin to cook. Prepare the beans while your potatoes cook, this saves some time.

• 250 grams (9 ounces) potatoes (2 medium aloo peel, dice to 1 * ½ inch & add to a bowl of water if you want)
• 250 grams (9 ounces) fine green beans (You may use up to 350 g or 12 ounces)
• 4 large garlic cloves (peeled and sliced)
• 1 inch ginger (peeled and julienned, omit if you don’t like)
• 1 green chili slit or chopped (optional)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons oil (olive oil/ avocado or mustard oil if you prefer)
• ½ teaspoon sea salt (more to adjust)
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (cut down for low heat)
• 1 to 1½ teaspoon garam masala (I use ¾ tsp gm+¾ tsp coriander powder + ¼ teaspoon cumin powder, read pro tips section below)
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon chaat masala (or ⅓ tsp dried mango powder or 1 tbsp lemon juice. adjust to taste)

2. On a medium flame, heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil in a pan. Saute chili, ginger and garlic for 1 to 2 mins. (If using mustard oil, heat until it begins to smoke, turn off the heat and add the ginger garlic)

3. Remove the potatoes from water and add them here. Saute for 3 minutes on a medium heat. Pour ⅓ cup water and mix well.

Make Aloo Beans

4. Cover and cook until tender stirring after 5 mins. Add 2 tablespoons more water if required. It takes me about 10 minutes, but may be different for you. While the potatoes cook, line up a handful of green beans so all the ends are facing the bottom. Cut off the tips with a knife, repeat the other side as well. Chop them to 1 to 1½ inch pieces, as per your choice.

5. Potatoes should be just cooked, fork tender and not mushy. When you pierce with a fork, it should go in smoothly without much resistance. If you want you may remove the green chilies at this stage.

6. Add the green beans and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons water to deglaze the pan. Cover and cook until tender yet crunchy, for 5 to 6 minutes. The timing can vary depending on your beans and you may need to add more water. I used ¼ cup water, added in 2 batches.

7. It is important to cook the veggies until tender before adding the spices else they can burn. Stir in all the spices – turmeric, salt, chili powder, garam masala (or gm + coriander + cumin) and chaat masala.

8. Stir fry for a minute or 2 and turn off. Taste test and adjust spices to your preference. If using lemon juice add it while serving.

Serve Green Beans and Potatoes hot or warm alongside this Tomato Rasam, Red Lentil Curry, Saag Paneer or Dal tadka. You can store the leftovers in the refrigerator for 2 days and heat up on the stove top. Add more spices if you need while reheating.

Instant Pot Green Beans and Potatoes

• Place the cubed potatoes (1 inch) and green beans (1 inch) in a wide bowl. Sprinkle chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and a tsp of water. Mix them well with a spoon to coat with the spices.
• Place the bowl over a trivet (or your rice bowl), inside your Instant pot. Cover the bowl and then the Instant pot. Pressure cook on high for 8 mins. You can adjust the timings based on the size of your chopped potatoes. I usually do 10 mins (1 inch pieces) with short rice and 6 mins (1*½ inch) with basmati rice. You may
• When the pressure drops, remove and temper them. If your potatoes are overcooked, next time cut down the timing or chop them larger. If they are undercooked, chop them smaller or increase the timing next time.
• Heat oil, saute chili, garlic and ginger. Add the green beans and potatoes, salt and a splash of water. If your potatoes are too dry, add more water. Stir fry for 1 to 2 mins and add chaat masala.

Expert Tips

• It is important to keep the size of potatoes small and of similar sizes else they won’t cook uniformly.
• If your beans are not very fresh, soak them in water for 15 minutes. This hydrates them and cooks faster.
• Store bought garam masala usually lacks flavor and is not as strong as the homemade version. Every brand is different, so use 1 to 1.5 tsps as per your preference. Because my homemade version is stronger I use ¾ tsp garam masala + ¾ tsp coriander powder + ¼ teaspoon cumin powder.
• I use ⅔ cup water in total, half of it to boil the potatoes and the rest while steaming the beans, added in batches. Use as needed without pouring a lot at one time.
• Green chilies and beans look alike in the finished dish. If you are worried you will bite into the chili, remove them before adding the beans.
• This dish is best reheated in a pan on the stovetop rather than in a IP.

Using other kind of beans

• If your beans are more mature and old, add them along with potatoes and cook until tender.
• If using string beans, you need to string them. Hold the tip and break it while pulling the string on the sides. Repeat the same on the other side.
• To use cluster beans, string them and chop. Add 250 grams to a bowl with ¾ cup water and pressure cook for 3 whistles or 10 mins in IP. Add them to the pan along with the water and cook on a high heat.
• To use long beans, I pressure cook for 8 mins or 2 whistles without water. I timing can change if your beans are not tender/young.

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