Dum Aloo

Yesterday, I went for my regular veggie shopping and found baby potatoes . I immediately grabbed one packet keeping in mind Dum aloo curry
. It's been a long time that I haven't prepared this curry. Lets not waste any more time and get straight into the recipe.

Method :

Soak almonds in hot water for 15 minutes or alternately soak them in normal water overnight and peel the skin. Do not throw the water. It can be used for preparing curry or preparing chapati dough. Wash the baby potatoes and pressure cook them until 3 whistles. In the meantime lets get the masala or gravy ready.

Chop 2 medium sized onions into big chunks. Heat oil in a pan and add shah jeera and other dry spices mentioned under " for masala " section.

Once they splutter add cashew and almonds.

Fry until cashew becomes golden brown.  

Add poppy seeds, onion and green chillies.

Fry for a minute and add ginger garlic paste.

Fry until onions become pink in colour.

Add chopped tomatoes , turmeric and dried pudina powder.

Fry until tomatoes become mushy.

Switch off flame . Transfer to another plate and allow to cool.
Meanwhile peel the potatoes and finely chop the onions.


Heat the pan and add oil. Once oil is hot add finely chopped onions and fry until translucent.

Add baby potatoes and fry until golden brown. Keep stirring in between so that it doesn't get burnt.

While this is getting fried lets grind the masala for the curry. Grind the cooled onion-tomato mixture to get a smooth texture.

Add this to the fried potatoes and mix well.

 Add one cup of water. You can add more water to get the consistency of your choice. Add chilli powder, garam masala powder and curry powder. Add salt. Give it a nice mix and cook for 5 minutes.

Add coriander leaves. Remove from flame . Garnish with chilli powder if you want it spicy or with cream if you want it extra creamy. It goes well with any Indian bread or with mild flavoured pulavs.

Preparation time : 45 minutes

Cooking time : 20 minutes

Serves : 3 adults

 Ingredients :

For masala :

shah jeera - 1/2 tsp

poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp

almonds - 11

cashew - 11

onion ( medium sized ) - 2

tomato - big 1

cloves - 4

dalchin - 1" piece

star anise - 1 petal

black pepper corns - 7

dried pudina powder - 1 tsp or fresh pudina leaves - 15

turmeric - 1/2 tsp

ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

green chillies - 1

For curry :

onion - 1 big

baby potatoes - 30 ( 1/2 kg )

oil - 2 tbsp.'s

chilli powder - 1 tsp

garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

kasturi methi powder - 1/2 tsp

salt - to taste

 Preparation of the curry :

1.  Soak almonds in hot water for 15 minutes or alternately soak them in normal water overnight and peel the skin.
2. Wash the baby potatoes and pressure cook them until 3 whistles.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add shah jeera.
4. Once they splutter add the masala - cloves, dalchin, star anise and black pepper corns. Fry for a minute.
5. Add cashew and almond and fry until they turn to brown in colour.
6. Add poppy seeds, onion and green chillies. Fry for a minute or so.
7. Put in ginger garlic paste and fry until the onions turn transparent.
8. Add chopped tomato, turmeric and dried pudina ( mint ) powder ( or fresh mint leaves ).
9. Cook until the tomatoes become soft and mushy. Transfer to another plate and cool.
10. Once cool grind this to a fine paste. This makes the gravy for our curry.
11. Peel the skin of the boiled potatoes. Fine chop the onions required for the curry.
12. Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onions. Fry until they are nicely fried and turn pink in colour.
13. Add peeled baby potatoes and fry until they turn a light golden brown in colour. Remember to stir occasionally as they may get burnt.
14. Add the ground masala to these potatoes and mix well.
15. Add 1 cup of water or as per your desired consistency.
16. Add chilli powder, garam masala powder and curry powder.
17. Give it a nice mix and cook for 4-5 minutes.
18. garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with chapathi or pulav.