Dum Aloo / Aloo Dum

Gone are the days when I used to cook only dal and kurmas for daily menu. Now I started including many rich gravies. Few are from my ideas and few are from cookbook collections I own. Sometimes, I tweak the recipe completely to make the cooking process easier without compromising on taste. Today’s recipe is Dum Aloo from Nita Mehta’s cookbook and it is highly modified to make the cooking process easier.

Basic Information:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30-35 minutes

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

Baby potatoes – 20-25 nos.

Oil / Butter – 3 tablespoons

Fennel seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Cinnamon stick – 2 inch piece

Green cardamom – 3 nos.

Black cardamom – 1 no.

Bay Leaves – 1 no.

Cloves – 3 nos.,

Onion – 1 no., large size, sliced

Tomato – 2 nos., medium size, cubed

Ginger –  2 inch piece, finely chopped

Garlic cloves – 3 nos., finely chopped

Cashew nuts – 2 tablespoons

Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Red chilli powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon

Garam Masala – 1/2 teaspoon

Salt – to taste

Kasoori methi – 1/2 teaspoon

Milk – 1 cup

Water – 1/2-1 cup

Method:

1) Pressure cook the potatoes for 2 whistles. Once done, peel the skin and prick using fork all the sides.

2) In a wide pan, heat a tablespoon of oil. Add the potatoes and shallow fry until all the sides of potato turns golden brown. Keep turning the potatoes using ladle or spoon for uniform browning.

3) In the same pan, heat another tablespoon of oil. Add fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, green cardamom, black cardamom, bay leaves and cloves. Saute for few seconds.

4) Add onion and saute till it becomes soft and brown.

5) Add ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute.

6) Add cubed tomato. Saute until the tomato becomes mushy.

7) Add cashew nuts and turn the flame off. Let it cool to room temperature.

8) Once cooled, grind it to a smooth paste. Add water if required.

9) Take another pan or in the same pan, heat remaining oil. Add cumin seeds and allow it to splutter.

10) Add the ground masala paste to it. Rinse the mixie with 1/2 cup of water and add it to the pan. Let it boil for 5-7 minutes.

11) Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala, salt and kasoori methi. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.

12) Reduce the flame to low and add milk slowly in a batch and stir well after each addition. Make sure the milk is incorporated well with the gravy. Cook for 1-2 minute(s).

13) Add baby potatoes. Mix well. Cover the pan using lid and let it be for 3-5 minutes.

14) Open the lid and cook again for few seconds.

15) Gravy is ready and serve hot with roti.

Notes:

1) Instead of baby potatoes, you can use normal round potatoes and cut them as 1 inch cubes before using them.

2) Instead of pressure cooking, you can deep fry the potatoes.

3) You can also use couple of tablespoons of khoya along with kasoori methi for richer taste to the gravy.

4) I added kashmiri red chilli powder for the colour and store bought red chilli powder for spicy taste. Adjust it according to your taste.

5) The final gravy was in thick creamy consistency. You can add more or reduce the water quantity as per the consistency you need.