This easy and tasty Dum Aloo Punjabi style – a popular North Indian curry prepared with baby potatoes. This curry requires potatoes, spices and cream. These ingredients are always available in most of the Indian kitchens. This recipe basically a thick spicy gravy or sauce made with baby potatoes, yogurt and a touch of cream.
I made this popular North Indian Dum Aloo recipe mostly on special occasions like birthdays or festivals like Diwali, Holi. I have made this recipe in various ways, out of which I am sharing my favorite method with you.
Potatoes are used in almost all vegetables and everyone also likes to eat potatoes. Most of the recipes made with potatoes like aloo palak, aloo gobi and much more. In short, our food is often incomplete without potatoes.
We need to understand why it is called Dum Aloo, originally “Dum” refers to dum cooking in Indian cuisine, where the dishes are cooked on a slow flame by sealing the pot. The same method is also used for vegetable biryani. This type of dum cooking enhances the taste of the recipe.
There are different ways to make this recipe, but I know a lot about the Punjabi version of Dum Aloo with spices, yogurt and cream.
There are other versions like Kashmiri Dum Aloo, Dum Aloo Lakhanvi, which are completely different from the Punjabi version.
We can stuff nuts and raisins inside these baby potato as well, these will definitely enhance the taste and richness.
While making gravy, some people like to add tomatoes whereas some use besan (gram flour), but I am using curd for the thickness of the gravy. Everyone has their own way, so there is no right or wrong way to make it.
How to make Good Dum Aloo
To make Punjabi style dum aloo, try to use mustard oil to cook gravy. You can also use refined oil, but mustard oil has its flavor own and it really enhances the final taste of the curry.
Always use fresh ground spices as it definitely makes a difference in the taste of the curry. It takes 2 minutes to fry the spices and then grind them with a powder. I always use freshly ground spices.
Do not boil the potatoes too much, just boil them to the point where the skin gets off easily.
Always fry the potatoes before adding them to the curry. This makes it more delicious.
When it is ready, give a finish with cream and sugar. These help to balance the flavors, as this recipe uses a lot of spices.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe goes well with jeera rice and also with naan.
You can serve it with either of those or with any bread of choice.
Follow this recipe in just few steps mentioned below.
Dum Aloo Punjabi Style
Print RecipeIngredients
- For Curry - 14 baby potatoes around 500 grams
- 4 tablespoons +2 teaspoons mustard oil separately
- 1 large onion roughly chopped
- 4-5 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- A piece of ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 green chilli chopped
- 10 cashews raw, unsalted
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder divided
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 cup fresh yogurt around 240 grams
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 cup water as required for consistency of gravy you prefer
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon kasuri methi
- Coriander to garnish
- For spice mix - 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds divided
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 4 green cardamom
- 2 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Boil the smaller sized potatoes. Place a pot of water on medium-high flame, add the potatoes and let the water come to a boil until a single whistle comes in the pressure cooker and then remove them from the pressure cooker. Do not over-boil the potatoes.
- Once it is boiled, using a strainer and wash the potatoes under cold water. Peel the boiled potatoes, so that skin comes off easily.
- Use a fork or toothpick, prick them all over with all potatoes. This step helps to move masala properly inside the aloos in the further process. Keep it aside.
For the Spice Mix
- To grind the spices, take the whole spices- 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds,½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, 4 green cardamoms, 2 cloves and 1-inch cinnamon stick into a small pan, roast them all on medium flame for 2-3 minutes until changes colour and fragrant . Careful, do not burn them. Let it cool completely.
- Transfer spices to a grinder jar, make a fine powder. Set it aside.
- Heat the pan, add 2 teaspoons mustard oil. Once hot enough, add ginger, garlic and green chili and stir fry for 1 minute until aroma comes.
- Now add the onions and cashews and saute for 3 minutes till they have softened.
- Turn off the flame, remove the pan from heat.
- Transfer the onion cashews paste to a grinder jar and grind it to make a fine paste. Keep this aside.
- Then heat 4 tablespoons of mustard oil in a kadai on medium heat till it is hot enough and the raw smell goes away.
- Add the boiled potatoes and fry them until they are evenly browned from all sides. Toss them in between for even browning.
- Remove it to a plate and keep it aside, prick them again with a toothpick and fork.
- In the same pan with remainning oil, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and 1 bay leaf. Let them sizzle for few seconds and then add ½ teaspoon hing, 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder and fry for few seconds so that it will get a nice red color.
- Now mix the prepared onion-cashew paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stirring continuously till all the moisture evaporate and becomes thick. it will leave the sides of the pan.
- Next, add the powdered spices (that we grinded earlier) along with ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder and mix well and cook for a minute.
- Switch off the flame. Add the whisked yogurt at room temperature to the pan. Stir continuously, so that it mix with the curry well and doesn’t separate.
- Place the pan on medium heat and continue to stir and let it come to a light boil. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Then add salt, remaining ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder and turmeric.
- Cook for 4 minutes until oil releases from sides and comes on top of the masala.
- Add the fried potatoes and cook on a medium flame for 1-2 minutes with ¼ cup of water or as as per your liking consistency. Cover the pan tightly with a lid and “dum” cook for 5 to 6 minutes on a low to medium flame.
- Add cream, sugar, garam masala and kasoori methi.
- The consistency of gravy must be thick. Add less or more water depending on how thick or thin you like the gravy.
- Simmer 3 more minutes and turn off the flame.
- Garnish with coriander and serve hot punjabi dum aloo with rice or naan.
Tips-
- You can use full fat yogurt to the gravy because it mix quickly. While mixing turn off or lower the flame.
- The spiciness of this recipe can be reduced by reducing the red chilli powder.
- This recipe is best to have in the winters and rainy seasons.
- The recipe seems long but it’s easy to make. You can make the spice mix a day before, that will save you time the next day. You can even boil the baby potatoes beforehand to cut short the process.