I loved it when it was the potato harvest time at grandma's house. Those few days when our maali ( gardener) pulled out the tubers from the soil, we were allowed to assist him. I remember that he used to water the garden a day before the D-day so that the plucking becomes easier. Next morning, exchanging chirpy conversations and knee-deep in the moist ground, we dug up aloo (potatoes) for hours. In the afternoon, just before lunch, mom gave us a bath in the house veranda, rubbing mud off our stained fingers, slathering petroleum jelly on them.
It was then time to rub off the flaky, paper thin skin off the dug up potatoes. She would soak them in seasoned water for a while and then use a tooth-brush to clean. Just a simple tempering of cumin or fenugreek seeds in mustard oil did the trick.
For weekend brunch it was dum aloo & triangle parathas along with mint- coriander chutney.Â
I grew up eating dum aloo done with new baby potatoes. However, P does not like the taste of new potatoes. How weird? right? So, mostly I make it with the usual diced up white potatoes.Even though any kind will work here, for authentic taste, use new tots.
In hindi ' dum' refers to slow cooking. Here potatoes are slow cooked with spices and yogurt to make for a scrumptious curry. You will find a lot of dum aloo recipes in India, differing from region to region.In my family, every aunt's recipe is different from mom's. But still, all very delicious and comforting , after potato is another name for comfort in the culinary world!
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Ingredients (Serves 3-4)
Coarsely grind together
Method Cut up the potatoes in half and in a large bowl, soak them in salted warm(not hot) water for 8-10 minutes. After soaking up, drain the water, peel off the skin (you can skip this for baby potatoes) and quarter them if you like.Using a kitchen towel or paper towel, dry up the potatoes. Set aside. In a heavy bottomed pot, heat up the oil on medium heat. If using mustard oil, heat it up till its smoky to do away the raw smell. Lower the heat once oil is hot. Wait for 1-2 minutes. Add the tejpatta and cinnamon stick to the oil. Let crackle for 20-30 seconds. Add the sliced onions and potatoes to the oil. Also add the hing. On medium - low heat, stir around the potatoes and onions and cook for 5-7 minutes.You will see that the onions begin to soften. Next add the coarsely ground spices to the pot along with chilli powders and turmeric. Stir and continue cooking on low for another 3-5 minutes. Next, add the tomatoes, ginger & yogurt to the pot, stir everything and continue cooking on low heat. The potatoes will release their juices and you will see the gravy becoming watery, but do not worry. After about 20-25 minutes ( this will depend on size and variety of potatoes, adjust accordingly), you will see that the potatoes have almost cooked, the gravy has a nice reddish color and thin oil bubbles have separated on the sides of the pot. At this point, add the water, sprinkle the garam maasala, cover the pot and let cook on low heat for another 8-10 minutes till the potatoes are totally cooked. Let sit covered for at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve warm. Notes-
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Enjoy & Thanks for stopping by!
shwetajani01
This is my idea of comfort food & of course there should be some puris to go with it : )
Riddhi
Lovely post! Dum Aloo is everyone's favorite I believe and you're right, the recipe is different in every household.. Love your version! 🙂
Rosa Mayland
Scrumptious and comforting! Totally my kind of dish... I love potatoes and spices!
Cheers,
Rosa
mindfullyspiced
I love Dum aloos.....and now, I have to make some this weekend!!
Thank you - lovely post, beautiful photographs and scrumptious looking food.
chinmayie @ love food eat
I can't wait to try this Dum Aloo recipe 🙂 We all love potatoes and there can never be too many potato recipes.
Sally
Bookmarked! Just the kind of food my family like to eat.
Namrata
Dum aloo looks gorgeous Tanvi. Beautiful pics.
Shema | LifeScoops
Love you childhood story... Dum aloo is one of my fav veggie dishes. I am so hungry now looking at these pictures..
Deepa
I love this dish!! Dum aloo is indeed one of those things that everyone has their own version of. Yours looks delish 🙂
TasteFood
I'll be trying this - it looks lovely.
AnithaNayak
Lovely pictures as usual.. ! love dum aloo.. 🙂
reggiorif
Really lovely! It took me some time to figure out all of the ingredients and their possible substitutes but now, I can go for it 😉
Tanvi
Thanks
spicesandpisces
It looks absolutely delicious. I dug up some potatoes few weeks ago and with that I dug up some memories too. It's a coincidence that I posted a new potato recipe just few days ago on my blog. This weekend my MIL will make a dum aloo to go with Bengali luchi 🙂 I'll try yours soon.
Priya
Beautifully done, who can resist to this wonderful dum aloo..
malvikajaswal
aloooooooooooo!! I want to go home!!!!!! I can't even see what I am typing right now........
Tanvi
🙂 You are funny! Thanks
Lail | With A Spin
Love aloo dum and agree it's the best weekend food ever. Like you said there are many variations of the recipe. I use tamarind instead of yogurt in my version. Scrumptious photos.
Tanvi
Now, tamarind sounds very unique & flavorful. Do you have a recipe to share?
Lail | With A Spin
Coming up shortly on the blog. It's one of my aunt's recipe that is a family favorite and absolutely delicious.
Shruti
Was trying to look for some specific recipe n got redirected to your lovely post!!!
Visiting your space for the 1st time... n now will be a regular visitor 🙂 Happy to connect...
Visit me @ http://www.cookingwithsj.com
Tanvi
Thanks Shruti for stopping by. You have a lovely blog. Happy to connect too
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
This is my kind of comfort food, with some rotis, pickles and a hot cup of chai thereafter. Divine 🙂
[email protected]
This is one of my dad's favorite dishes to eat every week. Gorgeous photos as always!
Namagiri
Hi Tanvi,
Can we use slow cooker for this recipe? Can you update the recipe for a slow cooker?
Tanvi
Slow Cooker cannot be used for this recipe.
Namagiri
Thank you. Do add some slow cooker recipes when you get a chance.
Namagiri
Tanvi,
By Ginger shoot you mean ordinary ginger root or anything different? I am going to soon try this.
Tanvi
I mean ginger root
Namagiri
Thanks
Namagiri
Tanvi,
When you say let sit for one hour in the end - you mean in the lowest flame or just turn it off and let it sit on stove top? Thanks. Will be making this for dinner. Cant wait!
Namagiri
I also have another question - except in places where you mentioned cover & cook - did you cook uncovered all along?
I made this tonight. Me & my hubby both loved it. Thanks so much!
Namagiri
Hi Tanvi,
Your bread looks so good. Reminding Dhaba days (Nostalgic!)
Please post a recipe for that.
Lisa
I am even more excited now to plant potatoes in the spring!!! ^-^
Every time I will water them, I will think of this recipe :]