Dum Aloo Kashmiri

This weekend I got about half a kg of baby potatoes during my trip to sabzi mandi.  We love the simple baby potato fry, but this time I wanted to try something different. I thought of potato biryani, but M demanded rotis so I zeroed in on this recipe which was in my hand written recipe book.
I noted down this recipe way long back from a TV cookery show. I have tried this earlier using cream but this time I added beaten yoghurt. I like the creaminess of yoghurt in my gravies plus its healthier than the cream version. Win-win. M liked it and so it’s another WIN! It is a rich creamy gravy, mildly spiced with soft smoky potatoes.

Ingredients:

Baby Potatoes/Small Potatoes-20

Onion-1 big, finely chopped

Curd/Yoghurt-1/2 cup, beaten/ Heavy Cream-2 tbsp

Red chili powder-1 & ½ tsp

Coriander powder-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek leaves-1 tsp, crushed between palms

Salt-as needed

Coriander leaves- to garnish

Oil- 1tsp

To Roast & Grind:

Onion-1 big, roughly chopped

Fennel seeds-1/2 tsp

Cinnamon-1/2 inch piece

Green cardamom-1

Black cardamom-1

Cloves-2

Ginger-1 inch piece

Garlic-5 small pods

Green chilies-1

Tomatoes-2 medium, roughly chopped

Cashews-10

Heat a tsp of oil, add fennel seeds when they pop, add other whole spices and rest of the ingredients and fry them well. Then cool them and grind to a smooth paste.

To Temper:

Oil- 2 tsp

Cumin seeds-1 tsp

Bay leaf-1

Dried Red chili-1

How it Happened:

1. Boil the potatoes (see notes) with salt and peel the skin. Heat a tsp of oil in a kadai and roast the potatoes to golden. Prick them with a fork and set them aside.

2. Heat oil in a kadai, add the ingredients under the ‘to temper’ list and when they splutter add the finely chopped onion s and cook until transparent.

3. Now add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, and coriander powder with salt and mix well. Cook for a minute in medium flame.

4. Add the ground paste to the kadai and cook for 2 minutes in simmer. Do not cook in high flame else the masala will get burnt.

5. Pour in half a cup of water and let the mixture cook for 5-7 minutes in medium flame.

6. When the mixture starts to boil, simmer the flame and add the beaten yoghurt slowly and mix simultaneously else they may curdle.

7. Slide in the boiled & roasted potatoes slowly and let them cook for another five minutes. Now the mixture would have thickened a bit.

8. Add crushed kasuri methi and mix once.

9. Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with Phulkas/ rotis.

Notes:

* Normal potatoes can also be diced & used. The potatoes should be boiled to perfection. Overcooking results in mashed potatoes. I cooked them in medium flame for 1 whistle and then simmer them for 5 minutes. Switch off the flame. Allow to cool. Pricking them helps the masala getting easily absorbed.

* The original recipe calls for deep frying the potatoes. But I pressure cooked and roasted them in a tsp of oil and let them to char a bit so they can have a slight smoky flavor. But you can also deep fry them .In that case you need not pressure cook them.

 The ingredients like ginger and garlic should be roasted well. Else they smell raw in the gravy and will put off the whole gravy.

* The green chilies, dried red chilies and chili powder is used. So keep that in mind and adjust the heat as per your taste.

* The yoghurt should not be sour. They should be thick and should be beaten before adding to the gr5avy. If not beaten chances are high that they may get curdled. Also simmer the flame and slowly add the curd.

* Cream can be used instead of yoghurt. It gives a rich taste. In that case, add lemon juice after switching off the flame, for mild sourness.

* They taste better when rested for 30 minutes so that the flavors can get incorporated in the potatoes.

* While resting, keep them in a insulated casserole. In case if you want to reheat do so in simmer or microwave them in low power else they may curdle.