A luscious, fragrant, creamy and mildly spiced Kashmiri dum aloo recipe that is quick and easy to make and pairs well with both rice and flatbreads.
I love Kashmiri cuisine for more reasons than one. Firstly, most recipes are made in mustard oil and without onions and garlic, similar to most Bengali recipes. Secondly, the recipes from the cuisine have simple and clean flavours that come together so deliciously well. For instance, in this Kashmiri dum aloo recipe, ground ginger and fennel seeds are the main flavouing agents. And you will be able to realise their taste with every bite you take of it. This creamy, yoghurt based dum aloo recipe is a quick, one pot recipe. The richness in this side dish comes from the yoghurt itself. Also, the baby potatoes used for this recipe are first deep fried and then added to the yoghurt masala.
The deep frying also lends a greater taste to this potato side dish, as opposed to not frying them. However, I don’t deep fry the raw potatoes. I always par boil the potatoes first and then fry them. This not only means using lesser oil for frying but it also cuts down the time needed to completely cook the potatoes. Finding quicker and smarter ways to cook is my jam! When the potatoes are getting pressure cooked, I finish up the other preparation for the recipe. Having said that, let me also tell you, there is minimal pre-preparation that is needed for the Kashmiri dum aloo recipe. Since there is absolutely no cutting or chopping needed (not even coriander) here, you just need to allot 30 minutes for the entire recipe. That is all!
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Quick and easy recipe
Like I already mentioned, this dum aloo recipe is the quickest that you can make. And even without any onions, tomatoes or garlic in it, this potato side dish tastes supremely yummy. It is slightly tangy due to the use of the yoghurt and very fragrant. Besides the ground ginger and roasted fennel seed powder in it, this potato curry also has a bunch of whole spices in it. Warm spices like cinnamon, cardamoms etc and asafetida powder make this recipe so flavourful. The orangish red colour of the curry comes from the use of Kashmiri red chilli powder. This chilli powder only imparts a beautiful colour to the dish and not heat. If you’d like your dum aloo to have some hotness, you could add a couple of fresh chilies. While that is a slight deviation of the traditional method, I too can’t do without them chilies!
Moreover, I have made this delicious recipe with new potatoes. The winter harvest of the potatoes makes this curry taste even better. So, if you can lay your hands on a winter produce of potatoes you know what to make with them. 🙂
Serving suggestions
Since this potato recipe has a thick, luscious and flowing curry, it makes for a lovely side dish with Indian flatbreads. My favourite is to pair this Kashmiri dum aloo with either parathas or naan. However, it does taste great even with some steamed rice or cumin flavoured rice (jeera rice). This potato recipe is a much loved one and makes for an amazing option for dinner parties at home. And when you have a long list of menu items to prepare, this quick and easy recipe is surely going to be up your alley. In case you happen to try my recipe, I’d love to see how it turned out for you. You can share your food pictures with me on Instagram. On the other hand you could also share your feedback in the comments section below. I’d be thrilled to hear back from you!
Eat hearty!
Kashmiri dum aloo
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
- Shallow cooking pot
Ingredients
- 1 kg baby potatoes
- 1 cup yoghurt whisked until lump free
- 2 tbsp gram flour besan
- 1½ tbsp fennel seeds roasted and ground
- 1 tbsp ground ginger sonth
- 1 tsp asafetida hing
- 3 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 2 tbsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp cream optional
- 2 dried Kashmiri chilis
- 2 black cardamoms
- 3-4 green cardamoms
- 4-5 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp black cumin seeds shahi jeera
- 2-3 fresh chilis optional
- ½ cup mustard oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In your pressure cooker, add the potatoes with a tablespoon of salt and set it to cook until 70% done. When done, remove from heat and let the pressure in the cooker subside
- Once done, open it and drain the potatoes. Peel their skin and poke each of them with a fork at 3-4 places. Apply a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon each of turmeric and Kashmiri chili powder to them
- Set the mustard oil to heat, until it smokes. Then lower the heat to medium and add the potatoes in batches to fry until light golden all over. Drain the oil and set them aside
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the yoghurt, gram flour, remaining turmeric, ground ginger and fennel powder with ¾ cup water. In a separate bowl mix the asafetida and the chili powder with 2-3 tablespoons of water
- Heat a cooking pot and add about 3-4 tablespoon of the mustard oil in which the potatoes were fried. When hot add the dried chilies and the whole spices. Once fragrant, lower the heat and add the chili powder and hing mixture
- Cook for 3-4 minutes and add the yoghurt mixture, one ladle at a time and keep stirring continuously. Increase the heat to a medium and cook this mixture until oil separates
- Next add the potatoes, mix them in well, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes. When the yoghurt sauce has reduced and coated the potatoes, add the cream (if using) and fresh chilis. Simmer for 3-4 minutes and turn the flame off
- Mix in the salt and keep keep the Kashmiri dum aloo, covered for 5 minutes before serving with Indian breads or rice. Enjoy!
Notes
- Adding the cream is completely optional. Since it makes the dum aloo even more creamy, I like using it
- Even gram flour isn't traditionally added to the Kashmiri dum aloo. I have added it to give thicken the yoghurt
- kg - kilograms
- tsp - teaspoon
- tbsp - tablespoon
- 1 cup = 250 millilitres
