Dum Aloo

I find baby potatoes so cute looking and adorable that I never miss a chance to buy them when I spot them. I usually make either dum aloo with them or a spicy, dry masala fry. I don't use the dum technique per se for cooking these but just let them simmer for a long time so the potatoes can absorb the masalas.

DUM ALOO


Ingredients:

Baby potatoes - 12, parboiled and peeled
Coriander leaves - chopped, for garnish
Thick yogurt - 2 tbsp
Milk / Cream - 2 tbsp
Oil - 4 tsp, divided
Cloves - 1
Cinnamon stick - half inch piece
Cumin seeds - half tsp
Salt - to taste

To Fry & Grind:
Onion - 1 large, peeled and cut into big pieces
Tomato - 1 medium, ripe
Garlic - 3 cloves
Ginger - half inch piece
Almonds/Cashews - about 8

Masala powders (to be mixed into a paste with some water)
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Kitchen King Masala - 1 to 2 tsp

Method:
1) Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and fry the onion, ginger and garlic till browned on the edges. Add the tomatoes with a bit of salt and when they are mushy. Transfer out to a bowl and allow to cool a bit. Then grind this with almonds or cashews to a fine paste.

2) Return the same pan to the stove and add another tsp of oil, slightly prick the parboiled ( I used a microwave to do this), peeled potatoes and toss in the oil with a pinch or two of salt and allow them to get fried a bit.. They will just get a light brown colour. Take this out and keep aside.

3) Now add the remaining 2 tsp of oil and season with cloves, cinnamon and cumin seeds and add the ground onion-tomato paste, followed by the masala powder paste with some salt and allow this to cook on a medium flame till it is nice and thick and the raw smell is gone.

4) Now add about a cup of water and the fried potatoes, let this come to a boil, cover, reduce flame and allow to simmer for 30 minutes or till thick. You will see some oil splitting and floating on the top after this. The reason we want this thick now is so the curd and milk mixture will bring it back to the right consistency.

5) Blend the curd with milk/cream until smooth and add to the gravy. Switch off the stove and cover again and let it stay for about 10 to 15 minutes before garnishing with coriander leaves and serving. If desired more cream can be drizzled on top.

Serve with naan, rotis or pulaos.