Dum Aloo Masala

I still remember the first time I made this curry. That was before marriage and in college days. My mom and dad had gone to my native for a function and I was left alone in home. Poor me, no proper and good food for 3 days. Those days were good ol’ days when I peeked into the kitchen only to ask if there was anything to eat.

My parents were to return by Saturday noon and mom had called me up and asked me to get some store bought curd to have curd rice for lunch. But daring me, stepped into the kitchen for the first ever time to make a complete dish from scratch. Browsed for some recipes and thought of making dum aloo as the side dish. Back then, I was frightened to use the mixie and frying things in oil was always a strict NO for me. So skipped anything grinding :) and frying :) :)… Just imagine how the dum aloo would have tasted with all the essential steps ripped off. But then my dad who always pampered me for whatever I did, praised that the taste of the dish was too yum… After 1 ½ years of successful operations in the kitchen, I re-tried the dish with all the steps intact and to be frank, the dish came out too good.

Recipe borrowed from 4th sense cooking

~*What U Need*~
Baby potatoes – ¼ kg
Almonds – 3
Whole Cashews – 3
Onion(Medium) – 2
Tomato(Medium) – 1
Thick Curd – 1 cup
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Dried red chillies – 2
Cloves – 2
Cardamom – 1
Cinnamon – 1" stick
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Dried Kasoori methi leaves – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Chopped Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp
Salt – for taste
Oil – for frying

How I Made it

Pressure cook the potatoes for 2 whistles. Peel the skin of the potatoes. Beat the curd till turns into a smooth texture Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the potatoes until they turn crispy and golden brown on all sides. Set aside. Blanch the almonds in hot water for ten mins and peel off the skin. Grind the almonds along with the cashews, ginger-garlic paste, red chillies and tomatoes into smooth paste.

Chop the onions finely. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan and add cumin. Once the cumin has spluttered, add cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Fry till you get the aroma (say 1min) and then add the onions. Fry till golden brown Add the ground paste and fry till the raw smell goes off. Add the turmeric powder, garam masala powder, kasoori methi, sugar and salt. Combine well and drop the shallow fried potatoes into the gravy. Turn the heat to low flame and slowly add in the beaten curd stirring continuously. Keep the flame in medium and cook closed for five mins. You will see the oil floating on top of the gravy. Garnish with cut coriander leaves. Serve with butter naan or chapathi or any Indian bread.

Loved the richness of the almonds and cashews, the slight sourness of curd combined with the spicy masalas. Would have been great if naans had been the main dish.