Dum Aloo: Potatoes Simmered in Spices & Coconut Milk
Talking of Dum Aloo…There are some hundreds of ways to make Dum Aloo. In West Bengal it used to be a must dish served for weddings with “Radhaballavi” (lentil stuffed puri), and I loved the slight & subtle sweet taste of that kind of dum aloo.
Also during fall/winter time, when there would be small new baby potatoes, & the peas in the shell, my mom would make peas kachori and dum aloo with the bite size potatoes. It used to be an all evening activity when we would all sit and shell the peas and rub the potatoes to skin the already peeling skins.
These are all memories for me now, since my mom is no more… and it hurts and at the same feels good to think about those days now. I try to do the same thing for my kids, but often times it is more painful for me than fun. One would think the pain would fade with time, but it does not, esp. when its your mom & she had to take leave very young…
This is a combination of what my mom would make & what I do now. I follow her her recipe except I use the coconut milk. It gives a different flavor & makes it subtly sweet which I love.
Sending this for Eating with the Seasons: November hosted by Maninas. & Vegan Ventures – Round 2 hosted by Suganya of Tasty Palettes.
Ingredients:
- 10 Small Round White Potatoes or Idaho potatoes cut into 4 pieces if they are big
- 2 Medium Size Red or Yellow Onions
- 3″ Piece of Ginger Peeled
- 4 Cloves of Garlic
- 5 Dry Red Chillies (Optional)
- 4 Tablespoons chopped Almonds
- 3 Cloves
- 4 Green Cardamoms
- 1″ Stick of Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 Teaspoon of Turmeric
- 1.5 Teaspoon of Turmeric
- 3/4 Cup of Tomato Puree
- 1/2-3/4 Cup Light Coconut Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Garam Masala (Also available in Indian Groceries)
- 1 Tablespoons of Oil
- 7-8 Tablespoons Oil
- 2 Tablespoons of Raisins (Optional)
- Chopped Cilantro/Coriander leaves for Garnish
- Salt
Preparation:Peel the potatoes and pierce them with a fork in multiple places and soak them in salt water ( they should be all covered with water) for about 1/2 hour. If the potatoes are big, cut them in halves or quarters.
Grind Ginger, Garlic & Dry Red Peppers to a paste. Cut the Onions in half and slice thinly in half moons. Drain the potatoes, & sprinkle them with 1 teaspoon of turmeric.
Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil and fry the potatoes, at medium heat till they are slightly browned on all sides. (Actually it is best if the potatoes are deep fried – but i skip that part for obvious health reasons). Set aside.
Heat the rest of the oil. Add cinnamon, clove and cardamoms. When they start to sizzle add the Cumin seeds. After 30 seconds add the sliced Onions and fry them till they are glazed and slightly brown.
Add the ginger garlic chilli paste to it. Stir it for about 2 minutes and add the potatoes, Turmeric and salt. Fry at medium heat till the oil separates on the sides. Add the Almonds and Tomato Puree and cook for some more time, till all the puree coats the potatoes and the oil separates.
Add the Coconut Milk, Raisins (if u are using them) & Garam Masala & 3/4 cup of water and cover tightly and cook at low heat till the potatoes are fork tender. If there is any more liquid left, uncover and cook at high heat, till there is only enough to coat the potatoes and little bit more.
Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro/coriander. Serve with Parathas, Kulchas, or Any Flat Bread.
Note: Can use any kind of potato if u do not get the above.
Related Posts:
Glazed Rosemary & Garlic Potatoes
Bharwan Alu (Stuffed Potato)
Fenugreek Seeds with Potatoes
Cauliflower and Potato in Creme Sauce
White Potatoes with Nigella
Looks delicious ! This is my all-time favotite preparation. Thanks Soma. You do seem a tremendous cook !
I like the sound of these potatoes with coconut milk.
This looks so good! I love coconut milk in food. You have taken wonderful pictures! Looks very tempting!
So many ingredients! looks rich and creamy!
Sorry to hear about your mother. But what a great way to cherish those memories. Beautiful pictures and thanks for sharing a beautiful recipe.
How beautiful! The flavours you use look delicious!
What a fantastic recipe! I’m so glad you discovered Eating with the Seasons so I can discover your gorgeous recipes! Thanks!
Great vegetarian recipe! I’ll definitely keep this in mind for my next dinner party with vegetarians 🙂
This looks really yummy. Delicious with rotis.
There may be a 100 ways of making it, yours at the moment is making me drool. How prettier can one make it?!
This dish looks really delicious.
looks delicious.. very nice pics:)
Borora nijeder byatha chepe bhacchader anondo deye … eta tumi prove korcho. Tomar kids ra boro hoye tomar aloor domer kotha bolbe / likhbe. 🙂
Coconut milk diye? Notun jinish try kora hobe. 🙂
Thanks for appreciating all of u:-)
Hi Soma, This looks absolutely out-of-this-world! Hey, answering your question about the kofta, the corn flour prevents the koftas from breaking up. Try increasing the quantity of corn-flour and make the mixture less runny, it should work, I guess! Hope this helps.
Soma, I tried this curry and it came out excellent. Very nice recipe and thanks for sharing it.
Shibani, Thank you so much for letting me know. I had missed this for some reason! So glad that u liked it:-)
Your dum aloo looks absolutely delicious. First time here on your blog. Very neatly organized and well presented. Loved browsing through your blog… 🙂
I have posted my version of Dum Aloo in my blog My Scrawls. Do have a look at it when you get time. Would be happy to receive your comments… 🙂
wonderful. spicey potatoes!
This sounds terrific!
I’m planning to make Aloo Gobi and Chana Masala for dinner this week – looks like I’ll have to add your recipe to the list as well 🙂
Its a wonderful recipe. Looks very delicious. You can check some more delicious Dum Aloo Recipes here.
They look great, your photos are fantastic, thanks for sharing!
We just made these. Wonderful mix. More of a sweet taste than I was expecting, but it grows on you (and the raisins & almonds clearly fit). Curry from scratch, I am proud of myself and thank you for the recipe! FYI we used dry (powdered like for baking) ginger but pickled thai finger peppers, so the intensity and moisture of your paste preparation balanced out. Used less water than called for, and dry cumin in place of the seeds that I forgot to buy! The cardamom chicken is next on the to-do list!
So glad that you enjoyed it 😉 The changes that you made are okay. There are no fixed rules to a curry. Use whatever spice and flavor you like!
Here I have a basic curry recipe: http://www.recipeforlove.com/basics/curry-sauce/
You can use this as a base for a lot of ingredients.
Here’s a totally 100% vegetarian (no onion/garlic) version of dum aloo… of course tastes different… and delicious
http://www.bestofkanchan.com/indian-recipes/aloo-dam-veg-style/
Looks delicious and beautiful photo, as well. This is the first time I visited your blog (while searching for Alu Dum recipe) and will have to take a look around. 🙂
I tried your recipe for this yesterday and it was absolutely GORGEOUS. Really full of taste and richness. I didn’t have almonds but it was still wonderful without them. Thanks for the inspiration ! I will be trying out more of your recipes as I adore Indian food 🙂
Love this Soma. Love our ongoing conversations on twitter, FB and on out sites. This looks delicious!! Amazing job as always. Love the lite coocnut milk our latest topic now I cannot wait to post my recipe for mock butter chicken:).
Came out really tasty! I served them alongside some store-bought DumAloo. My family loved this one! The second time I tried it with cashews instead of almonds. Same thing! This recipe is a hit at my place. Thanks.
Thank you so much 🙂
Big thank you for putting an end to my dum aloo scavenging hunt!! Made your version for dinner last night and it was amazing. And for once my final result resembelled your pics through and through….hahaha…. Happy days!:)
So glad!! Thank you for trying it out.
I was looking for the combination of potatoes and coconut milk recipes and yours looked the best, I haven’t tried it yet but I’m gonna do it over the weekend.
The tomato purée is made of fresh tomatoes or the one we get in the tube? I usually don’t use this ingredient in my cooking so just confused.
Fresh tomatoes. No canned or in tube. Hope you like it!
nice article thanks.