Kashmiri dum aloo curry is made with baby potatoes and spiced with fennel, ginger, and whole spices. This curry pairs well with rice, roti, paratha, or naan. This Dum Aloo is one of the iconic dishes of Kashmiri cuisine. It’s spicy, hot, and oh-so heavenly. It is GLUTEN-FREE and can be made VEGAN FRIENDLY.
About this recipe
Dum means to ‘pressure,’ and Aloo means Potato. Dum Aloo is a spicy curry usually made with baby potatoes and is widely popular in India. There are many types of Dum aloo, like Punjabi Dum Aloo and Bengali Dum Aloo from Bengal state—Kashmiri dum Aloo, etc. Punjabi dum aloo is made with tomatoes, cream, onion, garlic, and many other spices. In contrast, Kashmiri Dum Aloo Recipe is a semi-gravy recipe with no cream, tomato, onion, ginger, or garlic! Plus, Kashmiri dum aloo uses spices like fennel powder, ginger powder, and Kashmiri red chili powder. Today I am sharing a Traditional Kashmiri dum aloo recipe with you. It is one of that delicious and flavorful curries that one can make when we run out of veggies and for days when we want to have NO ONION GARLIC meals. Also, you can make and serve at your parties and special occasions. This creates a delightful vegetarian dish! Kashmiri Dum Aloo is a traditional Kashmiri recipe where baby potatoes are parboiled, fried, and then added to a spicy and rich yogurt-based gravy. Then The potatoes are slow-cooked on low heat. It slowly absorbs the fantastic flavor of the aromatic spice blend. The gravy looks vibrant but much lighter as it does not contain cream or a lot of cashew paste. Kashmiris prefer food with a lot of spice and heat because of the cold climate. This curry is subtly flavored with dry ginger powder and fennel powder, giving it a distinct taste.
Ingredients required to make Kashmiri Dum Aloo
Below is the ingredients list and possible substitutions. The exact ingredient amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step-by-step process
Step no. 1 parBoil the potatoes
Add the potatoes to a pressure cooker with 1.5 cups of water. Pressure cook the potatoes over a high flame for one whistle, then switch off the flame and let the cooker de-pressurize naturally. Take out the potatoes from the cooker and peel them once cooled. Using a toothpick, poke holes into the potatoes. This step is crucial. Pricking them will help to fry them properly.
Step no. 2 Fry the potatoes.
Set a kadhai over the flame and add ¾ cup or sufficient mustard oil to it. Note – the oil should be enough to cover the potatoes when you add them. Switch on the flame to high heat. Heat the oil until it reaches its smoking point, then lower the flame and allow the oil to cool down slightly. Add the potatoes and fry them over a medium-high flame until they turn golden and crispy from all sides. Once fried, transfer the potatoes to a paper towel-lined plate. Let them cool down. Now poke the potatoes again using a toothpick. This step will help the spices and gravy seep into the potatoes and become flavorful from the inside.
Step – 3 Make Curry
Heat 4 tablespoon oil in a pan/pot. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom. Saute for a few seconds. Now add hing and chili powder. Then immediately add curd. Note – add curd immediately after adding the chili powder. Otherwise, chili powder will burn. Stir well and cook everything for 1-2 minutes or until oil separates, over low flame.
Further add fried potatoes, ½ cup water, fennel powder, dry ginger powder, salt, and turmeric powder. Stir everything well. Now Add 1 cup of water or till the surface of the potatoes and bring it to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid once the gravy comes to a boil. Note: Ensure the lid is tight and steam is not escaping from the pot. This is very important for Dum cooking. If the lid is not tight, place some weight on the lid; you can also use foil paper to cover the kadhai for dum cooking. Cook the dum Aloo over a very low flame for 20-25 minutes.
Once cooked take off the lid, you’ll see that the gravy has reduced. Authentic dum Aloo’s sauce is thick, but you can adjust the consistency as per your preference. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Your authentic Kashmiri Dum Aloo is ready. Serve it hot with rice roti or paratha.
Since this dum aloo recipe is made without onion and garlic, it is a satvik dish perfect for Navratra days. You can add less or more water as per how you want the gravy of Kashmiri dum aloo. You can keep the skin of potatoes on if you want to. If you are keeping the skin of the potatoes, you have to make sure that the potatoes are scrubbed and cleaned correctly so that there is no dirt on them. The hard part of this recipe is to boil the potatoes perfectly. DO NOT over-boil them. Over-boiled potatoes will break while you prick them. You need to boil them just to the point that you can remove the skin easily. So pressure cook it for one whistle only, and switch off the flame after one whistle. I highly recommend you add Kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch as they are not very hot or intense and give a nice red color to the final dish. If you cannot handle the heat, reduce the amount of Kashmiri red chili powder. It is best enjoyed with hot roti, parathas, or steamed rice. You can easily double or triple the recipe for a bigger crowd.
More Baby Potato recipes to try
Chettinad potato fry Tawa aloo Peri peri potato
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