Restaurant-Style North Indian Dum Aloo Recipe

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North Indian Dum Aloo Recipe

Aloo Dum is truly a classic! It is a vegetarian curry that originates from the region of Kashmir. There is a North Indian restaurant style version of this recipe, along with homestyle versions, and I love both very much! We’ll be making dum aloo restaurant style here.

Let’s begin by explaining what the dish means. “Aloo” translates to potatoes, and “dum” translates to the cooking method used for these potatoes, which is steaming. So this simply means steamed potatoes! The potatoes are first boiled, then they finish cooking in a lovely and aromatic tomato and onion gravy.

Back in Delhi, I’ve had plenty of variations of this recipe. What I was served at home was much spicier than what is typically served at restaurants. On the other hand, from what I’ve had at restaurants, the gravy is much creamier with less intense spice. Some versions of aloo dum are made with yogurt, some use only ground spices (such as what I’ve had at home), and some use cream. In fact, there are some variations that even have the potatoes stuffed, such as with paneer! I’ll be honest that I don’t particularly enjoy those versions! If you are a major paneer lover, perhaps you may though!

The recipe I’ve developed and will be sharing with you here is a combination of my homestyle recipe and elements from what I’ve had at restaurants. We’ve got the marriage of spices from my homestyle version and the creaminess of the restaurant gravies thanks to the addition of cashews into our tomato gravy! The flavors here are truly incredible, and if you’re looking for a scrumptious potato curry to prepare for you and your family then definitely try this recipe! This restaurant style recipe won’t take you more than 30 minutes to make for a wonderful wholesome dinner tonight!

Ingredients

• Baby potatoes
• Onion
• Tomatoes
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Ghee
• Cashews
• Cumin seeds
• Bay leaf
• Cinnamon stick
• Green cardamom pod
• Clove
• Hing
• Deggi mirch
• Kitchen King
• Garam masala
• Kasoori methi, or dried fenugreek leaves
• Cilantro, for garnish
• Salt, to taste

How to Make Dum Aloo

1. Begin by adding the ginger, garlic, and onion in a food processor with a bit of water. Purée until everything is well combined.
2. Purée tomatoes in the same blender and set that aside as well.
3. Puree cashews in the same blender with some water until smooth and set aside for later.
4. Heat a wok on medium heat and add ghee. When the wok is hot, add hing, cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and clove. Cook until the whole spices turn reddish brown and aromatic.
5. Add onion, ginger, garlic puree. Stir well and add deggi mirch and kitchen king masala. Mix well and continue cooking until mixture is dry and reddish brown. Add a splash of water if mixture gets too dry and starts to stick.
6. Add puréed cashews, stir well and continue cooking until mixture is dry. Add a splash of water if mixture gets too dry and starts to stick.
7. Add tomato purée and bring to simmer. Cook with a lid on until the mixture turns redder and becomes dry, about 7-15 minutes. Keep stirring from time to time and add water to prevent masala from burning.
8. Season with salt to taste and add baby potatoes. Stir well, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
9. Add 3-4 cups of water to make a runny gravy. Season with salt and simmer on medium low heat until the gravy starts to thicken.
10. When the gravy is thick, remove the lid and add crushed kasoori methi and garam masala. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot rice or roti.

Tips & Tricks

• At each stage, make sure to cook the masala well until it has dried out, become fluffy and slides around the pan easily.
• Add water whenever necessary to avoid the masala from getting burnt. This helps ensure a strong, developed flavor in the final gravy.
• Don’t skip roasting the potatoes in the dry masala before adding the gravy. This helps inject the potatoes with a ton of flavor!
• If you are unable to find Deggi Mirch, substitute with paprika. The chilli powder used here is used mostly for colour and not for spice.

Serving Suggestions

Aloo dum is simply a vegetarian entree. You can serve this with pretty much anything you’d like! For instance, you can serve with any bread, such as:

• Homemade Tandoori Naan
• Homestyle Roti
• Punjabi Laccha Paratha
• Classic Layered Paratha

You can serve with rice, and here are some ideas:

• Basmati Rice
• Jeera Rice
• Healthy Vegetable Pulao

Feel free to pair with your favourite dal, such as Masaledar Chana Dal or serve with some Cucumber Raita! If you eat meat, then you could even enjoy this with a non-vegetarian curry, such as Chicken Tikka Masala!

Frequently Asked Questions