Kashmiri Dum Aloo

The humble potato is not one of my favourite veggies unless of course it is in the form of french fries or the equally unhealthy deliciously fried chips.  But the recipe in the Sunday Express caught my eye and there was an interesting story about how the Dum which means steam became a popular method of cooking in Awadh.  The recipe was also interesting.  I am reproducing the recipe as it appeared in the article here, because that is the authentic recipe, I adapted to suit the ingredients that I had ready in my kitchen. My comments will be in blue.

Ingredients

•8 medium potatoes

•100 ml oil

•1 tsp caraway seeds (shahi zeera)  ( I did not have this )

•2 chopped onions

•1 tsp black cardamom,

•Pounded 5 tbsp raisins

•5 tbsp cashewnuts

•Salt to taste

For the curry

•60 gms chopped onions

•1/4 cup curd

•1 cup tomato puree

•4 tsp ginger-garlic pastes•3 tsp almond paste

•1 tsp aniseed (saunf)  

•4 green cardamom

•6 cloves

•1/2 tsp mace powder (javitri) ( this one too was missing)

•4 tsp red chilli paste ( used chili powder)

•2 tsp cumin powder

•1 tbsp coriander powder

•Salt to taste

•Oil for frying

Method

Peel the potatoes, slice off the tops and scoop out the centres. Fry the shells and the centres to a golden brown. Allow the centres to cool, then mash.  ( Use slightly largish potatoes - otherwise it is difficult to scoop out the centers and difficult to fill it too)

Heat the oil in a wok, sauté the caraway seeds and the aniseed. Add onions and sauté till transparent. Add the fried potato centres, cardamom powder, raisins, and the cashew nuts. Stir-fry for a few minutes. Season with salt and keep aside. Stuff the potato shells with the prepared mixture and keep aside. (I had extra filling left over, so I used it to thicken the gravy - next step)

For the curry

Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pan and sauté onions till transparent. Add curd, tomato puree, ginger-garlic paste, almond paste, aniseed, mace, caraway seeds, green cardamoms, cloves, red chilli paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, and salt. Stir fry for 10 minutes.

Place the stuffed potatoes in the curry. Cover the lid and seal with dough. Cook on slow fire for about 10 minutes. Then place the potatoes in a serving dish, strain the curry ( I did not strain) and pour on the top of the potatoes.

Serve hot with rice.


It was a nice dish. If you are making it when you have company, make sure you have some help for preparation too, and keep all the ingredients ready .. Mise en place .....and it will be smooth sailing.