Dum Aloo - Baby Potatoes Steamed in Spices and Yogurt

Two things that are always on demand for lunch at my office is biryani and dum aloo. Its less to do with my culinary skills than it is about the universal love for potatoes.

Okay I would say its about my skills too, last time one of my colleagues got a potato curry it wasn't exactly edible (sorry J).

Point is, potatoes make normal people happy. That includes my family which doesn't always fit the first criteria. Whenever I'm feeling lack of motivation to cook, M's suggestion never goes beyond dal (Indian lentils soup) or dum aloo. Though his total lack of creativity about food annoys me to no end, making dum aloo is always a good thing. Happy colleagues and husband. I'm all about keeping people happy you know.

Dum aloo is delicacy of Kashmiri cuisine, potatoes are slowly steamed in yogurt and spices giving it a tangy spiced base. Dum literally means steam and aloo means potatoes in hindi. Even though I serve it with rice or roti, in all honestly I wish that M eats it with the carbs and gets full and the potatoes are left for me to eat by itself. That means it is great as side dish too. What food makes your family happy and you secretly happier?

In other news, I'm am glad to announce I will be a  regular contributor to Honest Cooking Magazine. Its an international online culinary magazine covering wide range of food topics from around the world. Please check it out here: www.honestcooking.com

Dum Aloo - Baby Potatoes Steamed in Spices and Yogurt

Serves 5

Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients

12 baby potatoes (boiled and peeled) *

1 cup yogurt

1/2 cup water

1/2 tbsp garlic paste

3 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Coriander leaves to garnish

Powdered spices
2 tsp fennel powder

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1/4 tsp turmeric

2 tsp red chilly powder 

1 1/2 tbsp coriander powder

2 tsp garam masala

Whole spices

1 tsp cumin seeds

2-3 dry red chillies

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

3-4 cloves

3-4 black peppercorns

2 cardamom pods

Note

* Make sure the potatoes are boiled a little less than fork tender. They should retain their shape. If you are using larger potatoes, prick them with a fork  after boiling.

Method

Heat oil in a wok and add the whole spices. That's not exactly 3 tbsp of oil but I broke my oil jar and I tried pouring the oil directly from the can and things really didn't go too well. I'm clumsy.

Once the spices start to sizzle, add the garlic and powdered spices.

Add in beaten yogurt along with water and salt. Mix well.

The oil with start to separate and form a layer on the top. Add in the boiled potatoes and lightly mix everything. My in laws are visiting us for a couple of months and my sweet teen sister in law is my new spot girl, hand modeler and sous chef. You might see a lot of her (hand).

Cover with a tight lid and steam for 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve with roti or rice.

Wait for the better half to be full.