Kashmiri Dum Aloo

Today I'm going to take you on a ride to a very aromatic cuisine of India, Kashmiri Cuisine. What comes to your mind first when we talk about Kashmiri Cuisine, yes, Kashmiri Dum Aloo. Today, I'll share the authentic(hopefully) recipe of Dum Aloo.

In kashmiri cuisine, onions and garlic are not used much unlike other Indian Cuisines. But dry ginger, saunf/fennel powder, saffron, turmeric powder and ghee are used extensively. Dry fruits, whole spice, nuts are some of the secret ingredients, which makes kashmiri cuisine so aromatic and irresistible. Yoghurt/curd is another thing that is also very common in Kashmiri delicacies to make them creamy. Even though Kashmiri Cuisine is known for its non-vegetarian dishes, there are some very popular Vgetarian dishes which are widely popular in allover the country.

Kashmiri Dum Aloo is one such vegetarian dish which is loved by all. It is made using baby potatoes cooked in yoghurt gravy with fennel powder and ginger powder as the main spice ingredient. Kashmiri red chilli powder is used to make it spicy and red in color. It has got its name Dum Aloo bacause potatoes are cooked in Dum method(in sealed container) in this recipe. The creamy and spice laden Dum aloo we get in restaurants, is not the authentic one. In the authentic Kashmiri Dum Aloo, very few chosen spices are used and is cooked in Dum method and the gravy should be nicely coated all potato pieces. It is a no onion no garlic recipe and it goes well with any Indian flatbreads, like naan, roti or freshly cooked hot rice.

You need :

Baby Potatoes : 500 gms.[If you do not have baby potatoes, can use big potatoes also]

Kashmiri red chili powder : 1 tblsp.

Fennel seed/saunf powder : 1 tblsp.

Dry Ginger/saunth powder : ½ tbsp[if you don't have dry ginger powder, use 1 tblsp. ginger paste]

Curd/yogurt, beaten : 4-5 tblsp.

Asafoetida/hing : ¼ tsp.

Cardamoms : 2

Cinnamon : 1 inch stick

Cloves: 2-3

Black peppercorns : 4-5 nos.

Caraway seeds/shahjeera : 1 tsp.

Oil(mustard oil) : 2-3 tblsp.

Salt to taste
Pinch of shah jeera for garnishing

How To :

Wash and parboil the potatoes, just boil till they are 3/4 done. Cool and peel the potatoes. You can peel potatoes or can keep the skin, it's upto you. Then a very important and must step, prick the potatoes with a fork or toothpick, so that potatoes can absorb all the flavours of the gravy.
Sprinkle 1 tsp. turmeric powder and a pinch of salt on all the potatoes, keep aside for 10 minutes. Roast the fennel seeds on a hot tawa and dry roast them, do not let them change colour. Cool and grind into a coarse powder.
Heat 1-2 tblsp. oil and saute the potatoes till golden brown. Remove and keep aside.

Heat 2 tblsp. oil for cooking in the same pan, add cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns and 1 tsp. shahjeera and let them sizzle. Then add asofoetida and kashmiri red chilli powder.

Add 2-3 tblsp. water in the pan, so that red chilli powder doesn't burn, now you have a red color gravy, lower the flame or remove the pan from heat and add the beaten curd, because heat can curdle the gravy once you add the yoghurt.

Now add fennel powder, dry ginger powder if using(I used ginger paste as I didn't have ginger powder) and mix well. Add the fried baby potatoes and mix well with the prepared gravy.

Add about 1 cup of hot water and season with salt. Cover and check the steam should not release. The gravy should be dum cooked. Lower the flame and let it slow cook on dum for about 10-12 minutes, so that the potatoes can absorb all the flavours from the spices. Remove when you have a thick gravy nicely coated all the potato pieces.