Kashmiri dum aloo features baby potatoes fried to a golden-brown crispness, then simmered in a spiced, slightly tangy yogurt sauce. Spices like fennel, cumin, ginger and Kashmiri red chilli are the shining stars of this recipe as they infuse the dish with warmth and comfort in every bite!
Want to try Punjabi dum aloo? It use the same dum technique but tastes completely different!
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What is Kashmiri Dum Aloo?
Kashmiri dum aloo is a classic vegetarian dish from Kashmir in the north of India. Since the weather is mostly cold, Kashmiri cuisine is characterized by the use of warm spices like fennel, ginger, saffron, and the famous Kashmiri chilli that adds a vibrant red color but not intense heat (my favourite kind). Yogurt is often used in gravies as are dry fruit like almonds, walnuts, and raisins. Our recipe today makes use of most of these ingredients, if not all.
This recipe for dum aloo also makes use of a popular cooking technique called dum as indicated in the name itself. Dum is a technique where food is slow cooked in a covered pot so that all the flavor from the spices and other ingredients gets locked in. The result? Deeply rich and robust gravies that you can mop up with roti (Indian bread) or drizzle over rice!
What I personally find interesting is that dum aloo made in the Kashmiri way has no onions, garlic or tomatoes, the usual suspects in any north-Indian gravy-based dish. As a result, the gravy is not very thick, but it is rich and full of deep flavour.
Hop onboard if you want a taste of this gem of a recipe from Kashmir!
More potato recipes: aloo curry, bharwa shimla mirch (bell peppers stuffed with spiced potatoes), and dry aloo sabzi.
Ingredients
Note: exact quantities are mentioned in the recipe card further down the post.
Baby potatoes
Choose the round yellow potatoes that come in a bag. You can make dum aloo with regular potatoes too, but you will have to cut them in chunks first. Small whole baby potatoes look better in the gravy!
Cooking oil
Any neutral oil can be used. However, I recommend using mustard oil if you want your dish to be as authentic as possible. Mustard oil has warm, spicy overtones, just like the seeds, and it imparts the same heady warmth to this Kashmiri dum aloo recipe. In fact, most vegetable dishes (sabzis) in North India are cooked in mustard oil, and this also happens to be a sort of lesser-known secret to their deliciousness! However, if mustard oil is not available, go ahead and use any neutral cooking oil of your choice.
If you are using mustard oil, however, it is necessary to smoke it first to get rid of the rawness and pungency. To do this, heat the oil in a saucepan on medium to high heat until it starts giving off fumes and turns pale yellow in colour. Take it off the heat and let it cool down completely. Use it as required, and if you have any extra, store it in a glass bottle for later.
Tip: While smoking mustard oil, it is a good idea to open a few windows as the oil is quite pungent and will give off strong fumes.
Spices
Spices are the heart and soul of this recipe, so they deserve an explanation.
Fennel: Fennel has a very distinctive taste, and along with ginger, gives Kashmiri dum aloo its characteristic taste. Pop a few raw seeds in your mouth and chew on them a bit and you'll see what I mean. For this recipe, we will grind the fennel along with the rest of the whole spices.
Green cardamom and cloves: These add a warmth to the dish, but since these are also ground, use only the quantities indicated in the recipe, or the gravy will become too overpowering.
Note: Whole spices, when ground, become more potent and intense.
Ground ginger: Like fennel, it is an integral spice in this recipe. Ground ginger has sharp, spicy overtones, but this is what gives dum aloo its punch. Don't add too much though.
Fun fact: One meaning of the word dum is 'strong and punchy', so translated, the phrase would mean 'punchy potatoes' literally!
Kashmiri chilli, cumin, and turmeric powders: Kashmiri chilli powder is mild compared to other varieties of red chilli but it's a lovely, red colour that's all natural. Ground cumin and turmeric add warmth, and, of course, turmeric also gives a golden glow to anything it's added to.
About turmeric: Turmeric is used sparingly in Kashmiri dishes and it is not usually a part of Kashmiri dum aloo. However, I like the colour it adds to a dish, so I've included just a tiny bit (¼ tsp), mostly for the colour rather than the flavor.
Yogurt
The tanginess in Kashmiri dum aloo is all thanks to the generous amount of yogurt used in the recipe. Use unflavored/desi yogurt or dahi in this recipe, not flavoured or Greek yogurt that you see lining the supermarket shelves.
How to Make Kashmiri Dum Aloo
Note: detailed steps and times are mentioned in the recipe card further down the post.
Step 1: Boil the potatoes until half done (parboiled).
The potatoes should still be firm and not soft when you're done because we will be putting them on dum or slow cooking later.
To peel or not to peel? If you want to do things perfectly, go ahead and peel those potatoes. I find that it adds an extra step that we can do away with, especially because it is time-consuming to peel baby potatoes. The skins are very thin, so they don't come off easily like they do in regular potatoes. And again, because the skins are thin, it doesn't matter if you don't peel them!
Poke the potatoes all over with a fork, taking care not to break them so that the spices are able to penetrate all the way through during cooking.
Step 2: Fry the potatoes in hot oil until golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Deep fry or shallow fry? Potatoes for dum aloo are deep-fried traditionally. If you are a stickler for tradition, deep fry 'em by all means, no judgement whatsoever! PersonalIy, I try to avoid deep frying stuff if I can because of the amount of oil the potatoes absorb. I've found that shallow frying these potatoes also works quite well and doesn't detract from the final result. So, should you deep-fry or not? It boils down to your choice and preference!
Step 3: Grind the dry spices and make the yogurt sauce.
Put the fennel, green cardamom (seeds only) and cloves in a spice grinder and grind to a powder.
Tip: You can also use a clean coffee grinder to grind the whole spices if you don't have a dedicated spice grinder. Just make sure the coffee grinder is free from the smell of coffee!
For the yogurt sauce, tip in the yogurt in a bowl and add all the spice powders (the ones you just ground as well as ginger, Kashmiri chilli, cumin, and turmeric powders) and sea salt. Whisk well.
Step 4: Heat oil in a karahi or wok on and add the yogurt sauce you prepared. Cook for two minutes on low heat, stirring all the time to prevent the yogurt from curdling. Add a little water if needed. Then, add the fried potatoes.
Step 5: Cook the potatoes in sauce for two minutes more, add ½ cup water, and cover the karahi with a lid. Let the potatoes simmer in the sauce for 20 minutes on low heat (dum). By the end of the cooking, the potatoes will have softened and the gravy become glossy. Your Kashmiri dum aloo is ready to be served!
Note: If you find that the gravy is very thick after removing the lid, add some more water to thin it out and cook for a minute more.
Top Tips
Make sure the boiled potatoes are still quite firm and not mushy or they will break later in the cooking process. The best way to do this is to turn off the heat once the potatoes start boiling, cover the pan, and remove them from the water after 15-20 minutes. While the potatoes are getting done, grind the whole spices and put the yogurt sauce together.
Check the yogurt for sourness before cooking. It should not be too sour to begin with. The gravy is going to be tangy anyway because of all that yogurt but you don’t want it overly so.
To prevent the yogurt from curdling, make sure the heat is low when you add it. Add a little water too if needed. Lastly, keep stirring it continuously.
Serving Suggestions and Accompaniments
- Serve Kashmiri dum aloo with some cumin rice or plain boiled rice. You can also serve it with the bread of your choice like roti or naan.
- Although this dish has plenty of gravy, you may want get a little elaborate and make some dal too to accompany the dum aloo. Go for a dry moong dal or maash dal for balance.
Storing and Reheating
- Dum aloo can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- When you're ready to eat it again, reheat it gently in a pan, add a little water if the gravy has thickened and serve. Alternatively, you can reheat it in a microwave.
Tried this recipe? Please consider giving it a star rating and a comment below. If you're on Instagram, feel free to tag me so I can see your gem. I'd love to hear from you! Thank you:)
📖 Recipe
Kashmiri Dum Aloo
Equipment
- Spice grinder for grinding the whole spices
- karahi or wok with lid for boiling, frying and cooking the potatoes. You can also use a saucepan for boiling the potatoes.
Ingredients
- 24 oz baby potatoes round yellow baby potatoes
- ¼ cup cooking oil any neutral for shallow frying the potatoes. See note #3 below for how to use mustard oil
- 2 tbsp cooking oil for cooking the gravy
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 4 cloves
- 5 green cardamom seeds or ¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups yogurt plain, non-flavoured
Instructions
- Put the baby potatoes in a saucepan and add enough water to cover the potatoes. Cook on medium heat until you see the water boiling. Switch off the heat but don't remove the saucepan. Cover the saucepan and allow the potatoes to cook further in the residual heat.
- Once cool, prick them all over with a fork or toothpick.
- Heat the ¼ cup oil in a wok and shallow fry the potatoes until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on some kitchen paper.
- Grind the fennel, cloves, and cardamom seeds to a powder in a spice or clean coffee grinder.
- Whisk the yogurt in a bowl and add the above ground spices. Then add in the ginger, Kashmiri chilli, cumin and turmeric powders as well as sea salt and mix well.
- Heat the oil in a karahi or wok and add the yogurt mixed with spices. Stir continuously for 2 minutes on low heat to prevent the yogurt from curdling. Add a little water if needed.
- Add the potatoes and cook for 2 minutes, then add ½ cup water. Cover the wok with a lid and simmer the gravy for 20 minutes on low heat. By the end of the 20 minutes, the potatoes will soften and the gravy will be glossy, with the oil leaving the sides of the wok. If the gravy is thick and clumpy at this stage, add ¼ cup water and cook for a couple minutes more.
Notes
- The potatoes should be parboiled and still firm to the touch. You will be cooking them completely later, so you don't want too soft potatoes to begin with.
- It takes ages to peel baby potatoes once they are boiled since they have such thin skins. So I skip peeling them altogether to save time.
- You can use any neutral cooking oil of your choice, but if you want to use mustard oil (as used traditionally), you must prep it first before using. Put the mustard oil in a small saucepan and heat on medium heat until it starts fuming and the color pales to a light yellow. Let it cool completely before using. Store the extra in a glass bottle.
- Food grade mustard oil is available in Indian and Pakistani groceries.
- Use unflavored yogurt or Indian yogurt/dahi only for this recipe.
- Check the yogurt for sourness. It shouldn't be too sour to begin with or the gravy will also become overly sour.
- To prevent the yogurt from curdling, cook it on low heat, stirring all the time before you add the potatoes.
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