Created by SARA SHARMA
After a whole month of hot summer days, the skies have finally opened up their doors to cool showers. As the temperature dropped a couple of degrees, our cravings for some spicy delights just went up a notch!
As the name suggests, Dum Aloo Kashmiri or Kashmiri Dum Aloo is the epitome of the rich cuisine of Kashmir, the crown of India. The cooking technique used is Dum Pukht where Dum means to ‘breathe in’ and Pukht means ‘cook’.
When it comes to the origin of this technique of cooking, it dates back to the early 16th century; some state that the origin of Dum Pukht is from Persia which was then introduced to India by the Persians, and others argue that it belongs to the Awadh region (presently Uttar Pradesh) in India. And some other sources simply state that the technique is based on the traditional Indian method of cooking dishes buried in the sand.
The Dum Aloo Kashmiri recipe I am sharing today is the one that is perfected after many trials. The balance of spices in this Dum Aloo Kashmiri varies from one recipe to another. This is my version of Dum Aloo Kashmiri where I have used the basic spice mixes used in Kashmiri cuisine which suits our taste. The use of fresh spices is highly recommended as the flavor they add is incomparable to the ready-made store brought ones. This high flavored spice blend is balanced by the rich gravy prepared using yogurt.
Also, this recipe of Dum Aloo Kashmiri doesn’t use any onion and garlic and hence is Satvik style of cooking. Make sure you cook some extra as the leftovers taste even better a day after or even two days later!
KASHMIRI DUM AALOO
Cooking time- 45 mins Serves 5-6 people.
Ingredients~
1 kg of small Potatoes
- Water
- Oil for frying and cooking
- 2 cups of curd
- 10-12 red chilies
- Thinly chopped ginger
- Freshly chopped coriander
- In spices: a tbsp of dry ginger powder(soth), coriander(dhaniya) powder, sauf powder, hing(Asafoetida), Kashmiri red chili powder, cinnamon powder, and garam masala powder each.
Method of preparation-
•Take the small potatoes and wash them thoroughly. Put them in a cooker or any container of suitable choice. Add to it a pinch of salt and required water and boil them.
•Meanwhile, take the red chilies and deseed them all. Now soak the deseeded red chilies in hot warm and keep aside for 30 mins.
•Now if the potatoes are finished boiling, we’ll strain them to remove the excess water.
•Once the potatoes are cooled a bit, peel them off and poke in their holes with a toothpick.
•The potatoes are now ready to be fried. To a pan with heated oil, drop the potatoes in, and fry them until they are crispy golden brown.
•Now we’ll take our red chilies and grind them in a nice fine paste. You can add 2-3 tbsp of water to make a textured paste.
•Take the curd in a bowl and add the red chili paste to it. Add the dry ginger powder to some salt and mix the ingredients really well with no lumps. You can add a little water to make the guard creamy and consistent while you whisk it.
•Now take a pan, add 2 tbsp of oil, then hing(Asafoetida) and a tablespoon of each coriander powder, saunf powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, cinnamon powder, and mix them well.
•At the thinly sliced ginger and mix again for 1 minute. •Now add to 200 ml of water and then the curd mixture. •Cook the gravy for about 10 minutes stirring it continuously.
•After cooking the gravy for about 10 minutes add a tablespoon of garam masala powder and then the boiled and fried potatoes to it.
•Makes everything well and cook it again for 10 minutes. This time make sure that you cover the container with a lid.
•10 mins later, you’ll see the gravy has cooked completely.
•Flavour the dish by garnishing it with freshly chopped coriander leaves and turn off the flame.
•Serve it hot with salad and hot chapati, naan or rice.
Enjoy:)
