DESCRIPTION:

Dum Aloo/Alu Dum is a potato based dish, it is a part of the traditional Kashmiri Pandit cuisine, from the Kashmir Valley, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The potatoes, usually smaller ones, are first deep fried, then cooked slowly at low flame in a gravy with spices. Dum Aloo is a popular recipe cooked throughout India. In Bengal, it is a specialty dish eaten mostly with Luchi and is known as "Aloor dum".

PREPERATION:

Preperation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins

INGREDIENTS:

-250 grams potatoes/25 small baby
 potatoes
-¼ cup oil for frying
-1 cup cubed onions 
-1 ripe medium tomato deseeded
-10 cashew nuts
-1 tbsp oil
-1 very small or half bay leaf
-1 green cardamom / elaichi
-1 slit green chilli
-1 tsp ginger garlic paste
-½ to ¾ tsp garam masala
-½ to ¾ tsp coriander powder
-½ to ¾ tsp kashmiri chilli powder
-salt as needed
-little turmeric powder
-3 tbsps thick curd / plain yogurt 
-¼ tsp kasuri methi / dried fenugreek 
 leaves
-Few coriander leaves chopped

STEPS:

1.  Wash and peel, the potatoes and prick them with tooth pick or fork randomly a few times. Par boil them for 3 mins. This way they boil & fry evenly. Drain them and wipe off with a clean cloth or tissue. In the same water you can boil onions for 2 to 3 mins and rinse them in cold water. This helps to prevent the gravy from turning bitter.
2.  Heat oil in a pan. You can shallow fry, deep fry or pan fry until golden.
3. Drained off the oil and pan roasted until golden. Set these aside.
4. Add cubed onions, deseeded tomatoes and cashews to a blender jar. Make a smooth paste.
5. Heat the pan with little oil. Add bay leaf & green cardamom. Saute just for a minute. Add ginger garlic paste and green chili. Saute until the raw smell goes off.
6. Add the ground paste.
7. Saute until the paste thickens and raw smell goes away.
8. Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and garam masala.
9. Saute until the onion tomato masala begins to leave the sides of the pan.
10. Add fresh curd / yogurt. 
11. Saute until it thickens and bubbles.
12. Add the fried potatoes and then add water. 
13. Bring the gravy to a boil. Cover and cook on a very low flame for 5 mins. Check whether the potatoes are soft cooked. Make sure the gravy has reached a thick consistency. 
14. Add crushed kasuri methi. Cook for just a minute. 

Servings: 4-5