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Kashmiri Dum Aloo

By Manali Singh

4.91 from 11 votes

Apr 16, 2019

Baby potatoes curry spiced with fennel and ginger. This Kashmiri Dum Aloo has it's origins from Kashmir in India and makes a delightful vegetarian dish!

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Baby potatoes curry spiced with fennel, ginger and whole spices, Kashmiri Dum Aloo is a delicious way to enjoy potatoes in a new flavor!

If you are tired of eating the same old potato curry, then give this recipe a try! Pairs well with rice or any flatbread.

Dum aloo is a spicy curry usually made with baby potatoes and widely popular in India. Now there are many ways to make it but one of the most famous one is “Kashmiri Dum Aloo” originating from the state of Jammu & Kashmir and hence the name.

The funny part though is that if you go to Indian restaurants they will have “Kashmiri Dum Aloo” on the menu and when you order it, you will get baby potatoes in a creamy onion-tomato curry, which is nowhere close to how Kashmiri Dum Aloo should be.

That’s actually Punjabi version of Dum Aloo with all the cream and spices.

Kashmiri Dum Aloo Recipe

✔ authentic kashmiri dum aloo has no cream, no tomato, no onion, no ginger and no garlic!

✔ uses spices like fennel powder, ginger powder and kashmiri red chili powder

✔ the potatoes get it’s bright red color from the liberal use of kashmiri red chili powder

✔ has very little or almost no curry (gravy) to it

I actually didn’t know so much about Kashmiri Dum Aloo before I got married. The only dum aloo I knew was the one cooked in creamy onion tomato gravy.

But then one day hubby asked me to make it, he kind of grew up eating it at his best friends house who is from Kashmir and it was one of his absolute favorites.

I tried few recipes online but he would always say that it isn’t the same and I should learn it from his friend’s mom when we go to India next.

So on one of my trips to India, I made it a point to learn the recipe.  Aunty was so incredibly sweet that she didn’t only teach me how to make this but also gave me the spices to take along with me!

Thank you so much Usha aunty for teaching me how to make Kashmiri dum aloo. This recipe is as authentic as it can get!

You need few ingredients to make kashmiri dum aloo and they are quite different from the ingredients that you usually use to cook Indian recipes.

I thought the trickiest part of this recipe is to boil the potatoes perfectly. You need to boil them just to the point that you can remove the skin easily. But you have to be careful not to over-boil them because if you do that, then the potatoes will break while you prick them.

Aunty told me to put potatoes in water and let it come to a boil, then switch off the flame and let it sit covered for 10-15 minutes. That’s exactly what I did and the potatoes were just perfect.

Also people in Kashmir use a knitting needle to prick the potatoes while making dum aloo, aunty used that too but I used a toothpick because I didn’t have a knitting needle in my home.

You prick the potatoes twice, once after they are boiled and then after they are fried. This is important so that all the spices/flavors gets soaked in internally by the potatoes. I used 1.5 lb baby potatoes for this recipe, which were 14 in number.

The boiling and frying the potatoes takes time, but once you have prepared the potatoes, the rest of the recipe is really easy.

Hope you guys give this recipe a try. It’s very different from your usual potato curry and I am sure you guys will love it!

Method

1- First, you need to boil the potatoes until you are just able to peel off their skin easily. I took water in a large pan and put it on heat. Once it was warm, I added in the potatoes.

2- Let it come to a boil.

3- Once the water came to a boil, I switched off the flame and covered the pan. Let it remain covered for around 15 minutes.

4- Then drain the water and peel the potatoes. The skin would come off easily.

5- Following this method, the potatoes were perfectly boiled, just what you need for this recipe.

6- Now take a toothpick and prick the peeled potato all over. Pass the toothpick right through the potatoes and be careful not to break them while doing this. Repeat with all the potatoes.

7- Now, heat oil in a kadai/pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot drop the potatoes in the oil carefully, one at a time.

8- Fry the potatoes until they are golden brown in color from both sides. Drain on a paper towel.

9- Once the fried potatoes have cooled down a bit, take a toothpick and prick all the potatoes all over, again.

10- Now in another kadai or pan, heat 2 tablespoons of mustard oil on medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add cumin seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, black cardamom, green cardamom and cloves. Saute for 1 minute.

11- Now add kashmiri red chili powder (which is very different from regular chili powder so use the right one, kashmiri red chili powder gives the curry a vibrant red color without adding heat) and whipped yogurt. Keep stirring until you see a bright red color.

12- Then add the fried potatoes into the pan.

13- Mix so that all potatoes are coated with the spice mix.

14- Add fennel powder, ginger powder, salt. Also add 1.5 to 2 cups of water and stir.

15- Cover the pan and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on medium flame or until the curry becomes thick and very little of it is left.

16- There isn’t much curry in Kashmiri dum aloo, in fact I simmered it for 15 minutes (with 1.5 cups water) and ended up with almost no curry/gravy. You can simmer for just 10 minutes so that you still have come curry left.

Serve kashmiri dum aloo hot with rice or roti.

If you’ve tried this Kashmiri Dum Aloo Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!

This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in 2015.

Kashmiri Dum Aloo

4.91 from 11 votes

By Manali Singh

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Total: 50 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Baby potatoes curry spiced with fennel and ginger. This Kashmiri Dum Aloo has it's origins from Kashmir in India and makes a delightful vegetarian dish!

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1.5 lb baby potatoes 680 gm, 14 in number
• ▢ oil to fry the potatoes
• ▢ 2-2.5 tablespoons mustard oil
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
• ▢ 1 black cardamom
• ▢ 2 green cardamom
• ▢ 3 cloves
• ▢ 1 tablespoon kashmiri red chili powder
• ▢ 1.5 tablespoons plain yogurt whipped
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fennel powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
• ▢ 1.5-2 cups water

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Instructions 

• First, you need to boil the potatoes until you are just able to peel off their skin easily. I took water in a large pan and put it on heat. Once it was warm, I added in the potatoes.
• Let it come to a boil. Once the water came to a boil, I switched off the flame and covered the pan. Let it remain covered for around 15 minutes.
• Then drain the water and peel the potatoes. The skin would come off easily. Following this method, the potatoes were perfectly boiled, just what you need for this recipe.
• Now take a toothpick and prick the peeled potato all over. Pass the toothpick right through the potatoes and be careful not to break them while doing this. Repeat with all the potatoes.
• Now, heat oil in a kadai/pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot drop the potatoes in the oil carefully, one at a time.
• Fry the potatoes until they are golden brown in color from both sides. Drain on a paper towel.
• Once the fried potatoes have cooled down a bit, take a toothpick and prick all the potatoes all over, again.
• Now in another kadai or pan, heat 2 tablespoons of mustard oil on medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add cumin seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, black cardamom, green cardamom and cloves. Saute for 1 minute.
• Now add kashmiri red chili powder (which is very different from regular chili powder so use the right one, kashmiri red chili powder gives the curry a vibrant red color without adding heat) and whipped yogurt. Keep stirring until you see a bright red color.
• Then add the fried potatoes into the pan and mix well so that all potatoes are coated with the spice mix.
• Add fennel powder, ginger powder, salt. Also add 1.5 to 2 cups of water and stir.
• Cover the pan and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on medium flame or until the curry becomes thick and very little of it is left. There isn't much curry in Kashmiri dum aloo, in fact I simmered it for 15 minutes (with 1.5 cups water) and ended up with almost no curry/gravy. You can simmer for just 10 minutes so that you still have come curry left.
• Serve kashmiri dum aloo hot with rice or roti.

Notes

1. This recipe of kashmiri dum aloo has almost no curry (gravy). I added 1.5 cups water and simmered for 15 minutes. If you want some curry to it, add 2 cups water and simmer for around 10 minutes.
2. 1 tablespoon of kashmiri red chili powder might seem like a lot but this dish is only mildly spiced. The kashmiri red chili powder is used mainly for the color and it's mild flavor. It's not hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 216kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 8g, Sodium: 45mg, Potassium: 793mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 445IU, Vitamin C: 34.1mg, Calcium: 68mg, Iron: 2.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

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