Aloo Dum – Spicy Potato Curry Recipe

Aloo Dum is a spicy potato-based recipe with variations all around India. This is the Odia version made with simple ingredients and cooking techniques. This Aloo recipe is very similar to other Indian gravy-based dishes except that it is slow-cooked. The dish has a spicy and tangy onion tomato base that coats the potato chunks and is served with roti, basmati rice or a famous Odisha Stree Food – Dahi Bara with Aloo Dum.

My Inspiration

When I started my journey as a vegan, every time I tried to recreate a new recipe in my kitchen – I would be in awe of the flavours, spices, taste and texture that would come alive on my plate. And I couldn’t wait to share these lesser-known recipes with the rest of the world.

Although there is enough representation of Indian cuisine, there are some regions of India that are less discovered. One of those regions is the East of India where the flavours and dishes change with every state. So, here I am trying to make my recipes as inclusive and diverse as possible so that you too get an explosion and fusion of flavours in your kitchen.

Dahi Vada and Aloo Dum are delicious combinations of creamy, soft Vadas soaked in spiced yoghurt with Aloo coated in garlic, onion and tomato-based gravy. You can check out my recipe for Dahi Vada and I would highly recommend you make both and have them together.

How to make Aloo Dum? (Tips and Tricks)

Prepping the Vegetables:

This recipe required the potato pieces to be on the chunky side and cutting them up into smaller pieces will not give the same effect. So, keep the potato pieces close to an inch or bigger. on the other hand, the onions are finely chopped. The science behind cutting up your veggies in particular sizes is that onion releases more of its flavours when finely chopped. This flavour is what creates the base of the aromatic gravy and coats the potato pieces.

Method

1. Peel and chop your potatoes, onions and tomatoes. In a heated pan, add vegetable oil. Once it’s hot add bay leaves and dry red chillies. Roast until flavourful.

2. Add ginger garlic paste to this mix and cook until the raw smell goes away. Then add chopped tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt over the tomatoes, to cook them quicker, basically adding salt makes the tomatoes release their water faster making them soft.

3. Once the tomatoes are done, add turmeric powder, red chilli powder coriander powder and mix well. Add the chopped potatoes and mix well until all the masalas have coated the potato pieces.

4. Cover and let the potatoes cook for 7-10 minutes on medium-low heat. Allow the flavours to coat the potatoes.

5. Add 1 cup water and cover again. Cook until the gravy is semi-thick. Serve hot with roti or on the side with Dahi Vada.

And there you go. Dum Aloo is ready to get demolished. The best way to eat this is with Dahi Vada ( If I haven’t mentioned it already :P) but you could also eat it with fried puris, hot Rotis or steaming hot rice. Try this Aloo Dum with Dahi Vada combination and let me know how you like it. Drop a comment if you have any feedback. If you want to reach out to me on my social media, head over to @beextravegant. 🙂 See you in the next recipe. Ciao!

Check out my other Breakfast recipes from around the world:

1. Punjab – Aloo Parantha
2. Assam – Til Pitha
3. Gujarat – Khaman Dhokla