← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 700 g baby potatoes, similar size
• oil, for shallow frying
• 3 tbsp mustard oil (or ghee)
• ½ tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 pinch Asafoetida (hing) (optional)
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 black cardamom pod
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 4 Cloves
• 1½ tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder, mixed with 3 tbsp water
• 200 g Plain yogurt, whisked smooth
• 1½ tbsp ground fennel seeds
• 1 tsp ground dry ginger
• ¾ tsp Salt
• 400 ml hot water
• ¼ tsp Garam masala

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10–12 min until just tender. Drain, cool a little, peel, and prick each one all over with a fork.
2. Heat 2 cm of oil in a pan over medium-high heat and fry the potatoes for 6–8 min, turning, until golden and crisp. Drain on paper.
3. Heat the mustard oil in a heavy pan until it just smokes, then turn the heat down. Add the cumin, asafoetida and whole spices and let them sizzle for 30 seconds.
4. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the chilli paste. Back on low heat, add the yogurt a spoonful at a time, stirring constantly, and cook for 3–4 min until it thickens and turns red.
5. Add the ground fennel, dry ginger and salt, then the hot water, and bring to a simmer.
6. Add the potatoes, cover and cook on low heat for 15 min (this is the "dum"), stirring once, until the gravy is thick and the potatoes have soaked it up. Sprinkle with garam masala and serve with rice or roti.

Tips

• Pricking the potatoes lets the gravy soak right into them; don’t skip it.
• Asafoetida is often cut with wheat flour; leave it out or buy a gluten-free brand for a gluten-free dish.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Cook With Manali Hebbar's Kitchen