Shahi Dum Aloo | Indian Recipes | Veg Recipes | Slurrp

Like most of us, I am also a big fan of potatoes. I love them in all their glory.

In Assamese households, potatoes are added to every single dish, be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian. We take our potatoes very seriously and get offended when people say it’s too much consumption!

Having said that, dum aloo has been an absolute favorite of mine ever since childhood. There is something so special about this recipe, that its craze is completely justified.

This Indian recipe involving potatoes is, however, slightly different. This is because I have used baby potatoes here, which are slightly sweeter. For this delicious shahi dum aloo recipe, the baby potatoes need to be boiled and peeled beforehand. They are then marinated with salt and turmeric powder and fried before adding it to the creamy curry.

The spices and condiments used here are quite basic. As I always say, try to use every ingredient in its freshest form, be it your ginger garlic paste or your spice powders. For this shahi dum aloo, I have also used cashew paste, which gives it a luxurious touch and glaze. I have also used cherry tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes in this dum aloo, which adds a natural sweetness and zing.

Here’s the recipe:

Preparation time – 25 minutes

Cooking time – 40 minutes

Serves – 4

Ingredients

200 g baby potatoes, boiled and peeled
4 tbsp oil
1 dry bay leaf
2 onions, ground to a paste
2 green chilies, finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp fresh ginger garlic paste
100 g cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
8 cashews, soaked and ground to a paste
100 g curd
1 tsp fresh garam masala
250 ml water
A handful of kasuri methi or dry fenugreek leaves

Directions

Marinate the boiled baby potatoes in salt and turmeric. Heat oil in a pan and fry them till they brown. Set aside.
In another kadhai, add two tablespoons of cooking oil. Add bay leaf followed by the onion paste and chopped green chilies. Fry for about a minute.
Once the onions brown, add sugar and ginger garlic paste. Stir this in medium heat till the raw aroma of the ginger garlic paste fades away.
Once the smell disappears, add the cherry tomatoes to the onion mixture.
Season with salt, pepper powder, and turmeric powder. Do not add too much salt as the potatoes already will have some salt in them from the marination.
Once the cherry tomatoes start to melt and mix well with the onions and spices, add the cashew paste and the curd. Mix well till everything assembles really well.
Time to add the fried baby potatoes, the essence of this shahi dum aloo. You can also add some water at this point for your desired consistency.
Add some fresh garam masala before you cover and cook this in low heat for about ten minutes.
After ten minutes, add some kasuri methi leaves as garnish and serve hot with rotis or luchi!