Sada aloo dum

MM calls this the yin to the yang which is the traditional Bengali aloo dum. Posto, coconut, curds- a combination that leaves me salivating, but one which my family doesn't care much for. 

So when I saw baby potatoes, I picked them up, and while making a conventional potato fry for dinner, reserved a few parboiled potatoes to make this dish for myself. Sometimes you deserve to pamper yourself. 

250 gms baby potatoes

3 tbsp grated or dessicated coconut

1 tbsp Khus Khus/ posto/ poppy seeds

3 tbdp curds (at room temperature)

1 tbsp ginger paste

1/2 tsp green chilli paste

1-2 red chillis

1-2 green cardamom

2-3 cloves

1/2 inch piece of cinnamon

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp cumin powder

Salt and sugar to taste

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp oil

Method:

Soak posto and coconut in 1/4 cup warm water for 30 minutes. Blend to a smooth paste and keep aside. 

Par boil the potatoes in salted water. Peel, prick and keep aside. 

Whip the curds with cumin powder and keep aside. 

Heat half the oil, and toss the baby potatoes till lightly browned. 

Add the remaining oil, sauté the red chillis for 15 seconds. Remove and keep aside.

Add whole spices and let them sizzle. Add posto-coconut paste and sauté on low flame till the oil separates and it turns to a light beige colour. 

Add ginger and chilli paste and sauté for a minute. 

Remove from the flame, add the curds, mix well. Return to the flame, and cook on low heat for a minute. 

Add 1/2 cup water, and let it simmer till the volume reduces by half. 

Add potatoes, salt and sugar, and let it simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. 

Top with ghee, if desired. 

Bengali style hing aloo

On a rainy evening, the thing you crave most is pure unadulterated carbs, and that's a draw I can never resist. Not wanting to make something very elaborate, I had this really simple Bengali dish for dinner with parathas and dahi phulki, and a more satisfying meal I haven't had in a long time!

200 gms baby potatoes, or 2 large potatoes

1 tbsp mustard oil

A pinch of hing

A pinch of haldi powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Salt to taste

Method:

Boil the potatoes till cooked, peel and keep aside. If using large potatoes, cut into eights. 

Heat the mustard oil, splutter the cumin seeds. Add hing and haldi powder, mix, and immediately add the potatoes. On a low flame, fry for 2-3 minutes. Add salt and mix well. 

Serve hot. 

Baby potatoes in green gravy

The only time I boil raw onions is when I am making bise bele bhaat. I love the special flavour it imparts, and was curious to try out a new recipe where the onions were boiled before being ground. However, I was hesitant to try it out with chicken, so adapted the recipe for baby potatoes instead. The flavour was similar to that of a coconut based gravy, and it made for a very pleasant change. Definitely a recipe I am trying out again

250 gms baby potatoes
1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 medium onion, chopped roughly
green chillies to taste (recipe called for 3, I used 1)
1/2 bunch coriander leaves
2 bay leaves
1 badi elaichi
1 stick cinnamon
4 cloves
1/2 tsp jeera
1/3 cup curds, beaten till smooth
Salt to taste
1 tbsp cooking oil

Method:
Pressure cook the baby potatoes for 15 minutes, peel and keep aside.
Boil the onions, then grind to paste
Grind coriander and green chillies to a paste
Heat the oil, saute the boiled potatoes on low heat till they start browning. Keep aside. (this can be skipped, if you want to save on oil). Prick each potato with a fork, two or three times.
Add some more oil, temper with jeera. Once the jeera stops spluttering, add the whole spices and fry till it releases the fragrance.
Add onion paste, curds and salt and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
Add the baby potatoes, and the green paste, and cook for a further 2 minutes till done, adding water, if required to get the desired consistency.
Test for salt, and serve hot with rotis.

Aloo dum, without onions or garlic

This is my mother's tried and tested aloo dum, using tomato purée. I think she learnt it in Calcutta, but I really cannot be sure. All I know is it is super easy to prepare, and packs a lot of taste.

500 gm baby potatoes

1 pack tomato purée 

1 bay leaf

1 tsp jeera

1 tsp dhania

1 inch piece ginger

1 red chilli

1/2 tsp haldi powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

Salt to taste

Sugar to taste

Oil

Method

Boil and peel the potatoes, and sauté lightly in oil till golden

Grind bay leaf, jeera, ginger, dhania and red chilli to paste with a little water

Fry the ground masala, once the oil releases, add tomato purée, salt and haldi powder. Sauté for a minute, then add potatoes and garam masala, mix, cover and cook for 5 mins. Add sugar if required.

Serve hot with parathas or puri.

Stuffed brinjals in green tuvar gravy

This recipe was so different from anything I have tasted that it had me at hello. I just had to try it out to see what it was like, so when I bought half a kilogram of brinjals this week, I made sure to keep a few aside for trying out this dish.
What can I say about it? Except that it was different beyond expectations, and I loved it so much, I am definitely making it again soon.

1 cup tuvar dal soaked for 15-20 minutes
5-6 baby brinjals
3-4 baby potatoes

For ground masala
1 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
3-4 tbsp grated fresh coconut
1 tsp turmeric pwd
1 tbsp coriander pwd
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 green chilli
1 tsp red chilli pwd
a pinch hing

Cooking oil
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar (optional - I didn't add)

Method
Grind all the ingredients listed under ground masala to a smooth paste.
Slit the brinjals crosswise, and stuff with the ground masala.
In a pressure pan heat 2 tbsp oil add the stuffed brinjals and saute for 5 minutes , add the potatoes, soaked dal and the remaining masala and saute on  medium heat for 5 minutes. Add 1  1/2 cups water and pressure cook for 15 minutes.

Koliwadi curry with coconut and coriander

I discovered this recipe soon after moving to Mumbai in 2008, and fell in love with it. The original was witha Koliwadi recipe for shrimps, but since I don't have them, I substituted it with baby potatoes. It was lovely, and I have made it several times since. It is one of my favourite dishes to make when I have people over, since it is so very simple and effective. Though I am making it after a couple of years, it was every bit as good as I remembered.

3 tbsp cooking oil
1 onion, grated
½ tsp haldi powder
6 whole cardamom pods, lightly crushed to split open
1 tsp chilli powder
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp ginger- garlic paste
1 bunch fresh coriander
1 small coconut, grated
salt to taste

Method:
Boil the baby potatoes, peel, prick and keep aside.
Saute onions for 2-3 minutes until softened but not coloured, then add the turmeric, cardamom pods and chilli powder. Cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant, stirring constantly.
Add cinnamon, tomatoes and garlic-ginger paste, and saute for another 1-2 minutes until the tomatoes have softened
Meanwhile, reserve a few coriander sprigs for garnish and blend the remainder with the grated coconut.

Stir the ground gravy into the sauteed onions, mix well, add water and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1-2 minutes, then stir in the potatoes. Continue to simmer for a minute, stirring constantly.
Garnish with the reserved coriander sprigs and serve with rice or chapattis.

Amaranthus- Aloo with Mustard and Posto

As a child, I have eaten more than my fair share of Amaranthus. Both my grandmothers made Keerai Mashiyal a few times a week, and that's what I had whenever we visited them during the summer vacations. Once I got married and moved out, the leaf too moved out of my life. A change encounter with the green when I was with a friend got me to try it out, and I rather liked the chauli-baigan subji she gave me the recipe of.
Which is why, when I saw the recipe for Morisa Xaakor Tharir /Daatha’r Sorsori, an Assamese dish, I knew I wanted to try it out. The only problem is that the bunch I picked up didn't have enough stems, so I decided to substitute it with the leaves itself. And it tasted divine with steamed rice.
If this is any indication, I think I am going to love Assamese cuisine.

1 bunch amaranthus/ chauli leaves 1 tbsp Mustard Paste (made by grinding pre-soaked mustard seeds with green chilli, garlic and ginger)
1 tbsp khus khus soaked for about 15 minutes
4-5 baby potatoes
2 tbsp Mustard Oil
Turmeric - 1 tsp
3 Green Chillies 
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Paste of 1 Onion


Method:
Heat mustard oil in a pan and then fry the potatoes for about 4 minutes. Add the Amaranth and fry for an additional 3 minutes. Keep aside
In the same oil fry the onion paste and ginger-garlic paste with turmeric and once the raw flavor is gone add the mustard paste and poppy seeds paste. Fry for 2-3 minutes
Add the potatoes and greens, turmeric, chillies, water and salt
Allow the gravy to boil and once it reaches the boiling temperature, simmer and cook till the potatoes are cooked.
Serve hot with steamed rice. Tastes even better the next day.

Aloo dum with Fennel Tempering

When I saw this recipe, I knew I just had to try it out, specially since I so seldom use saunf in daily cooking. The original recipe was for an egg curry, but it worked just as well with baby potatoes.

250 gms baby potatoes, boiled and peeled
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 bay leaf
Paste of 1 large onion
2 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp garlic paste
Haldi powder to taste
Chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste
Cooking oil (about 1 tbsp)
Dil leaves for garnish
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1 tsp sugar

Method:
Heat oil and add fennel seeds and bay leaf, fry for a minute till the aroma releases.
Add a mix of fine onion paste, ginger paste and garlic paste, haldi and chilli powder.
Fry the masala well till oil seperates. I added sugar, because the masala seemed to spicy, and it added a nice taste to the dish.
Add boiled potatoes.
Cook on low heat with a minimum of water.
Take off fire. Garnish with dil leaves and a pinch of fennel powder.

Aloo Dum

The Punjabi version of Aloo Dum. Regardless of ingredients, the dish tastes just as wonderful!

Boil and peel 350 gms baby potatoes and keep aside.
Saute 2 medium onions cut fine till transparent
Add 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp dhania pwd, 2 tsp zeera pwd, 2 tsp kashmiri mirch pwd, 2 tsp garam masala pwd, and fry on low heat till the oil starts leaving the masala.
Cool, and blend till smooth.
Lightly fry baby potatoes, add the masala, and 1/4 cup curds beaten smooth. Cook on low flame for 5 minutes.
Add salt to taste.

Pudinawala dum aloo

One of the things I really loved as a kid. Not sure if my mother invented it, or if she learnt it from someone, but this is one dish that never fails to bring back happy memories. It was even one of the dishes I had asked her to cook for me during my Board Exams.

Scrub the dirt off baby potatoes, boil, peel and keep aside.
Thoroughly wash one bunch each of mint and coriander leaves, and pluck the leaves.
Grind/ blend the leaves together with two green chillies (washed), 1 tsp zeera and 1/2 tsp ajwain seeds till smooth. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lime, add salt to taste and keep aside.
In a pan, temper zeera in oil, add the peeled baby potatoes and the ground green paste.
Cook on low heat till it releases water, and the water evaporates.
Serve with rotis.