Dum aloo

I got home at 6PM and it was a Friday evening! This was hard to believe given I'd had the last 4-weeks (inclusive of weekends) packed with work. My roommate made us lovely coffee and we savored it with an hour of "How I Met Your Mother". The weekend had just begun and it felt perfect. It was simply too good to be true. We usually dine out on Friday evenings since I'm not back from work until 8PM but, this Friday was different. So, I thought I'd stay home and try something new! I must say my friends really enjoyed this dish, they could not stop licking their fingers :P and so I guess this recipe won a spot on my blog!

Preparation time: about 30 min (excluding the soaking of potatoes in salt water)
Serves 4


Ingredients: 


Potatoes: 20 baby potatoes or 4 medium sized potatoes cut into quarters
Cardamom: 1 pod
Cloves: 2-3
Bay leaves: 3-4

Onions: 2 medium sized  sliced (not finely chopped)

Peppers (Serano or green chillies): 2 long ones (you can do 1 if you're NOT the spicy types)

Tomatoes: 1 medium sized (or 2 tblsp of tomato puree)

Ginger paste: 1 tbl spoon

Garlic paste: 1 tbl spoon

Yogurt: 1/2 cup

Chilli powder: 1 tsp (1/2 tsp for the less spicy types)

Cumin powder: 1 tsp

Garam masala: 1/2 tsp

Gram flour (besan): 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Cilatro: 2-3 stems (chopped)

Vegetable oil: 3-5 tblsp

Procedure:

Prick the potatoes with a fork and soak in salt water for about an hour. This lets the salt seep into the potatoes so its not plain on the inside. Drain the water and pat the potato pieces lightly with a paper towel. Do not squeeze all the water out since that will remove the salt as well. Heat about 3 tblsp on oil in a shallow pan and fry the potato pieces till they turn golden brown. Keep aside. In a pot, heat about 2 tblsp of  oil. Add the bay leaves, cardamom and cloves. After a minute, mix in the peppers. Lightly fry for about 30 sec and then add the onions. Cook until onions turn translucent. Mix in the ginger and garlic pastes. Cook for a minute. Add chopped tomatoes or puree. Cook until the tomatoes are almost done. In a cup, mix in yougurt with chilli powder, cumin powder, besan, garam masala and salt. Pour this into the pot. Add about 1/2 cup of water and cook for a minute. Mix in the potato pieces. Cover with a lid and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with chapati or naan!

Yenjoi madi!