Naanu’s Kashmiri Dum Aalu
Thinking about Dum Aalu is like watching an old family movie or flipping through a black and white photo album from the past - each moment captured speaking of many more emotions that surrounded that moment.
Our parents vanishing into the kitchen for hours and hours.
The strong smell of smoking mustard oil…
The humming of the exhaust fan in the kitchen, trying unsuccessfully to take away the mustard oil vapors burning our eyes and nostrils.
The crunch of the fried potatoes in our mouth - a consolation prize as we eagerly waited for the real thing.
The round fiery gems, floating in the amber velvety spicy river of deliciousness.
Digging into the soft cushiony balls and watching in amazement as the thick red gravy oozed out from the depths of the potato, as if it always belonged there.
The guests, all oohing and aahing, first in amazement of the creation, and then in pain, as the spice tingled their taste buds and made them sweat, cursing the creators while asking for a second helping.
But preparation of Dum Aalu was more than just those memories - it was also a way for my mother to relive her own memories with her father. She would follow the recipe handed down to her, religiously, purposefully and completely. Every step was measured and every ingredient carefully selected and prepped exactly the way Mama learnt from Naanu. The potatoes were perfectly boiled, pierced, fried. The gravy was perfectly executed with the right amount of mirch. Imperfection was not an option.
We watched Mama and Papa vanish into the kitchen before breakfast. At lunch, we salivated as the delicious aroma of frying potatoes filled the house. At dinner, if we were lucky, we may get a few bites of imperfect or broken potatoes that weren't good enough for the curry. But the real treat only came the next day. The end result was always worth the wait.
Some Tips:
Getting this recipe right requires bravery, patience and good quality kashmiri mirch. While i can't help you with the first two ingredients, the third is fairly easily available in Indian grocery stores and online here.
- Selecting the potatoes: Traditional recipes use medium to large sized potatoes. Papa would look for pahadi Aalu which are thin skinned, have an earthy flavor and hold well when boiled. In the US, I look for medium sized, yellow potatoes.
- Prepping the potatoes is a 3 step process
- Potatoes are first be boiled in salted water or pressure cooked briefly. I wait for 1 whistle on my stove top pressure cooker or 0 minutes on low pressure in my instant pot. Its important to not over-boil the potatoes so they retain their structure when pierced and fried.
- Boiled potatoes are then pierced with a fork or a skewer. I use tiny bamboo skewers (available here) to pierce boiled potatoes through and through.
- Finally, the pierced potatoes are deep fried on low-medium heat. During this process, the potatoes change color and texture, from lightly fried, golden to crispy fried, almost red. In my mother's recipe, 1/2 cup water is added when potatoes turn light golden and another 1/2 cup is added when they start to turn red. If you aren't feeling brave enough to add water, remove potatoes from oil once they are golden brown and fry them a second time to get the darker and crispier outer layer.
- Use of a generous quantity of Kashmiri Red Chili powder gives this dish the bright red color. Any other variety would potentially make the dish too hot without imparting the rich color.
Follow these tips and find out why this is my soul food. (Also check out my other soul food - rajma chawal)
Crispy fried whole potatoes floating in spicy velvety yogurt gravy
- 10-12 Medium Sized Red/ White Potatoes
- 1 tsp Salt
- Water (Enough to cover potaotes)
- Mustard Oil (Replace with Mustard Oil if you prefer)
- 1 cup Plain Yogurt (I prefer homemade yogurt that is a little sour)
- 3-4 cup Water
- 3 tbsp Fennel Powder
- 1/2 tsp Dry ginger powder
- 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder (Optional)
- 1 tbsp Mustard Oil
- 1 pinch Asafetida/ Hing
- 4-5 tbsp Kashmiri Chili Powder
- 6 Pods Green Cardamom
- 1 Inch Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Cloves (Laung)
- 1 Black Cardamom Pod
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- Boil the potatoes until cooked through but not too soft. Remove from heat and cool down under tap water.If you are using an instant pot, steam potatoes on low for 0 minutes. Make sure they aren't too soft. In a stovetop pressure cooked, wait for 1 whistle.
Once potatoes have cooled, peel and pierce all over gently, with a toothpick or wooden skewer.
Piercing potatoes ensures the flavors of the gravy penetrate the potatoes. Because the potatoes are already cooked, this process must be gentle to make sure potatoes don't break.
Heat oil in a wok and add potatoes. Fry on low-medium heat until potatoes turn golden brown. Gently pour 1/2 cup of water to the oil from the edge of the wok. Continue frying potatoes until they turn medium brown. Add another 1/2 cup water and fry till potatoes are deep red and crispy.
This is the most important and time consuming step worth all the effort for the true lovers of this dish! If the idea of adding water to oil sounds scary, triple fry the potatoes -Fry until potatoes are golden brown, fry second time until they turn medium brown. Final frying will turn them red.Whip up the yogurt with salt and dry spices except Kashmiri Mirch. Add water to make a thick slurry and keep aside.
Heat mustard oil until it reaches smoking point. Reduce heat and add hing, whole spices (cinnamon, cloves, cumin, bay leaves, black cardamom). Add Kashmiri chili powder and immediately add a splash of water to ensure the chili powder does not burn. Keep adding splashes of water until oil glistens on the edges.
Add the yogurt mix. Stir continuously until it comes to gentle simmer and oil starts glisten on the edges. Add the potatoes into the gravy and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Let potatoes rest overnight or atleast 4-5 hours in the gravy. Once rested, take the potatoes out of the gravy and keep aside.
Before serving, add water to the left over curry to make enough gravy (as much or as little as you prefer). Taste and adjust salt. Add back the potatoes. Serve hot with Basmati Rice.
