SERVES 4
As the name suggests, Kashmiri dum aloo (Kashmiri steamed potatoes) is a traditional dish from the northernmost Indian state of Kashmir. Dum means steam. And so the dish is finished by cooking under steam. It is a mild spiced preparation, even though the color of the dish might not show that. Kashmiri chilli powder gives it the color, but it is a very mildly spiced chilli powder. So go forth and test your spice tolerance. If you can tolerate it, then you can add a dash of cayenne chilli powder the next time.
For cooking potatoes:
25 baby potatoes (about 0.5 kg)
3 to 3½ cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
For rest of the dish preparation:
3 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder mixed in 2 tbsp water to for a paste
½ tbsp ginger powder
1 tbsp fennel powder
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 inch cinnamon
3 cloves
1 black cardamom
4 to 5 black peppers
1 green cardamom
6 tbsp beaten regular yogurt (for best results do not use low or reduced fat)
1½ cups water
1½ sun dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) for garnish
1 Boil 3½ cups water in a pan. Add the potatoes and boil them till they are half cooked. If you insert a toothpick in the potato, it should go easily through the outer layer, but there should be resistance as you push it through the center.
2 Drain them and allow to become warm or cool down at room temperature. Peel the potatoes. Some prefer to keep the peel.
3 With a fork, toothpick or skewer, poke holes in the potatoes all over. This is done so that when cooking on dum, the potatoes absorb the flavors of the masala in which they are getting cooked. If the potatoes are big (greater than 1.5 inches in diameter), you can even half them
4 Whisk the fresh full fat curd or yogurt till smooth. Keep aside.
5 In a small bowl, mix the Kashmiri chilli powder and with water. Stir well to get a smooth mixture.
6 In a pan, heat the mustard oil. Add the peeled potatoes and begin to fry them on a medium flame. With a slotted spoon, turn them over while frying, when one side is light golden. Make sure that the potatoes are cooked throughout. You might want to cut one of the potatoes to confirm it is cooked. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and placed them on paper towels to remove excess oil.
7 Reduce the flame to low. Remove the oil from the pan leaving behind only about 2 tbsp oil. In the same oil, add asafetida powder. Stir well. Carefully add the red chili paste (prepared in Step 5) and stir well.
8 Now add the beaten yogurt. When adding the yogurt, please whisk continuously with a whisk or a spoon so that the yogurt does not break. After adding curd, add water and continue to stir. Stir and mix very well.
9 Add the fennel powder. Add the whole spices and ginger powder. Mix well. Add the potatoes. Season with salt and gently stir so that the potatoes are coated with the spice mixture. Be careful to not break the potatoes.
10 Cover the pan tightly with a lid. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes on a low to medium flame. I prefer to cover the dish with aluminum foil and put the lid on top. It ensures that the steam does not escape. The steam is cooking the potato gravy and will soften the potatoes a little bit. The gravy should become thick. If the gravy is too thick, you can add some water to dilute it.
11 Garnish the dish by sprinkling the crushed kasuri methi on top. Serve right away with some hot naan.
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