Dum Aaloo (Whole Potatoes)

I have made dum aaloo (whole potatoes in gravy) before, but I wanted to see if I can make it again in a different way this time. So I hunted for recipe online and found a good one by Tarla Dalaal. It required a lot of spices!! I don't think I have ever made anything like this before. It was exciting for me to try this recipe out - and it turned out quite well. This is the first time I felt that something tasted like it would in an Indian restaurant!!

There were also a lot of dry whole spices (which I had hardly ever used in curry! I use the powdered one)

Ingredients:
(For 4 servings - some of the spices shown)

1. 14 Small baby potatoes
2. 3 tbsp oil
3. 2 medium onions
4. 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
5. 1/2 tsp crushed ginger
6. 2-3 green chilli (hotness is on you!)
7. 1 tsp cumin seeds
8. few cloves
9. 2-3 small pieces of cinnamon
10. 1/2 tsp anise seeds
11. 1/2 tsp black peppercorn
12. 2-3 tbsp cashews
13. Salt, pepper to taste
14. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
15. 1 can tomato puree
16. 2 tsp sour cream (I don't usually use cream - but that is what was in the original recipe)
17. 1/2 tsp sugar

The gravy turned out to be quite a lot - so I have frozen half of it.

Process:

1. Wash the potatoes and poke some holes using a fork. Soak in salted water for 20-30 mins.
2. While they are soaking you can make the curry.
3. Cut the onion into small or medium pieces. Add all the ingredients through and blend them in the blender.
4. Add 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and add the blended mixture to the pan and fry until the oil separates out.
5. Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
6. Add the tomato puree and cook for about 15 mins or to make a nice curry. 
7. Add the 1/2 tsp sugar. 
8. Add the 2 tsp sour cream and mix the gravy.  
   
   
   
9. Remove the potatoes and dry them. I broiled the potatoes for 10 mins or so, but the skin was becoming a little burned, so I took them out and fried them in hot oil. To make it easy for people to eat, I took a knife and made some shallow cuts on the skin so it could be cut with a spoon without the potato flying out of the curry.
10. Add the potatoes to the curry and cook for a few minutes (or not...because everything is cooked). 
    
11. Top it off with the cilantro garnish and serve hot.

I served it with naan and rice.  The taste of the dum aaloo was quite amazing! I am going to try this out with vegetable kofta or paneer, especially since I have half the gravy in the freezer!

Cauliflower (rasaydaar - with water)

The most common way of making cauliflower is as a dry vegetable serving, which has no water or gravy.  This one described below, has water in it so it provides for a just a different way to cook the cauliflower.  This recipe does require a little time as there is some frying involved, but the result is the tastiest vegetable of all!

Ingredients (this serves about 5 people)

1. One small head cauliflower 
2. One large potato
3. Small piece of ginger or ginger paste
4. One large tomato diced (optional)
5. Few sprigs of cilantro, chopped to small pieces
6. One third or half cup oil
7. Half tsp cumin seeds
8. One tsp coriander powder
9. 3/4 tsp garam masala
10. Half tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
11. One tsp amchur (dry mango powder) or 1 tsp lemon juice
12. Salt and pepper to taste

Process:

1. Cut the cauliflower into medium pieces (don't make it too small or leave too large)
2. Peel and cut the potatoes into 1cm wedges.
3. Wash the potatoes and cauliflower with water and drain the water.
4. Take a large pan and pour about 1/5 th cup of oil. Heat the oil and when it is hot, add the potatoes and fry them until they are reddish in color. (Note: the oil can be more - it will just make the vegetable more rich!)
5. Remove the potatoes and keep them on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
6. In the same pan, add one fourth cup of oil and add the cauliflower. Fry these until they are reddish. Try not to overcook them. They should retain their shape and be firm.
7. Remove the cauliflower and keep on a paper towel to remove excess oil. 
8. Note: you can fry the cauliflower and pototoes together, but potatoes fry faster than cauliflower so you have to remove them individually (which is what I do and save myself some time)
9. In the same pan, add 1 tsp of oil; add half tsp of cumin seeds; 1 tsp of coriander powder and let it get brown.
10. Ones the spices are brown, add the ginger pieces or paste and fry it to give a little brown color. (If you want you can also add small pieces of green peppers if you can handle the hotness!)
11. Add about 3 cups of water, add the cauliflower and pototoes to the pan.
12. Add salt and red chilli to your taste, add the turmeric powder and garam masala.
13. Add the diced tomatoes at this time if you want to. This gives a nice red color to the vegetable in addition to the taste.
14. Boil the mix for about 10 mins. The cauliflower is already cooked when frying, so you should not need to boil for too long. Add more water if needed - as much as you want.
15. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the amchur powder or lemon juice. 
16. When ready to serve: make sure it is hot (although cool is yummy too!), and add the chopped cilantro to garnish.

The vegetable is best enjoyed with paranthas!! And of course you can keep in the fridge and enjoy for 2-3 more days, if you have any left over!