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Dum Aloo (No Onion No Garlic) / Punjabi Dum Aloo

By Jigna
This recipe for Punjabi Dum Aloo, a popular North Indian curry, is made without onion and garlic. It consists of boiled and then pan-fried baby potatoes in tomato and yogurt gravy!
4.75 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Cuisine Indian
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Diet Baby Potatoes, No onion No garlic, Indian curry, Dum Aloo
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

For The Tomato Puree

  • 3 large tomatoes roughly chopped
  • 12 cashews
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
  • 1- inch ginger peeled and chopped
  • 1 green chili chopped

For Boiling The Baby Potatoes

  • 600 g baby potatoes (18-20 baby potatoes)
  • Water for boiling the potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For Pan-Frying The Potatoes

  • Boiled Baby Potatoes
  • 3 tablespoon oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala

For The Dum Aloo

  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala or to taste
  • ½ cup plain yogurt whisked
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
  • 2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander leaves

Instructions
 

Making The Tomato Puree

  • Add chopped tomatoes, cashews, ginger, green chili, and sesame seeds to the blender. Blend everything into a smooth puree.
  • If your blender does not yield smooth puree, strain the puree through the fine strainer. Set it aside.

Boiling The Baby Potatoes

  • Bring enough water to a boil in a pot and add baby potatoes and salt to it.
  • Boil the potatoes until they are entirely cooked but not overcooked. Drain the potatoes and let them cool enough to handle.
  • Then peel the baby potatoes and prick them all over using a toothpick or a fork.

Pan-Frying The Baby Potatoes

  • Heat 3 tablespoon of oil in a pan or wok, and add boiled baby potatoes. Pan-fry the potatoes on medium heat until they are golden on both sides.
  • Once the potatoes are golden, turn the heat on to low. Add salt, red chili powder, and garam masala. Stir well so the masala coats evenly to the potatoes. Now Remove the potatoes from the pan to a plate or bowl, and set them aside.

Making The Dum Aloo

  • Now in the same pan (there will be oil left in the pan), add the prepared tomato puree. Stir well.
  • Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and garam masala.
  • Mix well and continue cooking the tomato mixture for 12-15 minutes or until it is thick, stirring occasionally.
  • It is essential to cook the tomato puree for longer so it becomes thick and does not taste raw.
  • Now turn off the heat, add yogurt to the gravy, and mix until it is well combined.
  • Turn on the heat again and continue cooking the gravy on low-medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring at intervals.
  • Then add baby potatoes, mix well and add water as required to adjust the consistency of the curry. Cover the lid tightly.
  • Cook the potatoes in the gravy on low-medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Remove the lid, add sugar, Kasoori methi, and chopped coriander, and mix well. Taste the curry and adjust the salt as needed.
  • Turn off the heat, and transfer the Dum Aloo to the serving bowl. Drizzle some cream or whisked yogurt on top of the curry before serving if desired.

Serving Suggestions

  • Serve Dum Aloo with Jeera Rice or plain Rice.
  • Or you can serve it with Roti, Paratha, Kulcha, or Naan.
  • Dum Aloo makes a perfect side dish to make a complete Thali.
  • Before serving, you can drizzle some cream or whisked yogurt on top of the Dum aloo.

Notes

  1. Potatoes: Traditionally, this recipe requires baby potatoes. But even baby potatoes come in different sizes, so try to use the smaller ones. You can use medium size potatoes if you do not have baby potatoes. If using medium potatoes, boil them, peel them, cut them into quarters, and then pan-fry until lightly golden.
  2. Do Not Overboil The Potatoes: It is essential to cook the baby potatoes just right. Overboiling will make the potatoes mushy and break while pan-frying and cooking in the gravy. Billing the potatoes in a pan is better than using a pressure cooker.
  3. Pan-Frying and Seasoning The Potatoes: Pan-frying the potatoes will add a pleasant and slightly crispy texture to the potatoes. So I will highly recommend not skipping this step. Also, season them at this point with salt, red chili powder, and garam masala to make them more flavorful. 
  4. Yogurt: I have used homemade 2% milk yogurt, but you can also use whole milk plain yogurt or store-bought yogurt. To prevent the yogurt from curdling after adding it to the gravy, take care of a few things. First, use room-temperature yogurt, and whisk it until it is smooth before adding it to the gravy. Also, when you add yogurt to the gravy, turn off the heat temporarily and mix it with the gravy until well combined. And then, turn on the heat to follow the next steps.
  5. Sugar: Do not skip this, as adding only a teaspoon of sugar will enhance the flavors of the curry.

Nutrition (Approximate Values)

Calories : 288kcalCarbohydrates : 35gProtein : 7gFat : 15gSaturated Fat : 2gPolyunsaturated Fat : 4gMonounsaturated Fat : 8gTrans Fat : 0.04gCholesterol : 2mgSodium : 662mgPotassium : 888mgFiber : 5gSugar : 6gVitamin A : 561IUVitamin C : 38mgCalcium : 111mgIron : 2mg
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