Punjabi Dum Aloo

Step 1: Prepare Baby Potatoes

Boil 10-15 baby potatoes, peel them, and prick them all over with a toothpick. Shallow fry them in a pan with a little oil until golden brown. Sprinkle a little salt and chili powder on them while frying. Set aside.

Step 2: Prepare Gravy Paste

Take a mixer jar. Add 2 chopped large onions, 1 chopped tomato, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 green chilies, 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp pepper powder, 4 tsp watermelon seeds (magaz), 5 cashews, 1 cardamom, 4-5 cloves, and 1 piece of cinnamon stick. Add a little water and grind all ingredients to a fine, smooth paste.

Step 3: Sauté Spices and Gravy

Heat oil in a kadai (wok). Add a little cumin seeds. Once the cumin splutters, add 4-5 tsp red chili powder to the hot oil. Immediately add the ground onion-tomato-spice paste to the kadai. Mix well and fry the paste until the oil starts to separate from the gravy, indicating it's well cooked.

Step 4: Add Remaining Spices and Curd

Rinse the mixer jar with a little water and add this water to the gravy. Mix well. Add garam masala and Kitchen King masala (if using). Continue to fry until the oil separates again. Lower the flame and add 1 cup of curd to the gravy. Mix continuously to prevent curdling.

Step 5: Add Kasuri Methi and Cream

Crush a little kasuri methi between your palms and add it to the gravy. Mix well. Then, add 4 tsp of cream (malai) to the gravy and mix thoroughly.

Step 6: Simmer with Potatoes

Add water to the gravy to achieve your desired consistency; it should be slightly thick. Bring the gravy to a boil. Once boiling, add the shallow-fried baby potatoes to the gravy. Mix everything gently. Cover the kadai and let it simmer on low flame for 10 minutes.

Step 7: Serve Punjabi Dum Aloo

After 10 minutes, your Punjabi Dum Aloo is ready. Serve hot with fulka, chapati, or rice. Adjust spice levels as per your preference.

• Adjust chili powder according to your spice preference.

• Grind the paste finely for a smooth gravy texture.

• Fry the gravy until oil separates to ensure all spices are cooked through.

• Lower the flame while adding curd to prevent curdling.

• For a richer taste, you can fry the onions and tomatoes before grinding them into a paste.

• For Kashmiri Dum Aloo, omit onions and garlic, and add fennel seeds (saunf) and ginger powder instead.