Dum Aloo Banarasi is a delicacy from the Uttar Pradesh cuisine. It is a delicious, tangy, spiced and robust curry made with baby potatoes, tomatoes, herbs, curd and spices. The recipe is made without onion and garlic.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: North Indian, Uttar Pradesh

Ingredients

  • 450 to 500 grams baby potatoes (- 28 to 32 baby potatoes)
  • 100 grams tomato (or 1 medium to large tomato - minced, grated or finely chopped)
  • 1 inch ginger (- peeled, minced or finely chopped)
  • 2 to 3 green chilies (- slit)
  • ½ cup curd ((yogurt))
  • 2 tablespoons light cream (or low fat cream, optional)
  • 2 to 2.5 cups water (or add as required)
  • 1 tej patta (- large-sized or 2 to 3 small to medium tej patta (Indian bay leaf))
  • 2.5 teaspoon coriander powder ((ground coriander))
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))
  • ½ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder (or deghi mirch)
  • 3 tablespoons ghee
  • salt (as required)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (- chopped, for garnish)
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 1.5 teaspoons fennel seeds ((saunf))
  • 4 cloves
  • 3 to 4 green cardamoms
  • ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds ((methi dana))

Method

Powdering the spices

  1. In a small skillet or frying pan, roast the whole spices mentioned under the list "spiced to be powdered" until fragrant.
  2. When cooled, powder them coarsely in a mortar and pestle or a coffee-grinder or a mixer-grinder.

Making banarasi dum aloo

  1. Rinse the baby potatoes very well in water.
  2. If you plan to keep the peels, then scrub the mud with a brush and rinse the potatoes very well.
  3. Boil or steam the potatoes, till they are almost cooked. Peel and then prick with a fork on all sides.
  4. Heat 2 tablespoon ghee in a frying pan. Sauté the baby potatoes till lightly browned.
  5. Remove and keep aside. You can also sauté the baby potatoes in batches. Add more ghee if needed.
  6. In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon of ghee. Add the tej pattaand sauté for a few seconds till fragrant.
  7. Then add the ginger and sauté for some seconds till the raw aroma goes away.
  8. Add the tomatoes and the prepared ground spices powder. Stir and sauté till the fat starts to release from the tomato mixture.
  9. Whisk yogurt in a small bowl till smooth. Lower the heat or you can also switch off the heat.
  10. Add the yogurt to the pan and stir briskly and quickly. Sauté on low heat stirring often till the fat releases from the mixture.
  11. If the yogurt curdles, then just continue to sauté till all the liquids are evaporated and the whole mixture comes together and you see the fat clearly from the sides.
  12. Add the coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder and saute for a minute.
  13. Add the potatoes and green chilies and saute for 2 to 3 mins till the masala has coated the potatoes well.
  14. Add water and salt. Stir and let the curry come to a boil.
  15. Lower the heat and simmer till all the flavors of the curry has well blended for about 8 to 10 mins. If you want a slightly thick curry, then simmer for some more minutes. For a thin curry, you can add some more water.
  16. Lastly add cream and stir again. Switch off the heat and serve Banarasi Dum Aloo hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.