Jeera Aloo is a classic North Indian side dish made with boiled potato cubes sautéed in oil or ghee with cumin seeds, spices, herbs and a touch of lemon juice. This gluten-free and vegan recipe gets ready in under 30 minutes and pairs well with roti, chapati, paratha or poori.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 5
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: North Indian

Ingredients

  • 5 to 6 or (500 grams) potatoes (- medium-sized)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • water (as required)
  • 3 tablespoons oil (- sunflower, peanut or any neutral tasting oil)
  • 3 teaspoons cumin seeds ((jeera))
  • 1 to 1.5 teaspoons green chilies (- finely chopped, can use serrano peppers - check point 4 below in notes)
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder (or cayenne pepper or paprika)
  • salt (as required)
  • ¼ cup coriander leaves (- chopped (cilantro))
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice (or add according to taste)

Method

Cooking potatoes

  1. Scrub and rinse potatoes very well in water.
  2. Steam or cook the potatoes in a pan, stove-top pressure cooker or in the Instant pot.
  3. a) Cooking in a stove-top pressure cooker: In a 3 or 4 litre pressure, add the potatoes and pour enough water which just about covers the potatoes. Pressure cook on medium-heat for 7 to 9 minutes. When the cooking is complete, wait until all the pressure falls in the cooker and then remove the lid.
  4. b) Cooking in a pan or pot: Peel, and chop the potatoes in small cubes. Add water enough to cover the potatoes. Sprinkle salt. Cover and simmer on a low to medium-low heat until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain all the water and set aside.
  5. c) Pressure cooking in the Instant Pot: Place a trivet in the steel insert of a 6 quart IP. Keep the potatoes on top of the trivet. If you do not have a trivet, you can use a steaming pan which fits in the steel insert. Pressure cook for 20 to 25 minutes on high pressure. Do a quick pressure release (QPR) after 5 to 7 minutes.
  6. The potatoes should be just cooked until barely fork-tender and not crumbly.
  7. If you have cooked the potatoes, in a stove-top pressure cooker or in the Instant pot, then let the potatoes become warm or cool at room temperature, then peel them and cut into small cubes.

Making jeera aloo

  1. In a pan, heat oil on medium heat. Let the oil become hot.
  2. Lower the heat and add cumin seeds and let them crackle in the oil taking care not to burn them. Stir them when they begin to crackle.
  3. The cumin seeds should brown but not burn, so be sure to keep them moving. They must crackle and you must get the lovely earthy aroma from them.
  4. Now add chopped green chillies and mix very well.
  5. Add the potato cubes and mix again.
  6. Sprinkle turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt as required. Mix thoroughly.
  7. Saute the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes on low to medium flame stirring often.
  8. Next add 2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice, depending on how much tangy flavor you prefer. Start with 1 teaspoon, mix and taste as you add a bit more of the lemon juice at a time to reach just the right level of tanginess.
  9. Finish off with ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves.
  10. Combine and mix thoroughly. Switch off the heat.

Serving suggestions

  1. Serve Jeera Aloo hot or warm with roti, poori, paratha or your favorite bread. You can also serve it as a side dish with dal and steamed rice.

Storage

  1. Refrigerate any leftovers for 1 to 2 days. You can wraps or grilled/toasted sandwiches with the leftovers.

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.