Vrat Wale Aloo is a simple potato curry made with minimal ingredients and uses no onion and no garlic. In north Indian, this dish is especially made during the fasting season of Navratri!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 2-3 medium potatoes (around 420 grams)
  • 1 tablespoon oil (or ghee, I used oil)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 inch ginger (chopped)
  • 1 green chili (finely chopped, or more to taste)
  • 2 medium tomatoes (around 250 grams, pureed)
  • 2 cups water (and more as needed)
  • 1 teaspoon sendha namak (rock salt)
  • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper (or more as needed)
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
  • lemon juice (optional)

Method

  1. Start by boiling the potatoes first. Place potatoes in a pressure cooker with enough water and pressure cook for 7 to 8 whistles until they are cooked. Open the lid once pressure drops off, and peel them. Once they have cooled down a little and you can handle them easily, crush them using your hands. Do not mash them, you want broken pieces of boiled potatoes. You can also cook the potatoes using your instant pot or on stove-top. Set them aside.
  2. Heat oil or ghee in a kadai on medium heat. Once hot, add the cumin seeds and let it sizzle for 30 seconds. Then add the chopped ginger and green chili and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the ginger starts changing color.
  3. Then add the pureed tomatoes and stir. Cook the tomatoes for around 4 to 5 minutes stirring often.
  4. Now add the boiled and crushed potatoes. Mix and add 2 cups of water. Also add the salt and pepper and mix well. Now let this curry boil for 8 to 9 minutes on medium heat.
  5. The curry will thicken during this time and will continue to thicken as it cools down. Garnish with cilantro, you can also squeeze in some lemon juice if you like. Serve vrat wale aloo hot with kuttu ki puri.

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.