Alur Dum

Bengali people are known for their love for potatoes. This recipe is proof of that. For this is part of every Bengali’s Sunday morning breakfast nostalgia, accompanied by luchi or paratha. Although Alur Dum (known as dum alu across other parts of the country) is also pretty popular even beyond the Bengali household, this particular version of it is an authentic Bengali recipe.

Ingredients :

• 500 gm of new baby potatoes
• 1 cup yoghurt
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2-3 green chillies
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• A tsp ginger paste
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 pods of green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1 piece of bay leaf
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (roasted)
• Sprigs of cilantro leaves
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt according to taste
• Oil for cooking

 

Preparation-

• Do not cut the potatoes. Boil the potatoes as a whole, and then peel them. If you are making it at a time of the year when baby potatoes are unavailable, you may make half or quarter sized portions of each potato, depending on the size of the ones you are using.
• Grind roasted cumin seeds in a pestle and mortar
• Add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf into oil, heated in a pans and sauté till they begin to splutter.
• Fry the boiled potatoes in this pan till they turn golden brown.
• Then mix in tomato purée followed by yoghurt that has chilli powder and ginger paste mixed into it.
• Add salt and sugar according to taste followed by green chillies.
• Boil the gravy to thicken it and cook the potatoes completely.
• Sprinkle the ground roasted cumin and remove from heat.
• Finish by garnishing it with cilantro leaves.
• Serve hot with luchi or paratha.