Today's recipe 'dahi aloo' is a quick and easy side dish that has it's roots in the North Indian cuisine. As the name indicates, the two main ingredients of this recipe are dahi and aloo which are yogurt and potatoes and the rest of the ingredients used are a few spices / spice powders, which are all staples of an Indian kitchen. The dish can be cooked under 15 minutes if one has cooked potatoes handy.
Use yogurt which is slightly on the sour side or add some amchur / lemon juice to the dish for some tanginess. One of the things to keep in mind while cooking dahi aloo is not to curdle the yogurt. Avoid adding yogurt to the hot pot since chances of it curdling are high if done so. Whisking a tsp. of chickpea flour / rice flour / corn starch, along with yogurt also helps. I have added some tips in the recipe directions below, that I use to avoid curdling yogurt when making these kind of dishes.
Ingredients: (yield 2 servings)
2 big potatoes / 4 small ones
2 tsp. ghee / oil
1 tsp minced / grated ginger
1 green chili, finely chopped
A pinch of asafoetida
1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup or slightly more water
1 tsp. chickpea flour / besan
Salt to taste
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. coriander powder to taste
1/4 tsp. chili powder or to taste
Minced cilantro to garnish
Directions:
* Peel and cut potatoes into big cubes. Pressure cook them for 2 or 3 whistles adding enough water. Or alternatively, they can be cooked in a pot on stove top or in a microwave until fork tender. Add the potatoes to a colander and drain. Run cold water over them. (I do this to keep everything at room temperature when adding the yogurt to avoid it from curdling.)
* Add ghee / oil to a pan and heat it. Don't bring it to a smoking point. Add cumin seeds and when they start to brown, add chilies and ginger. Saute for 30 to 40 seconds and add asafoetida powder. Stir well once and turn off the stove.
* Transfer the pan to another burner which is not hot or place on a trivet and add the cold, drained potatoes and 1/4 cup water to it. It is to make sure that the pan is not hot while adding the yogurt to it.
* Whisk yogurt, remaining water and chickpea flour together. (I use a blender for a homogeneous mixture.)
* Now add yogurt mixture, salt, turmeric, coriander powder to the pan. Stir well and taste. Next add chili powder as needed.
* Turn on the heat and put the pan on stove. Cook on low flame, stirring quite often. If the heat used to cook is high, the yogurt mixture starts to curdle. Cook until the mixture slightly thickens, about 10 - 12 minutes. Taste and cook longer if needed. Also note that the mixture thickens slightly after cooling.
* Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rotis / pooris / rice.
This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon and check what other marathoners are cooking, clicking at the link.
Comments
Quite an interesting recipe Suma and the colour is so lovely! Must be good to have such easy ones for those hurried days!
ReplyDeleteAwesome , Dahi aloo is one of our favourites ! This version is rather interesting , i have never ised chickpea flour , it will give a good body to the sabzi . Let me try this recipe the next time .
ReplyDeleteThis would be delicious with some pooris or even with some jeera rice... Love such simple dishes that make life easy and is lipsmacking too...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful looking gravy there. My family would go to any lengths to see me make such aloo based curries on a daily basis :)
ReplyDeleteThat is such a yummy looking potato curry Suma. I want to try it right away - with easily available ingredients this can be easily added to everyday rotation.
ReplyDeleteI recently tasted this interesting dish with the addition of chickpea flour when a friend made it to go with puris. Absolutely loved the taste. Yours look delicious and love the colour of the curry.
ReplyDeleteThis is a delicious and comforting side. We love it with rice, roti, or poori. Love your clicks, beautiful!
ReplyDelete