Dahi wale Aloo (Potatoes in curd gravy)

In life there are so many simple pleasures and when it comes to food, what better than potatoes to prove this.

The origin of potatoes is traced back to South American countries,  like Chile and Peru.  But, the love that we Indians exhibit towards potato,  is like no one else in the worId.  No other country has so many dishes dedicated to this vegetable.  Every state and every region has created magical recipes with it.  The moment you eat them  it is almost like love at first    SIGHT  sorry first   BITE.

Potato has become a staple in our kitchens.  

I simply adore them.  Yes, they are loaded with carbohydrates and that is a concern.  But it all depends on the treatment you give it.  Boiled or curried potatoes are definitely the way to go.  Usually, we Indians deep fry them, which is the real enemy here.  Frying  those potatoes will obviously put  calories soaring on the diet charts.  But with all that said, I know we cannot help falling in love with the fried version of this vegetable.  I stand guilty here.

Let’s talk about gravy potatoes for now.  It is better that way.  😀

In Rajasthan,  Dahi Wale Aloo served with hot puris is quite a thing. 

I have visited Rajasthan a couple of times and have had the fortune of tasting their signature dishes like the Gatte ki sabji,  Dal-Baati-Churma,  Ker Sangri (it is a very authentic dish) and of course the Ghevar (sweet) .

Ker Sangri was something I had never tried or seen before, so I obviously didn’t opt for when I saw it on the buffet.  But then, one of my colleagues who is from Marwad, saw that I don’t have Ker Sangri on my plate.  He insisted that I taste it , which I did, simply because he said that I won’t find it anywhere else, except in Rajasthan.  I would like to make a small mention here – it was something I have never tasted before, it had a kind of unique flavour.  Ker Sangri is a moderate sized evergreen thorny tree found in this desert.    Sangri are the beans and ker are the sour berries of this tree- If you haven’t,  you must try this on your next visit to this magical and royal Indian state. 

Pic : Ker Sangri 👇

The arid nature of this region, scarcity of water and vegetation has given rise to a unique cooking style –  quite different from the rest of India.  Most of the dishes are made in a way that can be shelved for several days.  You will notice that curd, besan, lentils and dried red chillies are used extensively in cooking the meals.  Hand-breads (rotis) made of corn, bajra and jowar and buttermilk are a part of daily meals. 

The use of butter, curd, ghee is quite liberal – that is something I really like, because that is something I do too in most of my recipes. 

So let’s take a look at the simple yet sumptuous recipe.

In this recipe the curd gravy is made with simple ingredients, which are available in all homes.  I haven’t added any ginger or garlic.  Yes, onion is added but you can skip that if you want to.  I have served the dahi wale aloo with puris –  just like I had it on my visit to Jaipur.  The whole idea is to have a binge weekend and not worry too much about calorie counting.  You can serve it with phulkas or jeera rice – both are very good combinations.

Dahi Wale Aloo – Recipe

Ingredients :

• 4 large potatoes (boiled and cubed)
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds
• A pinch of asofoetida (hing)
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• 1 green chilli chopped
• 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups curd / yogurt (whisked)
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black salt
• 1 tsp kasuri methi / dry fenugreek leaves (crushed)
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves (finely chopped)

Method :

• Heat kadai add the ghee and saute 1 bay leaf and 1 tsp jeera till they aromatic.
• Add chopped green chilli and hing.
• Add the chopped onions and saute well till translucent.
• In a separate bowl take 2 cups of curd, add black salt, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and stir well
• Now add this curd mix to the sauted onions and keep stirring till it reaches a boil.
• Further add 1 cup water and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
• Stir well keeping the flame on low else it could curdle.
• Now add the cubed potatoes to this gravy and give it a gentle mix. Ensure not to break the potatoes and simmer for 5 minutes .
• To this add 1 tsp kasuri methi (crushed) and 2 tbsp coriander leaves and give a final stir.
• Serve hot with rotis, phulkas, or plain rice.   I have gone a little over board and served with hot puris.

Calorie count 1 cup (150ml) = 230 calories 

Note :  You need to keep the flame low and constantly keep stirring once the curd with all the spices is added to the sauted onions,  else it will curdle.