DUM MAARO DUM

Before you let your imagination run wild and speculate about my premise here, let me clear the air. Well, this has nothing to do with the timeless classic featuring Zeenat Amman – Asha Bhosle. There is nothing in it for tobacco aficionados either. And certainly it has nothing to do with the forgettable Abhishek Bachchan starrer that sunk without a trace in the box office.

This is an excerpt from one of my lazy afternoon cooking endeavors. Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to Raj’s kitchen again! I have heard a lot about Dum Aloo but I had never taken a stab at it. So I dragged myself out of boredom into the kitchen to something more worthwhile. It wasn’t that difficult and didn’t take too much time. And more importantly didn’t taste bad either! Well.. so without any further ado, let me introduce you to Mr.Dum!

Ingredients:

v      Baby Potatoes – 10

v      Onion (finely chopped) - 1

v      Green Chilies – 2

v      Yogurt – ¼ cup

v      Red chilli powder  (ask your taste buds for quantity)

v      Coriander powder - a pinch

v      Turmeric powder - a pinch

v      Garam Masala (ask your taste buds for quantity)

v      Salt (ask your taste buds for quantity)

v      Coriander and lime to garnish

Grind the following into a Paste:

v      Onion – 1

v      Dry red chillies - 2

v      Garlic – 5 flakes

v      Ginger – a pinch

v      Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

v      Coriander Seeds – 1 tsp

v      2 small tomatoes

v      Cashews (Cashews are my secret ingredient here and they give a unique flavor to the paste)

Aloo Pre-Preparation:

ü       Mildly Boil the baby potatoes (don’t over cook it though)

ü       Prick them all over with a fork (don’t feel shy; just go for it)

ü       Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the potatoes by adding a pinch of salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Take them out when they are golden brown.

ü       Now in a cup add a bit of curd, add a tsp each of coriander powder and garam masala powder and mix well

ü       Now soak the fried baby potatoes in this mix for half an hour. This gives a very nice flavor to the potatoes

Dum Aloo Preparation:

ü       Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions until they are golden brown; Add the green chilies too

ü       Now add the ground paste and keep stirring at a low-medium flame for 5 minutes

ü       Make sure the raw smell of the paste goes away

ü       Now add the soaked baby potatoes and sprinkle some Garam Masala (or any other special secret masala you have) and let it simmer for 5 – 10 minutes.

ü       Wait until the masalas have covered the potatoes well

ü       Then garnish with coriander leaves. Add some lime juice if you want to.

ü       Yum Dum Aloo is ready.

So.. if your taste buds are itching, go and try it for yourself. I am sure you will like it!Slurp! Slurp!!