March 17, 2008
Alur Dom
I can easily add alur dom to my list of favorites. But, it wasn't always so. Growing up, I was a spice wimp and would avoid anything spicy. "Jhaal," I would yell and run away to the sugar container. My grandmom made a mean alur dom which was spicy and red hot, a dish that I regularly avoided. It wasn't until my high school that I really tasted her alur dom and was floored. It was flavorful and spicy and delicious.
I made this recently after a long conversation home about how the ingredients, and how she got that delicate balance between spicy but not too hot. I found that usually garlic is avoided in the alur dom. The sweetness of the onion paste is countered with the heat of the red chilli; sour yogurt and tomatoes along with garam masala add to the flavors of the curry. The potatoes are not boiled earlier, rather they cook on medium low heat in the bubbling curry.
The result was fantastic.
Ingredients:
1 lb small potatoes (peeled)
1 medium 0nion grated
2 medium tomatoes - paste
1 1/2 inch ginger - grated
1/2 tspoon cumin seeds
1 dry red chilli
2-3 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
2 bay leaf
2 green cardamom
1/2 tspoon turmeric
2/3 tspoon red chilli powder
1 tspoon cumin powder
1/2 tspoon garam masala
1/2 cup yogurt
2 tbspoon oil
salt to taste
Method:
Heat 1 tbspoon oil in a non stick wok and fry the potatoes lightly. Keep aside. Now add te rest of the oil and temper with cumin seeds, red chilli, whole spices. Then add the ginger paste and saute for a minute. Then add the onion and saute on medium-low till the onions become golden brown. Then add the tomatoes and cook till it mixes well with the onion mix.
Then add the masala powder - turmeric, cumin seed, red chilli and garam masala and mix well. Then add the yogurt mixing vigorously to stop yogurt from separating. Add in the potatoes and cook for 10-15 minutes with closed lid till the potatoes are cooked. Add water if you need more gravy (I added about 1/4 cup).
Serve warm with luchi or paratha.
This is my entry to Ode to Potatoes hosted by Supriya of Monsoon Spice and RCI:Bengal by Sandeepa of Bong Mom's Cookbook. Thanks for hosting gals!
Labels:
Bengali,
Blog Event,
Potato,
Vegetables
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I yelled'"jola" when I was younger...to some extent I still do :-)...the alur dom looks fab...we call it by the same name too :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, that looks firy and I love it. Potato always absorbs lot of heat after sometime anyway. Wonderful dish Mandira.
ReplyDeleteSee you again in May, on break until then!:))
Delicious dish. Looks so good.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to tear a piece of roti and soak up all the sauce and take a huge piece of allo and pôp into my mouth.
Well i can imagine eating them :-)
Delicious and mouth watering ....
ReplyDeletewow this alur dom looks delicious
ReplyDeleteGreat looking alur dom! The gravy looks so pretty! and is that a spoonful of ghee by the side :).
ReplyDeleteThat fiery masala paste has my mouth watering.. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteLooks perfect and I loved that colour you got.
ReplyDeleteWhat is that spoonful of, ghee ?
Thanks for the entry and don't forget to mail it
YM!! that color!! fire!!! Perfect!
ReplyDeletethe colour of the curry looks perfect Mandira...even we oriyas call it alu dum.thanx for sharing the recipe
ReplyDeletegreat looking alur dom :)
ReplyDeleteisn't it funny how we crave the old fashioned food that we once hated?ur alur dum sure looks nice and fiery!!
ReplyDeleteGreat looking curry Mandira!..
ReplyDeleteSiri
Mandir, that dish sure looks yummy..now I got to look around for my rci too...and that bowl looks tempting..
ReplyDeleteLooks really delicious Mandira, and I can just imagine how wonderful the potatoes taste when infused with all those spices!
ReplyDeleteIt is my fav mandira ..
ReplyDeleteYum.......
happy holi
hugs and smiles
jaya
Ouuuu, I would be running to it instead :)
ReplyDeleteDear Mandira and Aswin,
ReplyDeleteI recently came across your blog and love the recipes you've posted. I work for Haldiram's USA and Ethnic Kitchens Inc. and would love to send you some samples to review in a future entry, or to use in your next recipe. Please contact me Stephanie@ethnickitchens.com
I would love to hear from you!
STephanie
This looks very delicious! The sauce with the potatoes must be very wonderful.
ReplyDeletePotatoes with spicy yogurt always works so well. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your comments. I was traveling and didn't have access to mails regularly.
ReplyDeleteThat is a spoonful of yogurt with sugar to go with my "jhaal" story ;)
I made your Alur Dom yesterday and served them with truly terrible parotha but my Caucasian husband loved it.He loves his food jhaal and masaladar. He said it was the best Bengali food I have ever made. I followed your directions to the T. Thank you so much Mandira for a delicious meal.
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