Rosun Diye Alur Dom

You must think I am crazy as I have made so many variations of a single recipe. This garlic flavoured Dum Aloo is full of pungent garlic flavour and the right amount of spice.

So making the recipe simpler...I simply threw the onions out of the window and made peace with the tomatoes. Crushed some garlic in the mortar and pestle and threw them in the pan with the oil. As the oil heat up...the garlic transformed to a beauty and then I added the pureed tomatoes. 

Heat the oil and fry the parboiled potatoes. Keep aside.

Slowly saute the garlic paste in the remaining oil. When the garlic turns golden add the tomato puree to them. Cook the tomatoes until oil separates.

Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and half of the bhaja mosla.

Mix and cook for a minute.

Add the fried and kept aside potatoes and mix to coat them well with the curry.

Cook until the oil separates and the potatoes are soft and tender. Add water if if the curry becomes too thick.  Drizzle the tamarind water and simmer for a minute or two to get the right consistency.. Finish off with the rest of the bhaja mosla, coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Now...frying the potatoes is a must. I have seen loads of people scrunching their noses in disgust because they hate the idea of frying first and adding later. But then you see...if you skip the frying, the potatoes kind of looses their shape and a hell lot of flavour is lost in the way. So for one damn day...just ditch the diet and go with flow...!! Puja is coming, and we all deserve to eat a few good morsels of potatoes...while we plan ahead what and when about those festive five days!!

Rosun Diye Alur Dom / Garlicky Dum Aloo

Serves 6

Ingredients:

500gm baby potatoes / 5-6 medium potatoes

4 ripe tomatoes – pureed

6 garlic cloves – minced / paste

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chilli powder

1 heaped tbsp bhaja mosla (to make the bhaja mosla dry roast 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 6-7 black peppercorns and 1 dry red chilli for a minute and then grind to a fine powder. Keep in an airtight container and use accordingly.)

2-3 tsp tamarind water

Salt

A handful of fresh coriander leaves

4 tbsp oil

Juice of 1 lime

Method:

To make the tamarind water you need to first soak some raw tamarind in hot water for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take the tamarind out of that water and squeeze the tamarind with your hand and squeeze out as much pulp as you can. Add some water to that pulp to thin out the consistency. Keep aside.

Parboil the potatoes and peel off their skin. If you are using baby potatoes then leave them whole and if you are using medium sized potatoes cut them into halves or quarters.

Heat the oil in a kadai and shallow fry the potatoes in small batche until they turn out to be golden and crisp from the outside. Take them out of the kadai and keep aside.

Add the garlic paste into the remaining oil. Fry them on low flame until golden and then add the tomato puree.

Sprinkle some salt over them and cook the tomatoes until oil separates.

Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and half of the bhaja mosla.

Mix them well and cook for a minute or so.

Now add a little water to them and add the parboiled fried potatoes.

Give a good but gentle mix so that the potatoes are all covered with the curry and then cover the cooking pot.

Do sprinkle some salt if required and cook until the potatoes are all tender and soft from inside.

Open the lid and simmer until you have a not too thick and not too thin yet clingy to the potatoes gravy.

Drizzle the tamarind water and the rest of the bhaja mosla.

Mix well and out off the flame.

Sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves on top of them and drizzle some lime juice. Serve hot with some hot luchi / paratha.