Dum Aloo (Stuffed potatoes cooked in gravy, Main course, Vegetarian)

Dum-Aloo with cream dressing

Dum is a method of cooking in which the vessel with all ingredients is sealed and then placed on low heat without disturbing for the time duration required.  In earlier times when food was cooked on charcoal stove, Dum cooking used to be totally different as the subtle heat of charcoal stove is totally different than the heat of gas stove.  Baking in sealed vessel is the good alternative. Kashmir is famous for its scenic beauty and rich delicious food. Dum Aloo is prepared in almost whole of the Northern India with different variations but the one made in Kashmir is simply delicious and I place it in number one position. I give here my own version of Dum Aloo which my children love very much :)

Preparation Time:   20min.

Cooking Time: 60min.

Servings:  Makes six large servings.

Ingredients Required For Preparing Aloo for Dum Aloo:

• 250gm. Potatoes (medium size)

For Stuffing:

• 50 gm. Cottage cheese

• 4-5 cashew nuts

• 1 Tea spoon finely cut onion

• 1/4 Tea spoon finely cut Green chili

• 1/4tea spoon Amchur

• 2Tea spoon Mozilla cheese (optional)

• 50 gm. Corn flour

• Salt to taste

• Cooking oil for frying

Ingredients Required for gravy of Dum Aloo:

• 2 Medium size Onions

• 4-5 Cloves of garlic

• 2-3 cm. Piece of Ginger

• 1 Medium size Tomato

• 2cm. Piece of Cinnamon

• 2-3 Cloves

• 2 Bay leaves

Ingredients for Dum Aloo

• 10-15 ml. Cream

• 3-4 Teaspoon Grated Mozilla Cheese

• Red Chili powder to taste

• 1 Tea spoon Kashmiri Mirchi Powder

• 10ml. Cooking oil

Directions for Preparing Dum Aloo:

• Boil the potatoes.

• Peel them and cut to two equal halves.

• Scoop the center portion of the potatoes to form a cup of each half.

Boiled potato being scooped to make a cup

Cups of Boiled potato made to cup by scooping the center of potato

• Keep each half with its pair.

• Mash the potato pieces which have been obtained by scooping each piece of boiled potato.

• Take cheese, onion, cashew, salt, mashed scooping of potatoes, green chili and amchur.

• Mix all the ingredients in the bowl nicely.

Filling of Paneer, Mozilla cheese, onion, cashew and scooped potato pieces

• In a bowl take 3-4 tea spoon of corn flour and 2-3 spoon water. Mix to make a batter.

• Take each half of potato with a hollow in the center and fill the hollow with the cheese mixture.

One half of the boiled scooped potato being filled with the filling

Potato cups filled with the filling

•  Apply a little corn flour paste on the outer edges of the hollow and stick the two parts together.

Two filled halves being joined with the help of corn flour paste

•  Keep the filled potato aside to allow the two halves to stick to each other.

Two halves of stuffed Potato joined together

• Repeat with all the halved and scooped pair of potatoes.

• Roll the filled potatoes in corn flour to cover them with corn flour.

• Take oil in a thick bottom wok and heat on high flame, when the oil is smoking hot lower the flame.

• Put the potatoes one by one in the hot oil and fry to golden brown color on low flame.

Stuffed Potatoes rolled in corn flour and  being fried

• Potatoes are ready to be added to the gravy and cooked it dum.

Stuffed and fried potatoes for Dum Aloo

 Direction for Making Gravy for Dum Aloo:

• Peel and cut onions, garlic and grate ginger.

• Cut Tomato.

• Take 10 ml. cooking oil in a wok and heat it in high flame.

• When the oil is hot then add to it bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon.

• Let it cook for 30sec.

• Add cut onions and cook with regular stirring till they turn golden brown.

• Add garlic and ginger and cook for one min.

• Add tomato and cook till tomato pieces get cooked and become soft.

• Remove from gas and cool.

• Grind it to make a fine paste.

• Take a thick bottom pan with lid and take the paste of cooked spices in it.

• Add

• 100 ml. water

• Mozilla cheese

• Red chili powder

• Kashmiri Mirchi Powder

• Salt and mix nicely.

• Put stuffed potatoes in the gravy and cover with the lid.

• Seal the lid with dough of wheat flour,

• Keep a thick tawa (iron plate) on low flame and keep the pan with gravy and potatoes on it and let it cook in dum for at least 30min.

• Switch off the gas and let the pan be on hot tawa for another 10-15 min.

• Break the seal carefully.

• Open the lid and add cream.

• Give a gentle stir.

• Take out in a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves/ cherry/or simply ringlets of onion.

Aloo Dum

• Serve hot Dum Aloo with roti http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/roti-indian-bread-no-oil-dry-so-low-on.html
  

  

  Aloo Dum with Paratha and Raita

     Tips:

• Make sure that the gravy is thinner than you require when you put potatoes to be cooked in it.

• Finally cooked gravy should never be flowing thin; it should be like cake batter.

• The pan taken for cooking in dum should be very thick bottom else dum aloo will burn.

 Suggested Variations:

• The gravy and fried potatoes can be taken in a glass container covered and sealed and baked at 180 C for 30 min.

• Into the cooked dum aloo finely cut and fried cashew and almonds can be added.

• Make Gravy Lazawab http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/11/white-gravy-1.html,  or Creamy Delicious Gravy http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/11/white-gravy-2.html  and cook stuffed fried potatoes in dum in  any of the two gravies.

Paneer Tikka (Cottage cheese cooked with spices)

Juicy Paneer Tikka with salad on the sides

Cottage cheese is one of my favorite milk products. When it is made to Tikka it takes the subtle flavor of the herbs put in the marinade yet maintains the classic taste of its own. Though Paneer Tikka is made in different manner I write this recipe on the demand of my daughter-in-law’s sister Amrita. She liked it especially because it is literally oil less. Paneer Tikka can be had as snacks as well as side dish to the main course. I love it so much that for me every time is paneer tikka time.

Preparation Time: 45 min. (Including marination time)

Cooking Time: 10– 15 min.

Servings: 10- 12 Medium servings

Ingredients required for Paneer Tikka:

• 250 gm. Paneer (cottage cheese)

• 50 - 100 gm.  Cream (Malai)

• 100 gm. Thick Curd

• 1/4 Tea spoon Turmeric Powder

• 1 Tea spoon Amchur Powder (Dry raw mango powder)

• 1 Tea spoon Red chili Powder

• 1 Tea spoon Kasoori methi (Dried and powdered green leaves of methi)

• Salt to taste

• 2 Tea spoon Olive oil.

Direction for marinating Paneer:

• Cut paneer to 2cm.x2cm. pieces.

Cottage Cheese (Paneer ) cut into pieces

• Take Paneer pieces in a bowl.

• Add Turmeric powder, salt, chili powder and amchur.

Turmeric powder, Salt, Chili powder and Amchur added to Paneer pieces

• Add malai(cream).

Cream and curd added to Paneer pieces

• Add kasoori methi and mix well.

Mixed after adding Kasoori Methi

• Keep aside for at least 30 min.

Direction for Making Tikka

• Take a nonstick Tawa and keep it on high flame.

• When hot lower the flame and spread one tea spoon of olive oil on it.

Hot non stick tawa with one teaspoon of oil

• Place marinated paneer pieces on Tawa and let them cook for 3-4 min, without disturbing.

Marinated Paneer pieces placed on hot Tawa and being cooked

• The side of paneer which are in touch of tawa directly will become brownish pink.

• Carefully turn them upside down.

Turning Paneer pieces upside down to cook from both side

• Cook the other side also till brownish pink in color

Paneer Tikka with salad

• Serve the tikka with coriander mint chutney, 
•  http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/green-coriander-and-mint-chutney.html

• http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/hariyali-chutney-raw-mango-chutney.html

   

Tips:

• Do not make the paneer pieces very small.

• Tawa should not be smoking hot when you place paneer on it, because paneer will get burnt spoiling the taste.

• Curd should be thick and not too sour.

Suggested Variations:

• Kasoori methi can be replaced by oregano/ parsley/ basil to change the flavor of paneer tikka.

• Malai (cream) can be replaced by curd to reduce the fat content due to malai.

• Paste of green chili and coriander can be added to marinade instead red chili powder and methi, this gives very good flavor and color to tikka.