Dum Aloo is a delicious Indian veg potato curry recipe where these mini/little potatoes are simmered in a creamy, flavorful vegetarian gravy. This meal comes together in 45 minutes, making it perfect for families craving for some restaurant-style food at home.

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What is Dum Aloo
Why make this
🧾 Ingredients Needed
How to make it
🍽 Serving Suggestions
💭 Priya's Recipe Tips
More Indian Gravies
Recipe 📖

What is Dum Aloo

Dum Aloo is a very popular Indian veg potato gravy recipe. It is also one of the popular menu items in Indian restaurants. However, it is also very easy to make it at home and this potato curry recipe guarantees you restaurant-quality taste in the comfort of your home. While there are many ways of making this restaurant-style Dum Aloo, I now prefer this Punjabi style recipe. Please note, this curry is a little different from the Kashmiri Dum Aloo recipe.

Why make this

It's fiery, creamy, and appetizing
The recipe is different making the flavors unique and delicious
Vegetarian but can easily be modified to vegan
Comes together in 45 minutes

🧾 Ingredients Needed

It may look like a lot of ingredients are needed to make this veg potato recipe, but trust me, each one plays a crucial role in bringing out the real flavors!

Baby Potatoes - you can use gold or red mini potatoes for this recipe. You may also use frozen baby potatoes here.
Other veggies - Onions and tomatoes
Dairy - Milk and buttermilk
Whole spices - Bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, and Kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves
Nuts - Cashews. This gives it a rich flavor.
Spice mixes - Paprika and Garam masala
Ginger paste, garlic, and green chilies or jalapenos
Herbs - Cilantro

How to make it

3 image collage showing how to prep the baby potatoes for Dum Aloo

I have divided the recipe into 3 parts to make it easy to follow.

The first step is to prep the mini potatoes

You need to boil the potatoes al dente first just until they turn soft. Test by sticking in a fork and if it goes in smoothly, the potatoes are done. I added them to a microwave-safe bowl and microwaved them for 10 minutes. You can boil them using any method convenient to you. Just be careful to not overcook them, else they will break apart. Once done, peel and prick them at a few places using a fork or toothpick. This is done so that they absorb the flavors of the masala well and helps potatoes to become spongy.

Heat oil in the pan and shallow fry the mini potatoes till they turn light golden. Keep tossing and turning them so that they fry evenly.
Add buttermilk, salt, and minced green chilies to a bowl. Give it a stir and keep it aside for now.
Strain the fried little potatoes in paper towels and then immerse them in this buttermilk mixture.
- Let it rest in there for 15-20 minutes at-least. You can prick them once more after frying if needed.

6 image collage showing the steps to make the gravy for Dum Aloo

The second step is to prepare the onion-tomato masala base.

Here's what you need to do for that:

Heat oil in the same pan, saute whole spices like bay leaf, cloves, peppercorns, and cinnamon stick along with kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) for 4-5 minutes.
- Fry till the methi releases a nice aroma.
Now add chopped onions along with cashews and saute till the onions turn translucent.
Next, you need to add the chopped tomatoes, sugar, and some kosher salt. Cook till the tomatoes turn soft.
Add milk. Cover with lid and let it cook for 10 minutes or till it comes to a boil. Take it off the flame.
Let this mixture cool down and then transfer it to a blender jar.
Grind it to a fine smooth paste. Keep it aside for now.

4 image collage showing how to make Dum Aloo

The third step is to finally assemble this veg potato curry.

In the same pan, heat oil. Add and saute ginger paste, part of chopped cilantro, minced garlic, and green chilies for 2-3 minutes or till the smell of raw garlic goes away.
Then add the prepared onion-tomato masala paste to the pan along with kosher salt and continue to saute for another 2-3 minutes.
Add water according to your desired consistency. Sprinkle paprika and garam masala on top. Give it a stir.
Lastly, add the soaked mini potatoes minus the buttermilk. Don't add the buttermilk, you can serve it along with Dum Aloo, later.
- Give the mini potatoes a light mix so that they don't break. Cover the pan and let it cook for another 5-7 minutes.

a set of hands holding a bowl of Dum Aloo

🍽 Serving Suggestions

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Garnish with cilantro and some Kasuri methi, then take it off the flame. You can also squeeze lemon juice on top. Serve this delicious Dum Aloo warm with some Indian bread like naan, roti, chapati, puri, or even bhakri. This potato curry tastes great with steamed rice too. If you're looking for some low carb ideas, serve it with cooked quinoa or any other grains or even cauliflower rice. Don't forget to serve the leftover buttermilk on the side. You can serve Dum Aloo for family brunches, holiday feasts, and/or weekend meals.

💭 Priya's Recipe Tips

Cooking the potatoes in the first stage is a very important step. They need to cooked al dente and should not break or mash easily.

Once they are cooked, if they are slightly bigger in size, you can slice them in half and then fry them.

For a more authentic restaurant-style taste, deep fry the potatoes. Alternatively, to keep it low-fat, you can roast them in an Air Fryer.

Add some tandoori masala, paprika, and turmeric powder while frying for more flavor.

While preparing the onion masala, you can also add cumin seeds, coriander powder, and fennel seeds to make it more aromatic.

To make it nut-free, use yogurt or cream instead. Regular Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes can also be used in this recipe, you will need to cut in chunks and follow the recipe.

Potatoes can also be substituted with paneer, mushrooms, tofu, koftas, or vegan meatballs.

Some people prefer to use tomato puree instead of regular tomatoes, to make the gravy more homogeneous.

Does this freeze well?

First, the prepared curry can be refrigerated for 3-4 days easily. You can also freeze it. The other way to do it would be to prepare the masala base and freeze it.

The day you want to make Dum Aloo, you can prep the potatoes, thaw, and heat the gravy, and then add the potatoes to it.

Can this be made vegan?

Yes, it very well can be made vegan. Use vegan buttermilk to soak the fried potatoes.

You can also use any nut milk/water/stock when preparing the onion-tomato masala base.

More Indian Gravies

Dum Aloo in a round serving bowl with a glass of buttermilk on the side

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