Kashmiri Dum Aloo for ICC

This is one delicious curry I prepared for the Indian Cooking Challenge. It goes well with any dish - pulao, plain white rice, chapati, naan roti etc. I loved the tanginess of the curry due to the addition of yogurt. It is a different version of the normal curries prepared at my home. The spices filled my house with aroma and was so appetizing. I made my curry with purple baby potatoes and I shallow fried them instead of deep frying them as the recipe called for. This recipe is a keeper for sure.

Ingredients
(Recipe adapted from Indian Food)

Baby potatoes (I used the purple ones) - 8 or 9 in number
Cumin seeds (roasted and powdered) - 1 teaspoon
Garam masala - 1 teaspoon
Kashmiri red chillies (roasted and powdered) - 3-4 (or) Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Fresh yogurt - 2 1/2 cups (must not be sour)
Ground Ginger powder - 1 teaspoon
Fennel/aniseed powder - 1 tablespoon
Cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Mustard oil - 4 tablespoons
Cloves roasted and powdered - 6
A pinch of asafoetida/hing
Cooking oil to deep fry potatoes( I shallow fried the potatoes in 3 spoons oil)
Salt to taste
A cup of firm dough made from flour and water

Directions
Wash the potatoes and prick all over with a fork. Soak them in water for about 20 minutes.

Heat a pan and add 3 to 4 spoons of cooking oil. Shallow fry the potatoes for about 5 minutes till the skin turns its color. Drain on paper towels.

Make a paste of yogurt, chili powder, ground ginger, cardamom and fennel powders. Then add the potatoes well with this paste and keep it aside.

Heat the mustard oil in another pan, add the clove powder and asafoetida. Add about half a cup of hot water and salt to taste and bring to a boil. To this, add in the potato-yoghurt marinade, stir thoroughly and cover the pan.

To do the dum, seal the edges of the pan's cover with the dough made with flour and water to ensure no steam can escape. Alternatively, you could just cover the pan with a lid. Put on the stove, cook on a low flame for 10-15 minutes.

Switch off the flame, remove the cover and add the cumin powder and garam masala. Cover and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.

Serve warm with any dish. Tastes great with some peas pulao.