Baby Potatoes in Creamy Low Fat Yoghurt (Dahi Wale Aloo)

Indian Vegetarian Main Course Special
Punjabi Cuisine
Baby Potatoes in Creamy Low Fat Yoghurt (Dahi Wale Aloo)

One of the Guilt Free Version of the Classic Baby Potatoes equals Yummm!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Baby Potatoes (Aloo)- 16-20 No’s

Extra Light Olive Oil/Olive Pomace Oil- 1 Tbsp.

Cumin Seeds (Jeera)- ½ Tsp.

Onions- 3 Medium, Finely Chopped

Yoghurt (Dahi)- ½ Cup

Asafoetida (Hing)- a Pi einch

Ginger Paste (Lahsun)- 2 Tsp.

Garlic Paste (Adrak)- 2 Tsp.

Red Chilli Powder (Kuti hui Lal Mirch)- 2 Tsp.

Turmeric Powder (Haldi)- ½ Tsp.

Coriander Powder (Dhania)- 2 Tsp.

Cumin Powder (Jeera)- 1 Tsp.

Garam Masala Powder- ½ Tsp.

Fresh Coriander Leaves (Dhaniya Patta)- 2 Tbsp., Finely Chopped

Method:

-          Wash the Potatoes thoroughly and keep them to boil till half done (Parboil), drain and keep aside to cool

-          In a bowl, put Yoghurt, Ginger-Garlic Paste, Red Chilli Powder, Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Salt, Garam Masala and mix well

-          Prick the Potatoes and keep them in the Masala mixture for about half hour

-          In a Non Stick pan, heat the oil and sauté Cumin Seeds till they crackle

-          Add Onions and sauté till golden brown

-          Add the Potatoes with the Marinade and mix well

-          After one boil, cover the pan and cook on low heat

-          Check and stir in between till the gravy mixes well with the Potatoes

-          Garnish with Coriander and serve hot with Indian bread (Phulka, Parantha) or as a side dish to cooked Lentils (Dal)-Rice (Chawal) combo!   

TIPS:

- For a more rich creamy flavour (especially for kids who just love Potatoes!), feel free to use the full fat version of the yoghurt and top it up with pure Desi Ghee (Clarified Butter) before serving!!!

- Prepare the marinade in advance for this dish, so it prepares quickly and doesn’t need as much oil as any traditional Dum Aloo dish does. 

- An Oil free version of this dish is equally good, for the same skip the oil, roast the Cumin Seeds and Onions instead of sautéing in oil and cook the Potato marinade in the same way as shown above

- The required modifications in the dish mainly depend upon the Baby Potatoes available across India/Abroad. For example, if larger sized potatoes (sold as Baby Potatoes due to unavailability) are available down South then uses them by either cutting in half or moderately.

- Recently, a culinary expert from Amritsar reminded me again what we observed in Delhi since childhood that the more expensive the Garam Masala, the better its blend and taste is. So go ahead and spend on your masala as we mostly use little quantity occasionally only after the dish is prepared but remember to store it in fridge for longer usage (especially in humid regions). 

- Overall, I have tried a variety of different brands and prepared it myself (when couldn’t purchase the perfect recipe in India or abroad) as well. Overall, for most North Indian (Kashmiri, Himachali, Punjabi/Haryanvi, Mughlai, Marwari, UP etc.) dishes I found Roopak Stores, Delhi and Spyran Masala, Vadodara being the most useful. 

- For more information on Garam Masala, please see the link: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garam_masala 

- Most importantly, as a healthy meal option Lunch would be a good time to savour this dish as Potatoes are Carbohydrates and Yoghurt is a Dairy product meant to be consumed earlier during the day rather than late at night.

Potatoes are easy to cook and mix well with lots of vegetable and lentils easily, so making it frequently is quite common in our traditional Indian kitchens. Keeping in mind the hectic corporate lifestyle, let’s try to adjust the conventional Indian dishes according to the activity level for the day and feel the difference!!  

Feel free to share your views & do let us know how this one turned out :)