No Onion-No Garlic Vegan Dum Aloo | Potatoes in Tomato-Peanut Sauce

No Onion-No Garlic Vegan Dum Aloo | Potatoes in Tomato-Peanut Sauce

Author: Rumki Paul
Course: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4 Persons

Dum Aloo is an authentic Indian dish. This recipe can be prepared in multiple variations – Kashmiri, Punjabi, Bengali, Jain and many more. No Onion-No Garlic Vegan Dum Aloo (Potatoes in Tomato-Peanut Sauce) is one among its popular recipes. In this preparation, fried Potatoes are cooked in fresh Tomato paste, Ginger paste and roasted Peanut paste with some whole and ground spices. It goes amazingly well with any Rice preparation or any Indian bread.

Potatoes are the largest consumed vegetables in this planet and one of the most versatile vegetables too. It can either be baked, roasted, grilled or boiled. There are uncountable potato recipes in this world and each of them are equally tasty to keep your saliva running.

No Onion-No Garlic Vegan Dum Aloo is a very simple and easy recipe and gets prepared very quickly. You would require very limited and easily available ingredients to prepare this super delicious dish.

In this preparation, I have used Tomato paste and roasted Peanut paste for the gravy. Roasted peanut paste gives a nutty and pleasant flavour to the dish and makes the dish yummier.

Though Onions and Garlic are not used in this recipe, still No Onion-No Garlic Vegan Dum Aloo is full of flavours. I have used Cumin seeds, Cinnamon stick, Cardamoms and Cloves for tempering. For flavouring I have used ginger paste, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder to the dish. I have used fresh herb cilantros which enhances the flavour of the dish.

Potatoes to be used in Dum Aloo

To prepare a perfect Dum aloo it is very important to choose the correct Potatoes. You can either opt for Regular or baby potatoes as both varieties go well for this recipe.

But you must remember to choose fresh Potatoes, without any roots and try to avoid dry, old ones for the best result.

I have used regular potatoes to prepare No Onion-No Garlic Vegan Dum Aloo.

Types of Dum Aloo in India

Dum Aloo is one of the most popular Veg/Vegan dishes in India. In different parts of India this recipe is prepared in multiple variations – Kashmiri, Punjabi, Bengali, Jain and many more. But surprisingly every preparation tastes superb and no one can beat each other’s taste.

Every state and every cuisine has different variations of this recipe.

I have not chosen any particular cuisine to prepare No Onion-No Garlic Dum Aloo dish. This recipe reflects free style of cooking.

How to get perfectly cooked but not broken potatoes in Dum Aloo?

In this preparation first, I have peeled and cut the regular Potatoes. Then I have shallow fried them evenly.

To prepare a perfect Dum Aloo, this step is very important. Though you can directly cook the Potatoes in masala but in that case, the Dum Aloo may either become mushy or potatoes might also break into pieces.

If the potatoes are evenly shallow fried, then they can hold their shape and gives a perfect texture to the dish.

How to make thick gravy for No Onion-No Garlic Vegan Dum Aloo?

For No Onion-No Garlic recipe, most of the people use cream or yogurt to make the gravy thick. But I wanted to stick to Vegan and I have used a golden twist to make the gravy thicker without increasing the calorie of the dish.

While the Potatoes get cooked completely in the masala, mash few pieces of Potatoes into a smooth paste and add into the gravy. It makes the gravy yummier and thicker.

Secret behind Dum Aloo’s popularity

Very few vegetarian dishes represent the flavour and taste of India and Dum Aloo is one of them. The variation of multiple recipes and cuisines for the same dish shows its popularity.

The most important reason for its popularity is its versatility. Dum Aloo goes superb with plain as well as flavoured rice like Jeera rice, Ghee rice, Pulao etc.

It also tastes outstanding with any Indian bread like Rotis, Phulkas, Parathas, Pooris, Naan, Kulchas etc.

Ingredients:

• 10-12 regular Potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 3 Tomatoes, deseeded and diced
• 2 teaspoon Ginger paste
• 2 Green chillies
• 1-2 tablespoon Cilantro, chopped
• 3 tablespoons roasted Peanut
• ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
• 3 Cloves
• inch Cinnamon stick, broken
• 2 Cardamoms
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Cumin powder (Jeera)
• 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhania)
• 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
• 1 teaspoon Sugar (Optional)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for cooking
• 2 cups of Water (Quantity can be varied as per desire consistency)

1. Put the deseeded diced Tomatoes and green Chillies into the jar of blender.
2. Grind them for a minute and make a smooth paste.
   

3. Keep the Tomato paste aside.
4. Add the roasted Peanut and a little amount of water into the jar of grinder.
5. Grind them till they convert into smooth paste.
   

6. On the other hand, add Oil into a pan.
7. Once the oil is hot, add Potatoes into the pan and fry them till golden brown.
   

8. Fry them evenly in medium flame.Tip: Never fry the Potatoes in high flame else the Potatoes will not get cooked from inside.

9. Transfer the fried Potatoes on kitchen tissue.
   

10. In the same pan add Cumin seeds, Cinnamon stick, Cardamoms, Cloves and let them crackle.
    

11. Add Tomato paste (Step 3) into the pan.
    

12. Add Ginger paste and give a nice mix.
    

13. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame for 3-4 minutes. Stir occasionally.
14. Add roasted Peanut paste (Step 5) into the pan and stir nicely.
    

15. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame for another couple of minutes until the mixture starts releasing Oil.
16. Add Salt, Turmeric powder and mix them properly.
    

17. Add Cumin powder, Coriander powder and give a nice mix.
    

18. Add Potatoes (Step 9) and give a nice mix.
    

19. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame for 7-8 minutes until the Potatoes get soft.
20. Transfer 3-4 pieces of tender Potatoes on a plate.
21. Mash them into a smooth paste and keep them aside.
    

22. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame for a minute.
23. Add Water into the pan and stir properly.
    

24. Put the flame in high until the simmers.
25. Add the mashed Potatoes (Step 20) and give a nice mix.
    

26. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame for 2-3 minutes.
27. Add Garam Masala powder and chopped Cilantros and give a nice mix.
    

28. Cook them in lowest flame for another minute and switch off the flame.