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Indian Family Recipes, Minus Dairy Plus A Garage

Dulal Bhowmick has dubbed this Dum aloo “the best” so, it did swap – spoiler alert. Or should we have put that spoiler alert in the beginning? Not sure how this works. Anyway, if you want the best, the recipe for it is below and if you want to know why we now mention a garage, watch the episode.

Dum Aloo

Ingredients:

1½ lbs small red potatoes, about the size of a Ping-Pong ball, skins on and cut in half

Vegetable oil

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

Kosher salt

¼ cup ginger-garlic paste, store bought or made following the recipe below

4 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 tbsp ground turmeric

2 tbsp cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1½ tsp kosher salt

1 ½ tbsp sugar

1 tsp red chili (start with a ½ tsp if you want less spice)

1½ cup Oatgurt

½ cup water, or more as needed

¼ cup mint leaves, roughly chopped

1 cup fresh cilantro, leaves and delicate stems roughly chopped

 

Mrs. Patel’s Dum Aloo

Full recipe

Step 1 Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water generously and add the potatoes. Cook them 65% of the way through, approximately 7-10 minutes. When poked with a fork, the flesh should give but meet some resistance. Drain the potatoes and set aside.

 

Step 2 In a large skillet with tall sides, warm 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes cut side down in a single layer and season generously with kosher salt. Shallow-fry the potatoes until they reach a dark brown color, then set aside. In the same pan, over medium heat, add the onion and a pinch of salt. Sauté until golden brown.

 

Step 3 Add the ginger-garlic paste, then cook for a few minutes until the raw smell is gone. Add diced tomatoes, stirring until they begin to break down. Add turmeric, red chili, cumin, coriander, salt, and sugar to balance. Let simmer for a few minutes while stirring—this will be the base of your curry. You can add spoonfuls of water so that it doesn't stick to the pan. Cook until the spices are fragrant and everything is well combined.

 

Step 4 Here comes the swap! Next, lower the heat and add Oatgurt to the pan. Mix thoroughly and taste for seasoning. Add more salt, sugar, or chili as desired.

 

Step 5 Add the potatoes back in, along with enough water so that the potatoes are 3/4 submerged. Let the pot simmer slowly, adjusting the heat accordingly, for about 30 minutes. Watch the liquid level and add more water if the sauce reduces too much. 

 

Step 6 When the potatoes are soft and the curry is to your liking, serve topped with chopped mint and cilantro. This is about when Mrs. Patel calls Mr. Patel in from the garage for a break from cooking his famous chicken. That last sentence will make more sense when you've watched the “Will It Swap?” episode (season one streaming now!).

 

Don’t forget the ginger-garlic-onion paste!

 

Ingredients:

 

2 onions (any kind), peeled and roughly chopped

 

8-10 garlic cloves, peeled

 

4” piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

 

¾-1 cup grapeseed or neutral oil

 

Step 1 Add all ingredients to a food processor except for the oil. Pulse until all ingredients are roughly the same size and incorporated together, scraping the sides with a spatula as needed. 

 

Step 2 With the machine running, stream in the oil until a smooth consistency is reached. Mrs. Patel says this mixture will keep in the fridge for a few weeks in a tightly sealed container. And if she says it, it’s totally true.

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TO OATLYFANS!