Niramish Aloo Dum (No Onion No Garlic)

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Niramish Aloo Dum is a traditional, No Onion No garlic and a favourite Aloo/Aloor Dum recipe of the Bengalis from India. It is made using baby potatoes and is common during puja and rituals. It goes well with other famous bengali dishes like Koraishutir (Green peas Stuffed Puris), Luchi, Rice or parotas.

Type of potatoes used in the recipe

As I mentioned earlier it is made using baby potatoes, generally they are available much smaller in size as compared to what I get here. So I have cut my baby potatoes into 2 or 4 depending on the size, but yes you can use the baby potatoes whole. 

The recipe for this Niramish Aloo Dum looks like a big task with a lot of ingredients, but it is not. A bit of planning helps and at the end it is worth the effort as you would be left craving for more with all the spices well coated in the potatoes. 

This is my Third post on my bengali cuisine after Bhoger Khichuri and the famous Bengali Rasgulla. Yes I have not much explored this cuisine, but yes it has started now, and I have a few Bengali recipes coming up. 

Masala or Spice Mixture in Bengali Cuisine

Bengali cuisine, calls for a different garam masala. It has few spices and generally goes into all of their dishes. It is a simple masala made using Cloves, Cinnamon and Cardamom. This masala can be made well ahead in time and stored in an airtight container. Another interesting thing I found is that generally a paste is made with different spices along with water and this paste is added to the oil instead of adding them one by one. I would say it helps as sometimes if we are not careful the masalas burn. 

What goes in Niramish Aloo Dum

I am not sure if this is a traditional version of the recipe. I have adapted the recipe from here with some modifications. I have not boiled the potatoes well ahead but cooked them in the spices itself. As I have cut them and use it would have gone all mushy. Secondly the original recipe called for adding tomato ketchup. I have skipped that too. Also the colour of the gravy is dominated by the red chilli powder we use in the oil and the quantity of the same. I have used very less as my kids would have not eaten it then, but you can always increase the quantity.

I enjoyed this with Koraishutir (Green peas Stuffed Puris) and Mishti Doi (Recipe coming up next month).

The Challenge

So why am I talking about Bengali Cuisine today? As you all know, every month our  Shhh Cooking Secretly Challenge group virtually visits one state in India and this time it was the turn of West Bengal. Yes the alphabetical order of states have come to an end and from next month we are coming up with something exciting. Keep watching this space for more…

Secret Ingredients

So this month My partner was Priya Mahesh from Pickled Route. Priya has a wonderful blog from different recipes across the globe. So Priya gave me 2 secret ingredients Mustard and Potato and I made this Niramish Aloo Dum. I gave her flour and salt and she made some soft and fluffy Bengali Luchi.

Here goes the recipe of Niramish Aloo Dum

Ingredients for Bengali Garam Masala

• 35-40 pieces (7 grams) of Whole Cardamom
• 15-20 pieces (2 grams) of Cloves
• 1 inch (2 grams) of Whole Cinnamon

Ingredients for Niramish Aloo Dum

• 350-400 grams Baby Potatoes
• ¼ Cup of Green peas Boiled
• 2 tablespoon Mustard oil
• 1 piece of dry red chilly
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamom
• ¼ inch cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon  cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon Hing (Asafoetida) (Please see notes for Gluten Free)
• ½ Teaspoon Red chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder 
• 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
• 1.5 teaspoon of Coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon of Amchur Powder (Dry mango powder)
• ¼ teaspoon of Kala Namak (Black salt)
• ½ teaspoon of Dry fenugreek leaves
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon of ginger paste
• 2 Green chilli
• 3 tablespoon of Yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of Cashew powder
• Salt to taste
• ¼ teaspoon bengali garam masala powder
• 1 tablespoon Ghee
• 2 Cups of Water (More or less might be required)

Preparation of Bengali Garam Masala

1. Dry roast the ingredients in a heavy pan
2. Once cool, grind it to a fine powder
3. Store it in an airtight container and use it as required.

Preparation for Niramish Aloo Dum

1. First make the garam masala and keep it ready.
2. Second make a paste of cumin powder, coriander powder, amchur, black salt and ginger along with 2-3 tablespoon of water
3. Wash and keep the potatoes ready. If you are cutting the potatoes cut and keep it in water. One can peel the skin of potatoes or use as is.
4. Boil the Green peas and keep it ready.
5. Now in a pan or a wok, add in the mustard oil.
6. Once the oil comes to smoking hot, add in the dry red chilly, bay, cinnamon, clove, cumin seeds and asafoetida. Stir fry the masalas for 10-15 secs.
7. Now add in the turmeric powder and red chilli powder and stir again for a few seconds. Careful not to burn the masala.
8. Add the masala paste and green chilly to it and let this fry for 3-4 minutes until you see it starts releasing oil and is well cooked.
9. Add in the yogurt and keep on stirring until well incorporated and the masala is cooked.
10. Now, add the potatoes, and coat them well with the masala. Let this cook on slow for 5 mins.
11. Add about 1 to 1.5 cups of water. Crush the kasuri methi lightly in your palms and add it to this.
12. Mix everything and cook on medium until the potatoes are cooked. It would take around 20-25 minutes.
13.  I like it a bit thick and hence I have added less water, but one can add more if required.
14. Once the potatoes are done, add in the cashew nut powder, cooked peas. Switch off and add the ghee and garam masala. Let the curry rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve it with bread of your choice.

Notes

• 1 Cup = 235 ml, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 teaspoon = 5 ml
• Asafoetida (Hing) powder available in shops contains wheat and is not gluten free. Gluten intolerant people can either skip completely or opt for Gluten Free Asafoetida (Hing)
• One can add red chilli powder and turmeric powder in the paste itself. Adding it to the oil directly will impart colour to the dish.

Few More Regional recipes

• Baked Shana Jhieg | Meghalaya Starter/ Snack
• Sana Thongba | Manipuri Paneer curry (No onion, No Garlic)
• Chakki ki Sabji |Ate ki Sabji (Tangy and Spicy Gravy with whole wheat flour dumplings)
• Idli Podi
• Akki Roti
• Kashmiri Dum Aloo (No Onion, No Garlic)
• Authentic Pakodi/Pakoda Kadhi
• Mizoram's Panch Phoran Tarkari
• No Oil Tomato Chutney from Nagaland
• Odia's Sapuri khatta | Pineapple Sweet & Sour Chutney
• Dal Makhani | Indian Style Creamy Black Lentils
• Moong Dal Pakoda (Fritters)
• Thukpa | Vegetable Noodle Soup
• Kongu Thakkali Kuzhambu | Coimbatore Style Vegan Tomato Curry
• Vellulli Karam podi (Spicy Garlic & Red Chilly Powder)
• Tripura Tomato Chutney - Mosdeng Serma
• Bajre ki Tikki
• Palak Ka Kappa - Spinach Gravy from Uttarakhand, India

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