Short on #Cooking Aloor dum (potatoes; #Bengali style) 1/4
Steam (or boil) potatoes and cut in two. These would usually be skinned, but I figured I'd keep the extra nutrients (thin skins anyhow). Toss with a bit of turmeric, just to lightly coat. Heat oil (mustard typically, or a bit of mustard with mostly canola), not too much, sort of deep frying the potatoes (in batches) - remember they're already cooked so just crisping the outside a bit. Strain the oil
2/4
Next heat oil in a pot (yes, some of the strained oil), add bay leaf, cumin seeds so they sputter and a small bit of cinnamon (I skip whole cloves here as I don't like biting into one later). Add chopped onion - smallish one is fine. Once that's a bit cooked won't exactly brown, but will shrink and edges will crisp, add blended onion (another smallish one) + ginger paste, mix and let that cook down and brown
Add tomatoes (fresh peeled or canned as I did, with some extra oomph from tube)
3/4 (may go to 5)
Mix the tomatoes in and then add spices - cumin powder 1Tbsp, ½Tbsp coriander (that's right heavier on the cumin here), chili powder (I added some paprika & cayenne), turmeric 1 tsp. You can make a slurry with water to add this to the oil, but here I pushed the paste aside a bit, added some oil and bloomed the spices a touch before mixing it all. Add salt, big pinch sugar. Now we 'bhunno' which is to mix and cook till oil separates. Add hot (this is key) water to help along
4/5 So you only add ¼ C of the hot water at a time, and mix in, and cook down (I added a total of 1 C). You'll know you're done when the oil separates around the bubbles. And when you move the sauce the edges are oily. Skipping this bhunno step is what leaves spices tasting somewhat 'raw
Once cooked down add the potatoes back in and mix, then add ground cinnamon 1" & cloves (4), and then water to just cover - then simmer a bit (covered ~10 mins)
#Indian #Cooking #CookingTechniques
5/5
So with that bit of simmer to let it all meld, take off the cover, there shouldn't be much sauce, more of a paste or slurry that coats the potatoes. Finish with some ghee. Mix, serve hot.
(This turned out fine, not great - it's meant to be cinnamon heavy, this was a bit extra).
Made for a fine dinner! (Other things same as a couple of nights ago* - minus the daal)
@SRDas thanks for this great thread!
@SRDas
Thank you for sharing. I had never heard of bhunno which explains why my spices dont meld and taste a bit raw sometimes!
@jonny glad it's useful!
Yes, the bhunno step is quite necessary - even with Thai curries - you do it till the 'oil cracks' (another term for that separation), but most don't mention the method with multiple additions of hot water. (This allows it to cook/break down the tomatoes, onions without scorching)