Dum aloo is a very popular Indian curry made with baby potatoes in an onion tomato yogurt base gravy. The word 'Dum' in dum aloo means slow cooked potatoes in English.
This is an easy instant pot dum aloo recipe with step by step instructions. It is gluten-free and can be easily made vegan. It stores well and is great for meal planning and can be frozen for later use.
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Dum aloo ingredients
The best part of making dum aloo at home is that it requires very few basic ingredients and spices usually found in the Indian kitchen. Red skin baby potatoes or mini gold potatoes work the best for this recipe.
I like to make the onion tomato gravy with yogurt base and so they are also called dahi wale aloo (potatoes with yogurt). Whole spices and some powdered Indian spices are used in the recipe and you can always adjust the amount of salt, chili powder, and garam masala to your taste.
Most of the times kashmiri red chili powder is added to give this curry a nice red color, but you can skip it if you dont have it and just use the red chili powder.
Subtitutions
Baby potatoes work best for making this dish but you can use larger potatoes as well. Just cut then into about one inch cubes and you can make this delicious recipe.
This dahi wale dum aloo recipe can easily be adapted to make a vegan version. You can replace yogurt with non-dairy yogurt or use make a cashew paste with 10-12 cashews and some water and use it instead.
How to make dum aloo in instant pot?
It is very easy to make this instant pot dum aloo recipe at home. First, rinse the baby potatoes thoroughly with water and then peel them with a vegetable peeler.
With the help of a fork, pierce each of the potatoes in 2-3 places. This will ensure that the potatoes do not crack or break open on cooking and also the flavor of the curry gets inside them.
Blend onion, tomatoes, ginger garlic, and fennel seeds in Vitamix or any other blender. Turn on the "Saute" mode of the instant pot on the "Normal" setting and then add oil to the instant pot liner.
After oil is hot, saute all the whole spices - cumin seeds, bay leaf, red whole chili, and cinnamon stick. Add the blended onion-tomato puree to the instant pot liner and add the powder spices - coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and salt.
Saute the gravy for about 4-5 minutes until the moisture evaporates and then stir in the yogurt and mix well. Deglaze the bottom of the pot with a spatula and add the baby potatoes. Cook in the high-pressure mode for 6 minutes. (set "keep warm" to on).
Allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually by moving the pressure release valve to the venting position until the silver pin drops.
If needed, adjust the consistency of the gravy by turning on the saute mode for a few minutes and allowing the extra moisture to evaporate. Add the garam masala and crushed kasuri methi.
How to make dum aloo quickly?
The most time-consuming task to make dum aloo recipe is peeling the baby potatoes. If you are looking to make a quick dum aloo recipe then you can skip peeling the potatoes and save time and effort. It will still taste delicious, just ensure to rinse the potatoes well with water.
What to eat with dum aloo?
The most popular sides to serve with dum aloo are Indian bread like naan, roti, puri, or paratha. It is also served with plain rice or rice dishes like pulao or jeera rice. It can also be served with other Indian curries, appetizers, sides, and desserts on a platter called thali.
While serving garnish with chopped cilantro and you can also serve a salad of sliced tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, beets, and carrots.
Storage
If there is any leftover dum aloo curry, you can refrigerate it. Instant pot dum aloo works great for weekly meal planning and is a great make-ahead meal for the week. Before serving, just reheat it in the microwave or in the instant pot and you are ready for a great meal!
Can I freeze dum aloo?
Dum aloo freezes well and is a great dish for meal planning. Once it cools down completely, transfer it to an air-tight freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer for about one month.
When you are ready to eat, simply put the container in the fridge overnight or thaw it in the microwave directly. Then reheat it in the microwave, a saucepan on the stovetop, or in the instant pot in saute mode.
BONUS - Get the commonly used Indian spice list printable
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📖 Recipe
Dum Aloo In Instant Pot
Ingredients
Whole spices
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 Bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 count Whole Red Chili
Powder spices
- 1 teaspoon Salt (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder (to taste)
- 2 teaspoon Coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
For dum aloo gravy
- 1 lb Baby potatoes
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 Onion (medium size)
- 2 Tomatoes (medium size)
- 1 tablespoon Ginger (chopped or paste)
- 1 tablespoon Garlic (chopped or paste)
- 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
- ¾ cup Water
- ⅓ cup Yogurt
To be added after cooking
- ½ teaspoon Garam masala (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon Kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves, crushed)
- 2 tablespoon Cilantro (chopped, for garnishing)
Instructions
- Pierce each baby potato with a fork 2-3 times.
Make the puree
- Blend onion, tomatoes, ginger garlic, and fennel seeds in Vitamix or any other blender.
Make the curry in instant pot
- Turn on "Saute" mode of the instant pot on "Normal" setting
- Once the instant pot is hot, add oil to the instant pot liner.
- After the oil is hot, add all the whole spices - cumin seeds, bay leaf, red whole chili, and cinnamon stick.
- Add the blended onion-tomato puree to the instant pot liner.
- Add the spices - coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and salt.
- Saute for about 4-5 minutes until the moisture evaporates.
- Add the yogurt and mix well.
- Add water and deglaze the bottom of the pot with a spatula.
- Add the baby potatoes and salt and mix well.
- Press cancel and come out of the saute mode.
- Close and lock the lid with the pressure release valve in the sealing position.
- Cook on the high-pressure mode for 6 minutes. (set "keep warm" to on).
- Allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually by moving the pressure release valve to the venting position until the silver pin drops.
- If needed, adjust the consistency of the gravy by turning on the saute mode for a few minutes.
- Add the garam masala and crushed kasuri methi.
- While serving garnish with chopped cilantro.
John says
This was amazing and remarkably easy to make!
Alpa Jain says
Hi John,
I am glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Cheers,
Alpa