Dum Aloo : Baby Potatoes in spicy gravy

Dum Aloo, originally a Kashmiri dish, is famous across North. It is a delicious preparation using Baby Potatoes with moderate - high spice. 

Ingredients:

• Baby Potatoes: 10-12 
• Onion : 1 medium
• Tomatoes: 2 medium
• Curd : 2-4 tspn
• Garam masala : 1-1.5 tspn (Alternatively, I ground it fresh : cardamom (1), pepper (1/2 tspn), Cinamon ( 1 small piece), Clove (1-2 small), Fennel (1/2 tspn))
• Garlic: 4-5 pods
• Ginger: 1/2 inch 
• Chili powder: 1-2 tspn (as spicy as you like it)
• Coriander powder: 1 tspn
• Jeera: 1/2 tspn
• Salt : To taste
• Mango Powder (Aamchur): 1/2 tspn
• Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tspn
• Oil : Some to fry and some to cook

Method:

Prepare the potatoes:

• Boil the potatoes just to soften it (should not be mashed - one whistle should be enough)
• Peel and keep them aside 
• In a kadai, add oil to fry. Add potatoes and fry them till golden brown. Drain and place them in tissues to absorb the extra oil.
• Once it cools down, prick them with a fork on all sides. 
• Kasoori methi : 1 tspn
• I added a few pieces of baby corn as well (cut & fried with potatoes) : Optional

*** I boil and fry so that the oil consumption is less. However, some choose to peel and fry the potatoes directly without boiling them ****

Prepare the Gravy:

• In a bowl take the curd and beat it well. To this add a pinch of turmeric powder, salt and beat it well. Keep it aside
• In a pan, dry roast all masala (if you are making it fresh). Keep them aside. (1)
• In the same pan, add 2 drops of oil and saute ginger, garlic, half of the onion, tomatoes (2)
• Grind the roasted ingredients in (1) and (2) coarsely or if you like the gravy to be smooth then smoothly
• In the pan, add oil. To this add Jeera. Saute it and add rest of the sliced onion. Add a pinch of salt and saute it a bit; then add the ground mix.
• Fry this mix till it leaves out oil (add oil a bit if required)
• To this add, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder, mango powder and rest of the salt (per taste). 
• As it cooks, add the mixed curd. Dilute it based on consistency you want the gravy to be. As it starts boiling, add the potatoes.
• Close it with the lid and cook it for at least 7-10 mts (Keep checking in between to ensure the gravy is not dried up)
• Add kasoori methi (take it hand and powder it) and allow it to cook for 1 mt.
• Remove from fire

Top it with fresh cream (if you like) and coriander leaves. Serve it hot with rotis, puris or rice. 

Note: You can avoid the fresh masala and instead add a tspn of garam masala while adding all other powders. Just ground the onion, tomatoes, ginger and garlic.