Kashmiri Dum Aloo: Baby Potatoes cooked in Fragrant Spices and Yogurt Sauce

Peel the potatoes and poke each of them in multiple places with fork. Soak them in salted water for about 15-30 minutes. Drain.

Heat the oil and deep fry the potatoes until they are golden, on a medium flame. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. If required fry them in batches.

Soak the raw cashews or almonds for a few hours. If you are using almonds, peel the brown skin after soaking them. Make a wet paste with the nuts and set aside.

Drain yogurt until thick and creamy. Whisk yogurt with red chili powder, half the amount of the green cardamom powder, all of the ginger powder, half the amount of the fennel seed powder and the nut paste. Set aside.

Heat the mustard oil, or any other oil you are using. Traditionally mustard oil is used and it gives an extra edge to the flavor of the dish, but if you are not used to and do not like it, then just use any cooking oil.

Add the asafoetida to the hot oil. Immediately add the tejpatta/Indian Bay Leaf powdered clove, rest of the cardamom and the ginger powder. Remove the pan from the heat right away. Add a few splashes of water to the oil to cool it down. be careful, the oil is hot and it will fume and sizzle. Wait for a minute and then add the whisked and spiced yogurt a little at a time to the oil and keep stirring it. Keep doing this until you have added the entire yogurt. Put the pan back on the stove in very low heat. Now add the pre-cooked potatoes to the pan, add about 3/4 cup of water ( more if you want more sauce), give it a good stir and tightly cover the pan. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender.

Uncover, stir in the Garam Masala and the roasted cumin powder and add the roasted cashews and raisins if you are using. Add and adjust salt. Gently stir everything in and cover it back again until ready to serve.

Add the fresh cilantro if you want just before serving. Serve with flat breads. We love it best with Naan.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: Less than 30 minutes Difficulty Level: Easy Serves: 4-6 as side