You can create the classic restaurant style jeera aloo in your own home kitchen with equal flavor and deliciousness – it’s quick, easy and tasty!
Yes, you saw it right! My today’s recipe is good old jeera aloo. You must be already thinking what new I would present you in jeera aloo which is such a common recipe and must be known to all. No, I am not even claiming that my jeera aloo is different or best of all; but it definitely has a kick of its own which you will generally find in restaurant dishes. Hence, I thought of naming it as restaurant style jeera aloo as it is found in almost all Indian restaurants’ menu.
If you are not familiar with Indian cuisine, you will be amazed to see the versatility of one vegetable i.e. potato which is beautifully captured in hundreds of recipes. Aloo a.k.a. potato is unquestionably a well-loved vegetable in India and that’s the very reason that you will find numerous potato centric recipes in Indian cuisine e.g. the ever popular dum aloo in different style like Kashmiri dum aloo or Bengali style dum aloo or Punjabi dum aloo. The possibilities are endless. And today, I am adding one more potato recipe in your repertoire and that is restaurant style jeera aloo.
Jeera aloo is basically a stir-fry potato dish where boiled potatoes are tossed in a spice blend which is majorly dominated by cumin or jeera. I have added my twist in my jeera aloo by adding some finely chopped onion as I felt that without onions, regular jeera aloo turns too dry to my liking. Onions add some moisture to the dish but the final jeera aloo still remains a dry sabzi. Finely chopped onions also add a crunch to this dry jeera aloo which I personally prefer over the onion-less version. But the choice is yours; you may or may not add onions in your jeera aloo.
According to me, jeera aloo goes best with paratha or butter naan. Also adding the amchur powder towards the end of the cooking process adds a strong tanginess to the jeera aloo and you will love its combination with the buttery sweet naan. Indian cuisine has this specialty of creating unforgettable combinations by pairing different foods which complement each other perfectly and I am sure you will agree with me on this. Similarly, this restaurant style jeera aloo is a perfect side for your favorite naan especially when you want to give a break to non-vegetarian delicacies.
- Baby potato – 500 gms
- Mustard oil – 2 tbsp
- Hing / asafetida – 1 pinch (1/8 tsp)
- Cumin seeds / Jeera – 2 tsp
- Ginger – 1-inch piece, finely chopped
- Green chilli – 2, finely chopped
- Onion – 2, small, very finely chopped
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
- Coriander powder – ½ tsp
- Red chili powder – ½ tsp
- Amchur powder / raw mango powder – ½ tsp
- Salt to taste
- Freshly chopped coriander – ½ cup
- Boil the baby potatoes in heavily salted boiling water until they are 90% cooked. Strain and rinse with cold water. Once they are cool enough to touch, peel the skin off. Set them aside.
- In a kadhai, heat the mustard oil. Once the oil is hot, add hing, cumin seeds, chopped ginger and chopped green chilies. Toss them for few seconds until they become fragrant.
- Then add the chopped onion. Sauté them until they turn golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes on medium-low heat.
- Next add the powdered spices – turmeric, coriander and red chili. Add a splash of water to avoid burning and sauté the spices for 2 minutes on medium-high.
- Finally add the boiled potatoes and season with salt to taste. Give a good stir to the potatoes to coat them well with the spices.
- Now drizzle some water, about ¼ cup, around the kadhai. This will produce some steam. Quickly cover the kadhai and let the potatoes cook completely while soaking up all the flavors of the spices. This would take about 8 to 10 minutes on low but keep on checking after 4-5 minutes. Potatoes should not turn too soft and mushy in your final jeera aloo dish.
- Once the potatoes are nicely cooked and all the water is absorbed, sprinkle the amchur powder and give a final stir.
- Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve the warm jeera aloo with roti or paratha.
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