Punjabi Dum Aloo Recipe in Instant Pot | ThisThatMore (2024)

This delicious Punjabi Dum Aloo Recipe is a unique Indian potato curry. It is made by adding fried potatoes to the Indian curry, and it is creamy and full of flavors. It is easy and saves time when you make it in your Instant Pot.

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Dum Aloo is a very popular North Indian dish. There are many versions of Dum Aloo: Punjabi Dum Aloo, Kashmiri Dum Aloo, Bengali Dum Aloo, and many more. Each variety has its unique flavors. The recipe I'm posting here is for Punjabi Dum Aloo.

Punjabi Dum Aloo Recipe is one of those recipes that I have relished throughout my childhood. And I love it even now. These taste better than any restaurant-style dum aloo. This is a creamy & flavorful dish just like Shahi Paneer but made with fried baby potatoes instead of paneer.

Being born in a Punjabi family, I enjoyed eating Dum Aloo. My Mom used to make it whenever there was any special occasion (like a birthday or Anniversary or any festival) or when we wanted to eat something special.

The post contains Helpful Tips & Tricks to make the Punjabi Dum Aloo Recipe. But if you're in a hurry, you can also click "Jump to Recipe' under the Heading to go directly to the Recipe Card.

• Potatoes: You can use normal potatoes cut in bite-size or you can use baby potatoes. Baby Potatoes are better for this dish. You either deep-fry them or shallow-fry by adding some spices in the oil.
• Onion-Tomato Masala: You can either make it fresh or can also use the frozen one. I usually make it fresh as it only takes 5 minutes and flavors are much better that way.
• Spices: I add whole spices as well as Indian Spice Powder like garam masala, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chili powder, etc. Adding whole spices makes the dish more aromatic. I also add Kashmiri Red Chili Powder just for the color.
• Cashew Paste/Almond Flour: This is used to make the curry creamier. You can use almond/cashew paste or can also add 1-2 tablespoon of almond flour. I usually don't use when making dum aloo recipe.
• Honey/Sugar: It's always recommended to add little sweetness if its a savory dish and a little salt if its sweet dish. So add 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey or maple syrup, etc in the curry.
• Cream/Yogurt: For extra creamy Dum Aloo recipe, add cream/yogurt in the end.

See the recipe card for quantities.

This recipe of dum aloo can be made in an Instant Pot and stove-top. You can make it in dry masala, or you can also make it in a curry.

Prepare Potatoes

1. First take the baby potatoes & wash them properly. Then boil them in an Instant Pot or on stove-top. You can boil in Instant Pot for 7 minutes at High-pressure level. You can boil the potatoes on stove-top for 15-20 minutes in the boiling water or until tender.
2. Once baby potatoes cooked, strain the water and let them cool down fro 10-15 minutes. Then remove the skin of the potatoes & place them in a bowl.
3. Using fork or knife, pork the potatoes couple of times. That way the masala of dum aloo gravy will reach inside the potatoes too & potatoes will not have any bland flavor.
4. In a pan or instant pot, add mustard oil or any other cooking oil. When oil is hot, add spices (red chili powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder, and roasted cumin powder) and stir.
5. Then add potatoes in the oil and mix until all the potatoes are properly coated with the spices. Shallow-fry the potatoes until a little golden in color.

Prepare Gravy

1. Add oilive oil or mustard oil in a pan. At medium flame, add roughly chopped onions and cook fro 2-3 minutes or until golden in color.
2. Then add ginger garlic paste to the onions and fry for 1 minute. Or you can also add dry ginger powder and garlic powder.
3. Once onions are cooked, then add tomato puree. Cook for 3-5 minutes until oil starts to separate.
4. Then add spices (a teaspoon garam masala powder, red chili powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, mango powder, coriander powder, roasted cumin powder (or teaspoon cumin seeds).

Dum Aloo Gravy

1. Then add a cup of water, 1-2 tablespoon yogurt, crushed kasuri methi (or dried fenugreek leaves), and fried potatoes.
2. Boil it and cook for 10-15 minutes at low flame until it reaches desired consistency. Then garnish with cilantro. You can also sprinkle a teaspoon of fennel seeds for aromatic flavor. Serve with Indian flatbread or steamed basmati rice.

• Use Baby Potatoes when making Instant Pot Dum Aloo, as they are perfect for the dish. They taste great in the dish, just perfect size. And secondly, less hassle as you don't need to cut the potatoes.
• Before adding to the curry, either deep-fry the potatoes or shallow-fry them with some spices. If you want to make this dish oil-free or with less oil/butter, then you can air-fry them too.
• Adding Almond Flour to the curry gives creamy texture even without using cream/yogurt. Or you can also use almond/ cashew paste.
• Before adding in the masala, poke the potatoes with fork or knife. That way when you add them to the curry, the masala will go in the potatoes and they won't remain bland.
• I add Kasuri Methi while making the curry and not at the end. This brings nice color and taste to the curry.
• I also like to add diced tomatoes or tomato paste in the masala. This brings a nice color to the curry.
• If you shallow-fry potatoes in Mustard Oil, it will bring the smoky flavor in the curry.
• When you add yogurt, cook the curry at low flame. This will bring out the rich flavor of Instant Pot Dum Aloo.
• You can also add Maple Syrup or Honey or Sugar, etc. for a little sweetness.

📖VARIATIONS

This Dum Aloo Recipe tastes great, but with a few alterations, you make it best suited for your taste. For example, I like to make it a little healthier with less spicy. But here are some variations you can try to bring out the best flavor.

• Spicy - add chili powder along with some chopped green chili to make this potato curry spicy. Also if you add Kashmirir Red Chili Powder, it will give the color to the curry.
• Deluxe - add ghee when frying the potatoes, it bring the best flavor. Also you can add cream instead of yogurt to make the curry creamy. You can also add some crumbled Paneer to make it tastes more delicious.

🍽EQUIPEMENT

The next question is what equipment you should use to make this Indian potato curry. If you want to make it quick, then use Instant Pot. You can make Instant Pot Dum Aloo in under 30 minutes & the flavor will not be lost.

But if you want to taste the authentic flavor, I recommend making it on the stove-top. I personally like using Indian Kadai (or wok). Kadai is a deep-sided wok in which food gets cooked quickly & flavors are bonded more nicely.

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📖 RECIPE CARD