Dahi waale aaloo or chach vaale aaloo ki sabzi or boiled potatoes cooked with buttermilk is a traditional Rajasthani cuisine. Rain was scarce in Rajasthan till few years back. So getting vegetables was very difficult, specially during summer. Therefore, people invented a few dishes so that they don’t get affected due to lack of rain and could taste variety. One such dish Mangodi ki subzi is already in the blog. Dahi ke aaloo is another such interesting dish where curry is prepared with buttermilk and along with regular spices boiled potatoes are added.
Curd is such a simple ingredient but you can create veritable dishes with it. I love using curd in my savoury dishes for regular meals like raita, sabzi or Besan ki kadi. The best part about Dahi ke aaloo is that it doesn’t require onion, garlic or even tomatoes. So you can have it during your one-time fasting meals.
Ingredients :
5 medium sized boiled potatoes
Curd 300 gm
3 cups water
Oil 2 tbsp
Jeera (cumin) 1/4 tsp
Rai 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida powder 1/8 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tbsp +1 tsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Green chillies chopped 2
3 tbsp water
Salt as per your taste
Garam masala powder 1 tsp
Oil 1 tsp
Dry red chillies 2
Chopped green coriander leaves
Process
Wash, boil, peel and mash potatoes in medium chunks and keep them aside in a bowl.
In a separate bowl churn curd nicely and add three cups of water and churn it again for a homogeneous mix (this is how we prepare buttermilk (chach) in India).
Heat 2 tbsp oil and splutter rai, jeera and asafoetida (hing) in a wok. Add red chilli, coriander and turmeric powder and chopped green chillies followed by 3 tbsp water. On sim heat let the masala get cooked for 5 minutes. Stir in between to avoid burning.
Once masala is cooked take out 1 tbsp out of it and keep it separate to be used later.
Add buttermilk in the wok once oil can be seen on the sides of masala. Increase the heat to high and keep stirring this mixture with quick movements until it starts boiling. Fast speed stirring is very important as otherwise buttermilk will curdle (phat jayega).
When buttermilk starts boiling, add mashed potatoes along with the salt.
Now reduce the heat to sim and let it cook for half an hour. It can be cooked on medium heat for 15 minutes but I like curries or gravies to be cooked on sim heat. Slow cooking enhances the flavor of dish.
Switch off the gas after half an hour and add garam masala powder and chopped green coriander leaves. Dahi ke aaloo or potatoes cooked in buttermilk are ready!!
Remember we had kept a little quantity of masala separate. We will use it now. Heat 1 tsp oil and roast dry red chillies in it for half a minute and add masala. Just before serving pour this in dahi waale aaloo and impress your guests and family members!!
