Dum Aloo and Jeera Rice

Threw a small party for my honey on his birthday. We had around ten people for dinner. So designing a menu was pretty difficult, it had to be special, he had to be scalable ( to make in large quantities) and a crowd pleaser!thought for a long time before settling on Dum Aloo and Jeera Rice.It was a hit indeed.Now it is going to be on my party foods for ever. It is very time consuming but it is definitely worth all the time and effort. To get a head start ( i did not do this and ended up spending 3 hours at the stove!) start with the gravy, once the onion goes into the pot, start frying up the potatoes; So that the potatoes and the gravy will get done almost at the same time.



Potatoes cut into 1.5" pieces 4 large (I did six pieces per head and it worked well)
Tomatoes 2 ground to a smooth paste
Onions 1 large minced
Garlic 3 cloves (big) ground to a smooth paste
ginger about 1" ground to a smooth paste
Cashews 1/4 cup ground to a smooth paste
Chilly powder 2 tbsp (mine is not too hot, so adjust accordingly)
Dhania powder 1 tbsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala 1/4 tsp
Kasuri Methi or Coriander a handful
Yogurt 1 cup
Heavy cream 1/4 cup
Bay leaf 1
Cardamom 2
Cloves 4
Cinnamon 1/2"
Jeera 1 tsp
Star Anise 1
Oil to deep fry + 3 tbsp
Salt

Note: During my hostel days, our cooks used to prepare excellent Dum Aloo. I had asked for the recipe, though the ingredients are similar, they had suggested piercing the potatoes with a fork before frying. ( At the mess they had something like a metal brush with sharp nails done to it) I did not do it. I am not sure if this method enhances the taste of the dish. I will try it next time i make :)

Method:

• Soak the cut potato pieces in water till it is ready to be fried. Once the oil is hot enough, remove potatoes from water, pat it dry with a paper towel. Gently nudge them into the hot oil using a heat proof spatula.
• Fry the potatoes till golden brown. They do not need to be cooked throughly. Remove,set aside. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.
  
• For the gravy, add 3 tbsp oil in a pot. Drop the bay leaf, anise, clove, cinnamon and Jeera.
  
• Follow it with minced onion. Cook till almost brown. It almost took me about 20 minutes to get there!
  
• Now stir in the ginger paste, garlic paste, chilly powder, Dhania powder and turmeric into the onion. Stir for a few minute and add the tomato puree. Cover and cook till the raw smell of the masala disappear.
  
• Stir in the cashew paste. Cook for a few more minutes, taking care that the mixture would not burn. It burns very easily at this stage.
• Once oil starts oozing from the mixture, reduce heat to the lowest. Whisk the yogurt once and slowly stream into the mixture stirring continuously. Make sure the mixture is well combined. Cover and bring it to a boil. Simmer.
  
• Now gently slide the fried potatoes into the simmering gravy. Cover and cook till the potatoes are soft and crumbles if gently pressed between fingers.
  
• Adjust salt, gently add the cream, sprinkle garam masala and finish with either Kasuri Methi or coriander. If using Kasuri Methi, cook the gravy for a few more minutes with the Kasuri Methi so as to infuse the flavour very well.
• Serve hot with Jeera rice.

Jeera Rice

Basmati rice 3 cups
Raisins 1/2 cup
Jeera 1 tbsp
Onions 2 large diced
Coriander 1 big bunch
Ghee 2 tbsp
Water a little over 5 cups
Salt

Method:

• Soak the rice in water for about 20 minutes.
• Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan. Add Jeera, once it splutters, add the onions. Cook till the onions are brown at the edges.
• Drop the raisins (Well I am not sure if traditional Jeera rice recipe calls for raisins, but this was for a party and I wanted it to be rich. This ingredient is of course optional)
• Stir till the raisins plum up.
  
• Now add water and adjust salt.
  
• Once the water starts boiling gently mix in the rice. Cover and cook.
• When almost done stir in the coriander. Cook till the rice is completely done
• Serve hot with Dum Aloo..