Dum aloo is a popular Kashmiri curry featuring perfectly cooked baby potatoes coated in an aromatic, rich, and creamy cashew tomato sauce. It’s a delicious potato curry that’s very easy to make in an instant pot.
Everyone loves potatoes, right? Is it possible to love them even more? Yes! Just smother them in a creamy spiced cashew tomato sauce! This recipe for dum aloo is absolutely delicious, and thanks to the instant pot, it’s easy to make too.
My dum aloo recipe is easy enough to make on a weeknight and fancy enough to serve company or on a special occasion. It’s naturally vegetarian and gluten-free – perfect for nearly any diet.
It’s not very common for the humble potato to be the star of a dish – especially the main dish. But in dum aloo, the potatoes don’t have to share the spotlight the way they do in my aloo gobi or aloo beans recipes. They’re also not a side dish like in my recipe for aloo methi. Nope. These baby potatoes are not a side or a stuffing or a co-star. They are why you’re coming to the show dinner tonight. Give these guys a shot, and you’ll come back for an encore.
What is dum aloo? What does “dum” mean?
When I first made this dum aloo for my family, my husband told me he didn’t think the potatoes were very “dumb.” He was joking, of course (I’m thankful to be married to a guy with my cheesy/terrible sense of humor).
“Dum” refers to a type of cooking method where food is simmered over low heat in a sealed pot, which helps retain the steam, which in turn keeps the dish moist. These baby potatoes are cooked over high heat in a short amount of time, so it’s true they aren’t “dum,” but the flavor of dum aloo is the same.
What does dum aloo taste like? Imagine perfectly cooked baby potatoes swimming in a creamy spiced cashew tomato sauce. You can stir in some heavy cream or yogurt (or coconut cream if you’re vegan) for extra richness and then top it all off with a sprinkle of dried fenugreek leaves.
Serve this dum aloo with any Indian flatbread or with basmati rice. A pretty smart pairing if I say so myself. 😉
Instant Pot Dum Aloo
Instant Pot Dum Aloo
Ingredients
- 11-12 baby potatoes approx. 1½ pounds, peeled
Onion Tomato Sauce
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1- inch ginger roughly chopped
- 2 tomatoes roughly chopped
Creamy Cashew Sauce
- ⅓ cup cashews
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon oil of choice
Spices
- 2 teaspoons paprika or Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves kasoori methi
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or yogurt or coconut milk optional
Instructions
- Prick the potatoes in several places with a fork.
- Add the onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside.
- To make the creamy cashew sauce, add the cashews and ½ cup water to the blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.
- Press the sauté button and add oil and the blended onion and tomato mixture. Stir-fry for 8-10 minutes until the mixture has thickened.
- Add the spices and the potatoes and mix well, then add ½ cup water to the pot.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 8 minutes at high pressure.
- Open the valve to quick release any remaining pressure.
- Stir in the cashew sauce, fenugreek leaves and cream if using.
Ushma says
I have made this recipe plenty of times adjusting onion masala cubes and it has come out very delicious. THANKYOU for all your vegetarian recipes. I keep telling about your website to a lot of people specially your onion masala as that has made my life so easy. THANKYOU once again Ashley
Steve says
Hi Ashley, I meant to leave 5 stars with my review but I forgot to hit the rating. 🙁 Can you add the rating to my review?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Aw thanks Steve! I really appreciate you leaving another comment with the stars, I’m sure it helps other readers know they can trust the recipe 🙂
Steve says
This was amazing. Turned out just perfect, and being single will have leftovers for a few days. Served over rice. Also, I garnished with Thai basil I had leftover and liked the added flavor it added to those bites. I think in the future just regular basil might be better. Had never made anything like this, thank you!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed this 🙂
Varsha Bhatia says
Ashley, does Kashmiri Dum Aloo have onions in the recipe? And have fennel and sounth instead? Is this perhaps a Punjabi Dum Aloo recipe?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
All recipes can be so different – feel free to adapt according to your taste 🙂 I tend to use onion masala as much as I can in recipes to keep them simple!
Swati says
This recipe is unbelievably tasty and easy! I made it with 3/4th cup onion masala and reduced the paprika to 1.5 teaspoons instead of 2 teaspoons. It was to die for and I can’t wait to make it again. Thank you Ashley for yet another 10/10 recipe!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Swati, I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you like this recipe 🙂
Shaoni says
Hello Ashley!
Thank you so much for this recipe–it looks amazing! (And honestly, thank you so much for ALL of your recipes!) Do you think we could substitute in the onion masala? If so, any thoughts about the amount?
Best,
Shaoni
My Heart Beets says
Hi Shaoni, sorry for the late reply! I still need to test this with onion masala but my guess would be to use ¾ cup (so 3 cubes). Let me know how it goes!
Asha says
After a lot of procrastination and having my instant pot for almost 2 years, made this gravy as my first attempt for a weekday dinner and I was shocked by how little supervision it needed and how quick it all came together.. and the taste? Absolutely delicious!!!! I made the green moong daal next and am excited to try more options now……. :)))))
My Heart Beets says
Asha, that’s awesome! I’m so glad you tried and liked it 🙂 Can’t wait to hear what you make next!
Nita says
Hi Ashley
Question
My husband got the frozen BOILED small potatoes (dum aloo potatoes) from the indian grocery store freezer.
How do I use it in this recipe to make dum aloo.
Should i just pressure cook the masala without potatoes? Or should I reduce the time to 3 mins and cook everything together? I am scared to cook the already cooked potatoes .
Thanks
Thanks.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Nita, if the potatoes are already cooked then I agree, I would not pressure cook them further. I would make the masala on sauté mode or on the stovetop and then add the potatoes – you can omit the water since you’re not pressure cooking. Let me know how it goes with the frozen potatoes!
Laurel says
I stumbled across your blog, found many good recipes, and this was the first one I made. It was absolutely delicious! My boyfriend and I have recently become vegetarian, and Indian cuisine has soooo many vegetarian options that your cooking blog will become a mainstay for us. Thanks for such an amazing recipe!
My Heart Beets says
Laurel, I’m so happy to hear that you liked this recipe! Can’t wait to hear what you think of other recipes you try from my site!
JS says
Another home run! It came out so well that I ate too much. It’s hard to believe it’s vegan; it turned out so creamy with just the addition of a few tablespoons of cashew nuts.
My Heart Beets says
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how the dum aloo turned out for you 🙂