Hing-Tomato Diye Aalur Dum

Aalu, or potatoes, are a favourite among Bengalis. We love the taste of potatoes in everything, and have ample recipes to make with the veggie too. But I think apart from aalubhate and aalu posto, what we absolutely love is Aalur dum. We carry it when we are travelling by train, we send our kids lunchboxes packed with it, we have it on special days when we don't have fish or meat...the versatility is mindblowing. And every family has its own recipes for the thing.

This one is from my husband's grandmother. She is no more, but legends of her culinary skills endure. Apart from this aalu dum, the one thing she is known most for are cocktail samosas...tiny little triangles filled with veggies and mixed with ingredients she took with her to the grave. I haven't seen her, or tasted the samosas, but those who have, still cannot deconstruct the samosas well enough to know what secrets she was putting in them.

My mother in law passed down this recipe to me, and trust me, this is an amazing way to make aalur dum. The tomatoes add a lovely tang to it, the hing makes the dish very aromatic, and the dry red chillies add enough zing to it. Try it and tell me what you think of it.

What You Need:
Potatoes, tomatoes, hing, panch foran, dry red chillies, ginger paste, turmeric powder, salt to taste, sugar, oil

How I Do It:

Heat oil and fry the halved, peeled potatoes till golden. Remove and keep aside.

In the same oil, add the broken dry red chilli peppers and hing. Now add the panchforan, and as soon as you hear a sizzle, add the chopped tomatoes and ginger paste. Now cook till tomatoes turn soft and oil begins to separate.

Now add the potatoes, turmeric powder, salt and some sugar and stir to coat. Add a little water, lower the flame and cook till the water steams off and the potatoes are softened. Remove and serve.