Bhuna Aloo

A common sight on our plates when we are sick of eating summer vegetables, is this delicious and evergreen Bhuna Aloo. Well, truth be told, we relish it all year round. Simply translated to Roasted Potatoes, this quick and easy side dish never fails to impress. Since ovens, modern or traditional weren’t really common in most homes in India in the past few decades, these potatoes are just pan-roasted to a delicious brown and embalmed in the most flavourful of spices.

‘Bhoon-naa‘ literally translates to roasting something well. In this case, the potatoes are roasted really well in a pan till you see them turn brown. All you need are some masalas and some potatoes. Gather those and you can make yourself some Bhuna Aloo.

I love serving these with just about any north Indian meal, but this Bhuna Aloo sure shines at the side of some delicious and creamy Dal Makhni or Arhar ki Dal. Choose the rice or roti route to your liking and you have a satisfying desi meal!

Do you stock Aloo in your pantry?

Well, I almost always have some potatoes stocked in my pantry (or kitchen drawers to be honest!). If I have aloo, I feel I can easily make a quick side dish of Bhuna Aloo, or make aloo masala for my dosa, or add it to my vegetable pulao or make wholesome potato poha. If you are trying to cook more at home as against depending on take-outs or deliveries, I suggesting stocking your kitchen/pantry/fridge with some essentials. When it comes to essential veggies, I always stock onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, green chillies and yes, you guessed it, potatoes.

Want to know what else we stock in our pantry? Catch this episode of the Kitchenpostcards Podcast.

I store these potatoes (and sometimes, also some baby potatoes), at room temperature in a kitchen drawer, away from any moisture. They last for weeks!

From pakoras, to tangy aloo sabzi for your Bedmi Poori brunch, stocking the essentials keeps you equipped to whip up so many dishes.

The one genius thing to do with potatoes…

…after stocking them, IS to boil them. When you boil potatoes before roasting them, not only do you save time, you also ensure that you use slightly less oil when trying to cook it in the pan.

Boiled unpeeled potatoes can be stored for up to a week in the fridge as prep and can be used for a number of aloo based dishes besides this Bhuna Aloo like Aloo Parathas, Vada Pav, Aloo Sabzi and what not.

For our Bhuna Aloo, these boiled potatoes ensure that the potatoes are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. The spices also adhere to the aloo better when you use boiled potatoes.

I boil potatoes in a pressure cooker with the skins still on them. You can boil them in a pot/pan as well. Just cover the aloo with water and boil for around 20 minutes or till they are fork tender.

But I find boiling potatoes in a pressure cooker is quicker. It only takes around 7 to 10 minutes. One does risk over-boiling the potatoes in the pressure cooker though, which is one of my pet peeves.

To get perfectly cooked potatoes that hold their shape and do not disintegrate or become mushy, you only need to pay attention to the pressure cooker. Once the cooker just starts to whistle, thats your cue to take it off heat and let the pressure release naturally. If you let the pressure cooker whistle, you risk things going south!

Let’s make some Easy Bhuna Aloo

Prep Time: 5 minutes, Cook time: 20 minutes; Total time: 25-30 minutes

Yields : 3-4 servings

Special Equipment: Pressure Cooker (optional), Cast Iron Pan (optional)

Ingredients

• Potatoes, medium size, 3-4
• Water for boiling
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper, freshly ground, a few cracks
• Vegetable Oil, 2 tablespoons
• Asafoetida (Heeng), a pinch
• Cumin Seeds (Jeera), 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds (Rai/Sarson), 1 teaspoon
• Kashmiri Red Chili Powder, 1-2 teaspoon (adjust according to taste)/ Red Chili Powder, 1 teaspoon
• Dry Mango Powder (Amchur), 1 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder (Dhaniya powder), 3 teaspoon
• Garam Masala, 1/2 teaspoon

Method

Start by gathering all the ingredients. The first step towards your very own Bhuna Aloo is washing off any dirt from the potatoes with water.

Once scrubbed (if they are very dirty) and cleaned, place the potatoes in a pressure cooker and cover with water. Close the pressure cooker lid and place on medium high heat. Pay attention to the sounds of the whistle. Once the cooker is just about to blow the first whistle, take it off heat and let the pressure release naturally.

Alternately, you could place them in a pan of filtered water and place on medium high heat till the water starts boiling. Once it starts boiling, let the contents simmer for 15-20 minutes and check for doneness using a fork or knife.

Once the pressure cooker has stopped whistling, open the lid carefully and take out the potatoes or drain the water in to the sink. The potatoes will still be very hot to handle right away, so you can cover them with cold tap water in another bowl. To cool them even quicker you will need to refresh with more cold water.

When the potatoes are cool enough to be handled, drain them and get ready to peel them. For easy peeling, I gently run a knife in the middle of the potato and rotate it, forming a cut in the peel. Follow the cut line to easily remove the peel from the boiled aloo.

Next, dice the boiled potatoes into even sized chunks. While you chop all the potatoes, place a heavy bottom skillet, pan or kadhai on medium high heat.

Once all the potatoes have been diced, move to the stove where the pan has been heating. Carefully pour a few tablespoons of vegetable oil. Once you think the oil is hot, tip in cumin seeds and mustard seeds into the oil.

Wait for the mustard seeds to start popping and when they do, put in a sprig of curry leaves and the diced potatoes. Sprinkle salt and a few cracks of black pepper on top.

Stir with a turner carefully to coat everything in the oil and spices.

Once coated, let the boiled aloo sit in the hot pan on each side to turn brown. For the browning to happen, do not over-stir. That’s how you will let the Maillard reaction to take place. Be careful not to burn them though.

When you see the potatoes have browned enough to your liking, which will be in some 10-12 minutes on medium high heat, tip in the coriander powder, your choice of red chili powder, raw mango or Amchur and Garam masala into the bhuna-hua or roasted potatoes.

Reduce the heat to low or even shut it if you are using a cast iron pan like me because you don’t want the spices to burn. Stir the potatoes some more to coat them in spices.

In case your pan is too hot, or you think the spices may burn, cover the pan with a lid and let it sit for 3-4 minutes covered. Uncover to reveal perfect spicy roasted or Bhuna Aloo.

Serve these sumptuous Bhuna Aloo with some besan parathas and pickle or dal chawal for a delicious desi meal.

More delicious Aloo recipes on Kitchenpostcards