Simple Dum Aloo

Dum Aloo is one of the rich dish . Potatoes are cooked in gravy with dum means covered with layer of dough. The heat does stay inside the pan since the dough is covered between the pan and the covered plate. But I have prepared it with an easy step by cooking aloo in a pressure cooker.
I have used baby potatoes, handful of cashews. curd, tomatoes and some spice which is already at home.

Dum Aloo is a side dish and it can be eaten with roti, chapati, poori, dosa or idli and all type of Naan.
It goes well with simple friend rice, peas rice etc.
Lets see the recipe now
Ingredients :
Small Potatoes : 8 to 10
Curd : 1/4 cup
Garam Masala : 1/2 Teaspoon
Green chilly : 1
Cashew Nuts : 2 to 4
Coriander Leaves : 6 to 8 sticks
Tomato : 2 ( Medium sized )
Jeera Powder : 1/2 Teaspoon
Ginger : a small piece
Salt : to taste
Water : 1 Cup
Oil : 1 Table spoon
Butter : 1 Tablespoon

Method :
1.Boil potatoes in a pressure cooker for 5 to 6 minutes ( with weight ) and remove the skin when it is cool and keep aside. Just poke/prick with a knife edge around the potato carefully.

2. Wash tomatoes, green chilly,jeera powder, ginger, coriander leaves and garam masala powder. Grind it with little water and remove from the mixi jar.
Remove from the mixi jar to a bowl.

3. Grind cashews separately and keep it aside.

4. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Put oil, Put 1/2 Teaspoon of jeera and let it turn brown.
5. Add ground tomato mixture and let it boil for 1 to 2 minutes. Add  little jeera powder and salts and mix it well.

6. Add boiled and pricked potatoes to the mixture. Add salt and little water.
7. Add ground cashews and mix it well.

8. Add  2 tablespoons of curd (just beat it with a spoon just before adding to the curry.
9. Cover the lid and cook on low flame for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the cover and add butter. Mix it well and put the curry to a serving bowl.

10. Simple Dum Aloo is ready to serve.

Note :
You can use the normal potatoes instead of small potatoes. Boil the potato and cut it according to your wish and fry. Even you can fry potatoes instead of boiling . ( Taste excellent when you fry potatoes. Not only it takes some oil and it is not good for the body.). Adding more spice taste spicy and good. Eating too much of spice is not god for health. Adding more butter is optional.
Total Time : 30  minutes
Serves : 2 to 3.

Traditional White Pumpkin Huli

READY TO SERVE TRADITIONAL WHITE PUMPKIN HULI  (CURRY)

White Pumpkin is one of the good  vegetable and we Indians use vegetables in our diet.  I have prepared Traditional curry which is very famous in Udipi side. 
White Pumpkin (Ash gourd) is known as boodu kumbala kai in Kannada. 
Let us see some benefits of having White Pumpkin in our diet.
Ash gourd is one of the healthy vegetable and it has got loads of  medicinal and healing properties in it. It reduces the gastric problem. Ash gourd is good for duabetuc patients and people who are suffering from obesity. It has loads of moisture and helps to relief in acidity and peptic ulcers. Ash gourd is rich in Vitamin C. It is full of fiber and good for people who are suffering from constipation. It helps to digest the food easily.
I have just followed my aunt recipe. Ingredients are roasted freshly and then ground with fresh coconut. Toor dal is used to give thickness to the curry. I advice you must try this curry to know the taste.

Ingredients :

Toor Daal : 1/4 cup
White Pumpkin : 1/4 kg
Coriander seeds : 1 Tea spoon
Fenugric seeds ( Mentya or Methi seeds) : 1/4 Tea spoon
Jeera or cummin seeds : 1/4 Tea spoon
Tamrind Pulp: 2 Table spoon
Red chillies : 4 to 6
Asafoetida ; a pinch
Coconut :1/2 cup
Salt : to taste
Curry leaves : 5 to 6 
Jaggery : 1 Table spoon

Ghee: 1 Tea spoon

Water : Required amount of water.

Method :

1. Wash and cut pumpkin . Boil for 5 to 6 minutes. Pressure cook daal and keep it aside.

2. Now dry roast methi ( mentya )till brown, add coriander seeds, red chillies.Roast for 20 seconds and then add jeera. Put off the gas and let the spices cool.

3.Grind roasted spices with coconut and little water till it turns into paste. Soak tamarind in hot water and squeeze out the pulp. Keep it aside.

4.Keep a pan on the fire. Put cooked pumpkin, dal and turmeric powder. Add tamarind pulp and required salt. Mix it well. 

5.Mix ingh in a tea spoon of water and then add it to the boiling mixture.
6.Now add ground coconut spice mixture to dall. . Mix well slowly and let it boil for another 3 to 4 minutes.

7.You can add mustard splutter to the ready curry and shift the curry to a serving bowl. 
8.Serve with hot rice or any main dish you prepared.  Add a spoon of fresh ghee just before serving.

Note :
You can add other vegetables like beans , carrots with pumpkin while boiling . Seasoning the with mustard seeds.

Method for seasoning: 1/4 spoon of mustard and urd daal . 1 spoon of any cooking oil. Curry leaves 4 to 6 . a pinch of ingh.
Heat oil in a pan . Add mustard and urd daal. Let it sprut. Add curry leaves. Add a pinch of ingh and add this to the ready curry.

Time : 30 minutes.
Serves : 4 to 5