Alur Dom (Bengali Aloo Dum)
There’s a very special place for the Aloo Dum/Dum Aloo in the Indian cuisine repertoire. For us Indians as well, it is quite a favored dish. There are many variations too that it has. For instance, this here, is the recipe of Bengali Aloo Dum, traditionally called as Alur Dom. This special regional variation is a lightly spiced, slightly sweet, potato curry with onions, tomatoes and a range of spices. Also, if you aren’t using the ghee, you’re making the dish completely vegan as well.
About Alur Dom
Firstly, don’t be confused with the name as it is just another spelling which abides by the phonetics of the Bengali script. So, when translated into English, it is simply the following:
Alur – Alu is potato (-r/-er is a Bengali suffix denoting ‘for’)
Dom – Or dum is slow cooked
As I mentioned in my opening lines, there are a number of ways in which this dish is prepared in different regions of the Indian subcontinent.
Majorly, it is one of the most important dishes in the Kashmiri Pandit cuisine. This post has the Bengali Aloo Dum and there is another version popular in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh and the Mughlai and Punjabi versions.
You’re lucky that I have some varieties ready for you, right here. Just follow these recipes of mine to make them:
- Kashmiri Dum Aloo (this post has the quintessential authentic Kashmiri style recipe).
- I also have a Mughlai restaurant style Dum Aloo Recipe and Banarasi Dum Aloo both, from the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Plus, the post you’re on at present is obviously for the Alur Dom of Bengal.
Since it is an aloo-based gravy dish, it is chiefly categorized under the main course section. In simple words, the potatoes are first fried, then slow cooked or dum cooked in a rich, velvety spiced gravy.
This gravy may be made with onions, tomatoes, yogurt/curd, cashew paste, etc. as the dish undergoes specific regional influences.
About This Alur Dom
Whenever you’re in Bengal, at a Bengali restaurant or are planning to prepare a Bengali meal at home itself, a classic combination that you must try is that of Luchi (poori made with all-purpose flour) and Alur Dom.
Since I had the recipe of this famous puffed bread, it was mandatory for me to share the recipe of the Bengali Aloo Dum as well.
This pairing is a preferred one at my home as well and it literally has become a fortnightly breakfast.
My homemade version of the Bengali style Alur Dom is in 2 ways. Here, I am sharing the method which has onion-tomato in it, which is also a personal favorite.
This Bengali Aloo Dum recipe has been adapted from one of the cookbooks that came along my Hawkins pressure cooker.
I had heard about this dish from quite some time. The moment I saw it in that booklet, I had to give it a try. So, I made this dish with my proportions and it did come out very well.
While it is best to use baby potatoes for this Alur Dom recipe, I made it with new potatoes. There wasn’t much difference and the dish was just as fab.
You can use whichever you get or feel like using. Also, I parboil the potatoes first and then fry in mustard oil.
I puree the onions and tomatoes and the sauté the entire mixture well with spices, again in mustard oil.
After adding the fried potatoes, I simmer the curry (basically slow cook) for some minutes till it is ready to be served.
A made for each other match is to have the Bengali Aloo Dum with luchi. But other apt choices can be the Koraishutir Kochuri, Radhaballavi and the regular Poori.
Last, but not the least, you can even relish this gorgeous Bengali delicacy with your everyday chapati and roti.
Expert Tips
- When using baby potatoes, use a soft brush to remove the mud lodged in the peels after rinsing them. Also, while parboiling these, keep the peel on. Just prick the parboiled potatoes with a fork before frying.
- Parboiling of the potatoes can be done in a steamer or pressure cooker or Instant pot adding water as needed.
- Preferably use new potatoes or baby potatoes to make this dish.
- Grinding of the onion, ginger and garlic needs to be done without water. Also, the paste can be semi-fine or smooth.
- Substitute for cinnamon and cloves powder is ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder, added after the dish is cooked.
- You can drizzle some ghee on the Alur Dom while serving.
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 5 to 6 potatoes – medium-sized or 18 to 20 baby potatoes
- 3 to 4 tablespoons mustard oil
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder or degi mirch or paprika – adjust as required if using a hotter variety of chili powder or cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder – divided, (ground turmeric)
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder (ground cumin)
- 1 cup water or add as required
- ½ teaspoon sugar or as required
- salt as required
To grind to a semi-fine or fine paste
- 2 onions – medium-sized or ¾ to 1 cup roughly chopped onions
- 1 inch ginger – peeled
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves – small to medium-sized
Make a puree of
- 1 tomato large, chopped or add about ½ cup tomato puree instead
To powder
- 1.5 to 2 inches cinnamon
- 3 to 4 cloves
Topping
- 1 teaspoon Ghee – optional
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse the potatoes very well. If using baby potatoes, then remove the mud or dirt lodged in the peels with a soft brush.
- Then parboil or par-cook the potatoes in a steamer or pressure cooker. You can also cook the potatoes in the Instant Pot.
- To cook potatoes in a stovetop pressure cooker, place the potatoes in a 3 litre cooker. Add water almost covering them. Pressure cook for 1 whistle on medium to medium-high heat.
- For baby potatoes, cook on high heat until the cooker comes to a full pressure and you can hear the whistle/vent weight making noise or moving. At this point switch off the heat and let the pressure drop naturally in the cooker.
- When the pressure falls naturally in the cooker, then only open the lid.
- Remove the par-cooked potatoes carefully with the helps of tongs and set aside to cool on a plate.
- Once the potatoes are parboiled/half cooked, let them cool at room temperature. Then remove the peels and dice them. For baby potatoes you can keep the peels and prick the potatoes with a fork. An optional step.
- When the potatoes are cooking, you do the following prep.
- Grind the onion, ginger and garlic in a grinder or blender. No need to any water while grinding. Make a semi-fine paste or a smooth paste.
- Chop the tomatoes and blend them in a mixer-grinder or blender to get a fine, smooth puree. You can also finely chop the tomato instead.
- Grind the cloves and cinnamon sticks in a dry grinder or coffee grinder to a fine powder. You can also choose to crush both these spices finely in a mortar-pestle.
- Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder all over on the potatoes and mix gently.
Making alur dum
- Heat mustard oil in a pan. Keep heat to medium. Fry the potatoes till light golden turning over as needed. Remove with a slotted spoon and place them on kitchen paper towels to absorb extra oil.
- Lower the heat and in the same oil, fry the tej patta until fragrant for a few seconds.
- Add the onion-ginger-garlic paste. Stirring often sauté on medium-low heat till oil starts to leaves the mixture and till the paste becomes a light brown.
- Add the tomato puree, the remaining ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt and sugar.
- Mix well and sauté on medium-low to medium heat till the oil begins to leave the sides of the onion-tomato masala paste. The masala would also look glossy and thicken.
- Then add the fried potatoes and stir to combine till the masala coats the potatoes evenly.
- Add 1 cup water together with the ground cinnamon and cloves powder.
- You can also add about ¼ teaspoon of garam masala powder instead of the cinnamon and cloves powder.If adding garam masala, then add it towards the end once the dish is cooked.
- Gently mix taking care that the potatoes do not crumble or break.
- Simmer on a low heat till the gravy thickens. The gravy has to coat the potatoes well. If you prefer a medium consistency gravy, add some more water.
- When serving add a teaspoon of ghee on the Aloor Dum. Serve Bengali Alur Dom hot with luchi or poori.
Notes
- The recipe can be made with new potatoes or baby potatoes.
- You can skip adding sugar if you like, but it does balances the tanginess of the tomatoes and rounds up the flavors.
- Garnish Alur Dom with coriander leaves if you prefer.
- For a gravy consistency, add more water.
- The recipe can be scaled to make for larger servings.
Nutrition
Alur Dom recipe from the blog archives was first published on January 2014.
Can I pair this Bengali style alur dom with lachha paratha? How will it taste?
Yes, you can definitely pair Bengali-style alur dom with lachha paratha. The mildly spiced and slightly tangy flavors of the curry complement the crisp, flaky layers of the paratha really well. It makes for a delicious and satisfying combination – perfect for a weekend or a special meal.
Really thanks to you… Just for you i m making my new family happy… Love ur receipes easy and tasty.
welcome susmita 🙂 thank you for your positive feedback.
Awesome… I try it in home… Everybody loves it ….
thanks bidisha for sharing positive feedback.
I always admire ur way of writing and making dish. this bengali alur dom has made me to write a comment on ur page in spite of low internet connection. Thanks a tonne .Keep rocking ..my best wishes 🙂
very pleased to know this vaishnavi 🙂 god bless you.
Good guide very helpful
thankyou moulick 🙂
Hi dassana, i hv tried so many of ur recipies like gajar ka halwa, falooda, aloo matar gravy, like today i made falafel(chicpea vada), aloo gobi gravy then ur punjabi matar paneer and so many other recipes.. all turned out very well .. infact im not a great cook at all but after going through your site i dont go searching for recipies on any other site… and feel like cooking something new everyday… all thanks to you .. today i will cook luchi and mathura ke dubkiwale aloo … wanted to know whether the bengali alur dom recipe has to be cooked in mustard oil..
thanks a lot dassana
welcome marina. glad to know this. thanks for sharing positive review on recipes. yes make the alur dom in mustard oil.
very delicious
thanks dr jhimisha
I got aloo dum recepie, it was awesome,thanx
welcome sumitra
chhaa gaye guru….as being gujarati i m very fond of eating various dishes nd was out searching aloo dum recipe for a long time…..today i got it…thanx
welcome krishn
Thanks for sharing the awesome bengali style aloo dom recipe…..
Our Sunday breakfast was perfect with luchi , alur dom and payesh 🙂
welcome debasmita. good to know 🙂 in fact luchi and alur dom has also become our sunday breakfast 🙂
Hi,
greetings!
I am excited completely thanks for sharing this recipe.. This is the first dish that i have prepared of my own since i was new to cooking.. This increased my interest , thanks a lot.
welcome priya. do try some more recipes.
Hi Dasanna,
The best feature of your website is the illustrative way with pictures and handy tips are used by you…kudos to you….
Can i serve the bengali matar kachori with mathura ke dubki wale aloo…does the combination go well for breakfast…?
thanks sweta for the positive feedback. i don’t think this combination will go very well. try poori or luchi with mathura ke dubki wale aloo. you can try urad dal kachori also known as khasta kachori with mathura ke dubke wale aloo.
Hi Dassana,
I tried this recipe today along with puris and it tasted awesome. Is it ok if I blog about this recipe in my blog giving you due credit?
Remya
thanks remya for the positive feedback. yes, you can blog about any recipe from this blog, if credit is given. you are welcome.
Hi,
Your blog is my every weekend stop to try prepare something new. This recipe is an absolute favorite. Very Good. Thanks!
Pratyush
welcome pratyush
We are in Goa! Land of veg recipes!
Loving your emails still x
thanks lesley for this sweet comment. enjoy the fresh air of goa and its beaches.
🙂 on a second note we are no longer in goa. enjoy the sun, beaches and the beautiful goan landscape along with the goan cuisine.