Aloo Rasedar is a spiced, thin potato gravy made with tomatoes, ginger and spices. A no onion no garlic recipe from the Uttar Pradesh cuisine. Best served with kachori, poori or luchi.
1tomato(medium to large) - about ¾ cup finely chopped tomatoes
1inchgingerfinely chopped or 1.5 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
¼teaspoonfenugreek seeds(methi seeds)
¼teaspoonturmeric powder
½teaspoonred chili powder
1teaspooncumin powder
1teaspoonfennel powder- if you don't have ground fennel seeds then lightly roast 1 teaspoon fennel seeds in a small frying pan till fragrant and then coarsely powder in a mortar-pestle
Boil the potatoes till they are very well cooked and can be easily crumbled. You can steam or boil the potatoes in a pan on the stovetop, in the Instant Pot or in a stovetop pressure cooker.
For cooking in a stovetop pressure cooker, add rinsed potatoes and 2 to 2.5 cups of water in a 3 litre pressure cooker.
Pressure cook on medium heat for 3 to 4 whistles. When the pressure drops on its own, then only remove the lid.
Carefully, remove the potatoes with the help of tongs and place them on a plate to become warm at room temperature.
When the potatoes become warm or cool, peel and crumble them. Set aside. You can also chop the boiled potatoes if you like after peeling them.
Making aloo rasedar
Heat oil. On the lowest heat add all these spice powders - coriander powder, cumin powder, fennel powder, asafoetida, fenugreek seeds, red chili powder, turmeric powder.
Stir to mix taking care that the spices do not burn.
Add finely chopped ginger and sauté for a half a minute on low heat.
Add chopped tomatoes and stir.
On medium-low heat sauté the tomatoes till they soften and you see oil releasing from the sides.
Add the boiled and crumbled potatoes and mix well. Sauté for a minute.
Add water and stir again. You can adjust the consistency as you want by adding less or more water.
Add salt as required and dry mango powder.
Stir and mix well. Bring the potato gravy to a simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. To thicken the gravy slightly, you can also mash a few potatoes with the back of a spoon.
Lastly add chopped coriander leaves and garam masala powder.
Stir and serve Aloo Rasedar gravy with roti or paratha or poori. You can also garnish with a bit of chopped coriander leaves and then serve.
Notes
For a spicer version of the recipe, add some green chillies and you can also increase the red chilli powder.
If you do not have dry mango powder, add about ½ teaspoon lemon juice or as needed after cooking the gravy is complete.
By adding less or more water you can get a medium to slightly thin consistency in the gravy according to your preferences.