Jeera Aloo Recipe

jeera aloo served in a ceramic bowl with a side of puri

4.83 from 29 votes

Jeera Aloo is a classic North Indian side dish made with boiled potato cubes sautéed in oil or ghee with cumin, ground spices, herbs and lemon juice. The recipe is naturally gluten-free, vegan and gets ready in less than thirty minutes from start to finish. It is best paired with roti, chapati, paratha or poori.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: North Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 86kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For cooking potatoes

5 to 6 or (500 grams) potatoes - medium-sized
½ teaspoon salt
water as required

Other ingredients

3 tablespoons oil - sunflower, peanut or any neutral tasting oil
3 teaspoons cumin seeds (jeera)
1 to 1.5 teaspoons green chilies - finely chopped, can use serrano peppers - check point 4 below in notes
½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper or paprika
salt as required
¼ cup coriander leaves - chopped (cilantro)
2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice or add according to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cooking potatoes

Scrub and rinse potatoes very well in water.
Steam or cook the potatoes in a pan, stove-top pressure cooker or in the Instant pot.
a) Cooking in a stove-top pressure cooker: In a 3 or 4 litre pressure, add the potatoes and pour enough water which just about covers the potatoes. Pressure cook on medium-heat for 7 to 9 minutes. When the cooking is complete, wait until all the pressure falls in the cooker and then remove the lid.
b) Cooking in a pan or pot: Peel, and chop the potatoes in small cubes. Add water enough to cover the potatoes. Sprinkle salt. Cover and simmer on a low to medium-low heat until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain all the water and set aside.
c) Pressure cooking in the Instant Pot: Place a trivet in the steel insert of a 6 quart IP. Keep the potatoes on top of the trivet. If you do not have a trivet, you can use a steaming pan which fits in the steel insert. Pressure cook for 20 to 25 minutes on high pressure. Do a quick pressure release (QPR) after 5 to 7 minutes.
The potatoes should be just cooked until barely fork-tender and not crumbly.
If you have cooked the potatoes, in a stove-top pressure cooker or in the Instant pot, then let the potatoes become warm or cool at room temperature, then peel them and cut into small cubes.

Making jeera aloo

In a pan, heat oil on medium heat. Let the oil become hot.
Lower the heat and add cumin seeds and let them crackle in the oil taking care not to burn them. Stir them when they begin to crackle.
The cumin seeds should brown but not burn, so be sure to keep them moving. They must crackle and you must get the lovely earthy aroma from them.
Now add chopped green chillies and mix very well.
Add the potato cubes and mix again.
Sprinkle turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt as required. Mix thoroughly.
Saute the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes on low to medium flame stirring often.
Next add 2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice, depending on how much tangy flavor you prefer. Start with 1 teaspoon, mix and taste as you add a bit more of the lemon juice at a time to reach just the right level of tanginess.
Finish off with ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves.
Combine and mix thoroughly. Switch off the heat.

Serving suggestions

Serve Jeera Aloo hot or warm with roti, poori, paratha or your favorite bread. You can also serve it as a side dish with dal and steamed rice.

Storage

Refrigerate any leftovers for 1 to 2 days. You can wraps or grilled/toasted sandwiches with the leftovers.

Video

Notes

Lemon juice substitute: In place of lemon juice, you can also add 2 teaspoons dried mango powder (amchur powder) or 2 teaspoons dried pomegranate powder (anardana powder). If using the latter, add it with the turmeric powder and red chili powder.
Type of potatoes: Use yukon gold (yellow potatoes), red skinned potatoes, baby potatoes, new potatoes or russet potatoes.
Spice and herb variations: You can add about 1 teaspoon minced ginger. 1 teaspoon of ground coriander (coriander powder) and ½ teaspoon of garam masala powder also gives good flavors.
Fats: While I make jeera aloo in oil, for a richer version, opt to make it in ghee.
Green chillies: Green chillies bring in the pungency and heat to the dish. If you are sensitive to spice, then skip the green chillies or just add about ¼ to ½ teaspoon of chopped chillies or serrano peppers.

Nutrition