Potato Curry Recipe (Indian Aloo Curry)

potato curry garnished with coriander leaves and served in a blue rimmed white bowl.

4.85 from 26 votes

Potato Curry Recipe (Indian Aloo Curry)

In the Indian cuisine, a basic Potato Curry is a simple dish made with potatoes, with the addition of onions, tomatoes or yogurt combined with various spices and herbs. While there are many variations, this Potato Curry recipe is a flavorful one. It is made by cooking potatoes in a sautéed masala mix of onions, tomatoes, ground spices and herbs. The entire recipe is made in one pan or pot and comes together quickly. Gluten-free and vegan recipe as well.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 150kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

4 medium-sized or (280 grams) potatoes - rinsed, peeled and chopped
½ cup or (60 grams) onions - chopped
1 cup tightly packed or (160 grams) tomatoes - chopped
½ teaspoon garlic - finely chopped
3 tablespoons oil - any neutral oil, you can also add 2 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
1 teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder or ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
½ teaspoon Garam Masala
½ teaspoon cumin powder (ground cumin), optional
2 cups water or add as needed
¼ cup coriander leaves - chopped (cilantro)
salt as required

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Sautéing onions & tomatoes

Heat oil in a pan or wok or kadai. You can use any neutral flavored oil. My personal preference is to use peanut oil for this recipe.
Add finely chopped garlic and sauté for a few seconds. No need to brown garlic.
Next add chopped onions. Keep on stirring in intervals and sauté on medium-low or medium heat until they turn translucent and are softened.
Next add the chopped tomatoes and mix very well.
Cover the pan with its lid and simmer on a low or medium-low heat till the tomatoes soften and become mushy.
Do check a couple of times when the tomatoes are cooking.
When the tomatoes have softened nicely and turned mushy lower the heat. Add turmeric powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and cumin powder (optional).
Mix the ground spice powders thoroughly with the onion-tomato mixture.

Adding potatoes

Next add diced potatoes. Season with salt as required. Mix very well.
Pour 2 cups water and mix again.

Cooking potato curry

Cover the pan with its lid and simmer on a medium to medium-high heat until the potatoes are cooked well.
The potatoes may take about 15 to 20 minutes to cook and become fork tender depending on their quality and the size of the diced cubes.
Do check a couple of times when the curry is simmering.
The curry will thicken slightly by the time the potatoes are done.
You can adjust the consistency of the curry as per your needs.
Example if you want to serve this potato curry with rice then you can add a bit more water and let the curry be slightly thin in consistency.
In case you are planing to have it with roti or plain paratha, then you can add less water and make the curry consistency more thick.
Once you get the desired consistency in the curry and the potatoes are fork tender, turn off the heat and add chopped coriander leaves. Mix very well.
Serve this simple basic Indian Potato Curry hot or warm with your preferred side dish. Garnish with some coriander leaves if you prefer.

Serving Suggestions

Indian breads: Roti, paratha, poori pair nicely with this potato curry.
Rice: Steamed white rice or jeera rice also tastes good with aloo curry.
Baked breads: Any good loaf of white bread or whole grain bread pairs well with potato curry. You can also serve it with dinner rolls.

Notes

Recipe Tips

Potato variety: Use red skinned potatoes, Yukon gold (yellow potatoes), baby potatoes, and russet potatoes.
Spices: The list of ground spices in the recipe are the basic Indian ground spices which you can easily find online on amazon or in an Indian or asian grocery store.
Spicing: If you want to make a spicy curry then you can increase the red chilli powder or add ½ teaspoon chopped green chilli.
Tomatoes: Use ½ cup tomato puree or 1 cup chopped or crushed canned tomatoes as a substitute for fresh tomatoes.
Garam Masala: Replace garam masala powder with ½ teaspoon of curry powder, if you do not have it.

Instant Pot Cooking

Press the sauté button of your IP. Heat oil in the steel insert. Add garlic and sauté for a couple of seconds.
Add in the onions and sauté stirring often until onions soften. Add the chopped tomatoes and and sauté until the tomatoes soften and become pulpy.
Now add all the ground spices and mix thoroughly. Add the diced potatoes, salt and 1 cup water. Mix and deglaze.
Pressure cook on high for 3 to 4 minutes. Do a quick pressure release after 3 minutes.
If you find the curry thin for your liking, then press the sauté button and sauté the curry for 5 to 7 minutes until you get the desired consistency. Mix in the coriander leaves and serve hot.

Nutrition