This is a South Indian style recipe of a delicious, flavorful and hotel style Potato Kurma or Aloo Kurma. Great to serve as a side dish with chapathi, poori, pulao, biryani, idli or dosa.
Heat a small skillet or frying pan. Add the spices mentioned under the list 'For thekurma masala' and on a low heat, lightly roast them, stirring often till they are fragrant.
You do not need to brown the spices. Allow these spices to cool.
Then take them in a grinder jar or spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Set aside.
In a small bowl whisk or beat fresh full fat curd (yogurt) till smooth. Set aside.
Rinse the potatoes thoroughly in water. Peel and chop them in 1.5 to 2 inches cubes. Also peel, rinse and chop the onions and prep the other ingredients.
Making potato kurma
Heat a pan or 2 litre stovetop pressure cooker. Keep the heat to a low. Add the whole spices - 2 cloves, 2 green cardamoms and 1 inch cinnamon. Fry till the spices are fragrant.
Next add thinly sliced onions.
Stir and sauté the onions on medium-low or medium heat till they start to become golden or caramelize. Add a pinch of salt to quicken the process of caramelizing.
Now add ginger-garlic paste. Stir and sauté for a few seconds till their raw aroma goes away.
Add peeled and chopped potatoes.
Add the prepared ground kurma masala or spice mix. Stir and sauté for a minute on low heat.
Now add the beaten curd (yogurt). Stir and mix very well.
Add 1 to 1.5 cups water or as needed if using a stovetop pressure cooker. If cooking potatoes in a pot or pan, add water as needed and simmer on gentle heat until potatoes are tender.
Season with salt. Cover and pressure cook for 2 whistles on medium to medium-high heat.
When the pressure drops naturally in the cooker, then only open the lid. Check the potatoes with a fork. The potatoes should be cooked well but still retain their shape.
Keep the pressure cooker on the stove top on a low heat.
Add thick coconut milk and 8 to 10 cashews. Stir and mix very well.
Simmer on a low heat for 8 to 10 minutes till the curry thickens a bit.
Serve aloo kurma hot with poori or chapati. You can also pair potato kurma with idli, dosa, pulao or biryani.
Notes
Coconut milk: Instead of coconut milk use grated coconut or desiccated coconut. Grind ⅓ cup tightly packed grated fresh coconut or ⅓ cup desiccated coconut with the roasted whole spices with some water to a smooth paste. Then add this coconut spice paste at step 8.
Potato: Most varieties of potato work well in this recipe. You can also use new potatoes.
Poppy seeds: Omit adding poppy seeds if they are not available to you. The taste will slightly vary in the kurma gravy.
Red Chillies: For a nice orange or red color gravy, use kashmiri red chillies or byadagi chillies. If using a spicier variety of dry red chillies then reduce the amount.
Consistency: Add less or more water to the kurma gravy depending on the consistency you prefer. But do not make thin or runny consistency.
Vegan option: Make the potato kurma with plant based yogurt or skip adding the yogurt. The taste and flavor will differ with the type of plant based yogurt added to the gravy. You can also opt to add ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes if skipping yogurt. Sauté the tomatoes after sautéing ginger-garlic paste until they turn mushy and soften.