Baniyon wale Dahi ke Alu



I have gone through more than my fair share of identity crisis, as all my life I have been mistaken for a Punjabi, even though my knowledge of Punjabi is laughable at best , and way below what most dilliwallahs can manage!

Not only in Mumbai, did I have to patiently educate junta that just because I am from Delhi does not automatically qualify me as a Punjabi, but the worst was when most Delhi folks also mistook me for one! :-O

The story continues in Singapore too, as the minute I step into any Indian DVD store, all the latest 'punjabi' hits are offered to me!:((

Bhags, I am sure you understand what I go through, and taking a page from your book, I assert my 'bania-ness' with this authentic, homestyle recipe for 'dahi wale aloo'.


The Baniyas of UP rarely ever use onion and garlic in their food, relying on simple spices to create subtle but delicious gravy dishes. This recipe is usually made with boiled, mashed potatoes or arbi(colocasia), but this time I used baby potatoes, just because they look so cute !

Ingredients
Boiled & peeled whole baby potatoes, 10 to 12
1 medium tomato
1/2 cup dahi (plain yoghurt)
a small knob of ginger, peeled
one or two fresh green chillies,optional
1/2 tsp each cumin seeds, red chili powder, turmeric & coriander powder
a pinch of hing ( asafoetida)
2 tsp oil
salt to taste

How to:
Poke the potatoes gently in a couple of places with a fork, toothpick, or the back of a matchstick, as our cook used to!
Whizz the tomatoes, ginger & green chillis in a blender. Heat the oil in a pan and add hing & cumin. As soon as the cumin starts popping, (it should not burn or blacken, will turn bitter!), add the dry spice powders and the tomato, ginger-chili paste. Fry nicely, till it leaves some oil.
Now, take it off the flame and after a minute or so, add half the yoghurt, stirring constantly. Put the pan back on the flame and stir for a couple of minutes till the yoghurt gets completely cooked. This is an important step, if ignored, the curd can split and get curdled!
Add around 2 cups of water and salt and let it simmer till the water is reduced by half a cup. Now take some of the gravy and mix it with the remaining yoghurt and add it back to the saucepan, which should be on a really low flame. Check for seasoning, garnish with fresh coriander and serve with plain paranthe or poori.



For those who can read Hindi, here's another homestyle way of making dahi aloo without the tomatoes, resulting in the typical 'yellow' dahi aloo. Me? I love my tomatoes!

31 comments:

  1. waaaah do u want me to do a ailaan on my blog that my cute fren rash is a baniya :) ....
    waise thinks for this one.... making something without onions is a task for me... banaungi jaldi hi theek ... but shayad cheating kar lun ... thoda sa pyaz dalkar :D

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  2. This looks great! I make dahi wale aloo too, but I've never made it with tomatoes, going to give this a shot!

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  3. The potatoes do look cute... what a tasty looking curry that is. Must give this a shot.

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  4. Oh, I read it as Banian like Salman used to dance with as in Banian Khan!:D
    So you are a Delhi Baniya, huh? I posted a Banarasi Aloo at Aroma once, I don't think there is any connection betn Baniya and Banaras, is there? Phew! India is confusing! Haha!!
    Looks delicious. I have few Potatoes left to use up before I leave next week, will make this!:)

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  5. Asha, you totally crack me up:D
    Banian wale dahi ke alu is too funny, hehe:D

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  6. Yeah sweetie, I understand what you mean....but these things dont affect right?

    Those dahi ke aloo are delicious looking, never made this with whole aloo....will have to try this version

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  7. hey i'm a delhi ka baniya too! what a co-incidence! Yeah my mom doesn't use onion or garlic in any sabji.. i've started using onion though.. but whenever I crave for that homestyle taste, i make it without onion. Its so much simpler to make too..

    Your pictures look so great! I know what i'm making for dinner now :)

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  8. Asha cracks me up too.:D

    The BWDKA looks fabulous! I don't think I've made an aloo anything without using at least a little bit of onion. :)

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  9. What a doable recipe. I know what you mean about identity crisis. I am a Sindhi who feels much more like a punju here in America. It's only when I go back home or if the parents are visiting that the Sindhiness sets in.
    Btw, I just noticed we are pretty much the same age, I'm 33 and I'm a Pisces too.

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  10. Baby potatoes look so cute dear.. awesome curry

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  11. Hi...Wow! i have also always been mistaken for a Punjabi my whole life, Just because I'm tall and my last name is Singh. What to do..so, I assert my Rajput-ness by fighting against it! :-)
    Your recipe is very similar to one my Mom makes, we are from UP originally. Unfortunately, it is not one I have tried, but I will definitely try this one out! :-)

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  12. looks cute,..good choice,..nd ya delicious too...

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  13. Dahi wale aloo looks great. I made dahi wale aloo with cilantro and mint chutney. Will try urs soon!!!

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  14. My neighbour makes this. They call it dahi aloo shaak:) I know this tastes good - made it long time back! Looks great too:)

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  15. I just read Asha's comment! Had to laugh - I thought Salman could only be banian less;) BTW I had Baniya frndz in school and liked their food very much:)

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  16. yummy looking aloo sabzi! I have a lot of baniya friends and u're title drew me here :-)
    How would i make this with arbi? Just use cooked arbi -wont it be sticky? I have a bunch of arbi at home, thats why I'm asking :-) delicious pics!

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  17. I love potatoes. Yours looks good.

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  18. aloo curry looks deleciousssss

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  19. Latha,if you want to make it with arbi, boil them till they are 80% cooked or so, so that they can be peeled easily. Then chop them into thick circles. In UP a little ajwain is always added to arbi, so u may want to add that while tempering.I do find boiled arbi in gravy a bit slimy for me sometimes,but like my hubby says, its silky not slimy !

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  20. I love UP baniya cooking as well as the UP brahmin cooking :-) will try this dish soon :-)

    sent you an email. Do check

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  21. cute looking potatoes!!i do remember eating good bania dishes in my childhood, nice recipe.

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  22. I have made boiled aloo with tomatoes like you ..I call it rajasthani way as i learnt it from my sil ... but never with dahi ... can't wait to try this .. hubby is going to love this ... btw .. am glad u did not put in 'hara dhania' in that lovely looking dish .. i hate them ;-p
    About your id crisis .. well ... lemme first find out what is a 'baniya':-( then u can have my shoulder to cry on .... what say? :-)

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  23. this looks great love the color. We make one with tomatoes but not the dahi.

    Thank you Rashmi I am much better now, it was 4 years back and just have the residule pain.

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  24. Great recipe.. very new to me! Anything without onions is very interesting for me, sure got to try this one!

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  25. Ok, add me in the list too...I'm too mistaken for punjabi :-(..and I keep repeating same stuff...I'm not punjabi...now a days..before anyone open their mouth...I offer first..'Im not punjabi'...then the next qn comes...you are from??!! Anyway coming back to your Dahi ke Alu...My mom use to make the same way..and na...we are not baniya's ;)

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  26. Hi Rashmi, no pyaaz, no lahsun, no problem! it still looks equally delicious :)

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  27. Hi there...This sounds so delicious..I am a big fan of potatoes and one without onion-garlic..a blessing for the time when I get a guest who does not eat onion and garlic! :) Blogrolling it..

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  28. I have been dying to put this recipe on my blog since I started it. But the problem is my yogurt keeps splitting. I've tried the thicker full fat version, but the texture gets ruined. Will try your method and feed back.

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  29. Mallika, for a long time, dahi gravies gave me the same trouble. What works for me now is:
    1.Not adding dahi to a simmering mixture, that is adding it after taking the whole thing off the stove for a minute, and
    2. Stirring constantly after adding the curd till it homogenises completely with the rest.

    Hope this works for you too!

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  30. As a novice cook it will greatly help me if you could specify at what point the blasted potatoes go in! Thanks

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