Many of you have tasted Kolkata’s Jhaal Jhaal Aloor Dom, those we used to got in our Parar cha er dokan. Today I took a trip down memory lane, rediscovered and made this ‘Poltu da r cha er Dokan er Aloor Dom/Kolkata Street Style Aloor Dom’ for the first time and trust me, it tasted the same that Poltu da (tea stall owner at our locality in Kolkata) used to make in his shop. 🙂

Poltu da r cha er Dokan er Aloor Dom/ Kolkata Street Style Aloor Dom

Ingredients

• Baby potatoes-500g (Boiled & peeled. Poke a few holes in the potatoes with a fork) If you are using medium sized potatoes then boil, peel & cut into halves.
• Onion- 1 medium size (chopped)
• Garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Ginger paste- 1 tsp
• Bay leaf- 1
• Cumin seeds- ½ tsp
• Salt
• Sugar- 2tsp
• Green chilies- 2-3 (halved)
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
• Fresh coriander leaves- 2tbsp (finely chopped)
• Raw & solid tamarind paste- 2 tbsp (diluted in 1/4 cup of water, take the juice only using tea infuser)
• Mustard oil

Spice powder

• Coriander seeds- 1 ½ tbsp
• Cumin seeds- ½ tbsp
• Whole dried red chilies – 3 (you can reduce the number of whole red chilies, as per your taste)
• Whole black pepper- ½ tsp
• Cinnamon stick- Three 1” pieces
• Black cardamoms- 2
• Bay leaves- 2-3

In a frying pan dry fry the spices in medium flame, till fragrant, don’t let them burn, grind until fine using a food processor/mixer grinder.

Method

Heat 4 tbsp of oil in a deep frying pan. Tamper with bay leaf and cumin seeds, once it splutters add the minced onions and cook till the onions are light brown. Next to add the ginger and garlic paste, mix and fry for a minute. Add spice powder, turmeric powder, salt and green chilies. Add some more oil (2-3 tbsp) at this stage, if required. Mix well. Fry this on medium heat till the masala starts leaving oil. Now add the boiled potatoes and tamarind juice. Mix well with the masala and fry for 4-5 minutes. All this on medium heat. Add ¾ cup of water, mix. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. The gravy will be thicker, so stir in between to prevent from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add sugar, mix and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with paratha, puri, kachori, luchi or roti. It can also be consumed as a starter.