Name: Potato Kurma For Chapathi, Biryani, Poori
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 4-5 red potatoes; 1 tbsp cooking oil; ½ tsp cumin seeds; 1 tsp saunf/fennel seeds; 1½ tsp coriander seeds; 6 whole black pepper; ½ inch cinnamon stick; 2 garlic cloves chopped; ½ inch ginger grated; 1 onion chopped; ½ tsp red chili powder; ¼ tsp turmeric powder; ½ tsp Garam Masala Powder; 1½ tbsp tomato paste; 1¼ cup grated coconuts; 6-8 whole cashews; 1 tbsp chopped Cilantro for garnish

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Potato kurma a.k.a Aloo Kurma or simply ‘ korma’ is a flavorful and fragrant curry that pairs up extremely well with Indian rotis. Coming down to the basics, it is nothing but a potato curry with a base of coconut and species with a host of vegetables including potatoes.

I have all the finer details included here that make this the authentic aloo kurma recipe!.

A copper bowl is with potato kurma on the table.

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The great aspect of this potato kurma recipe is that it is highly customizable to suit your taste.

It has a little bit of some interesting spices like cumin and coriander seeds, turmeric powder, and fennel seeds.

Unlike some of the south Indian recipes, you will not need any coriander leaves (curry leaves). I did not use any green chilies to suit the spice level I was going for.

The heart of the recipe is in creating the perfect coconut paste with the right spices and making sure the flavors seep into the vegetables.

A fine paste with the right ingredients helps in getting all the intended flavors in your dish.

With aromatic spices, this Indian potato curry recipe is a fragrant vegan dish to serve when you are bored of making your regular potato curry.

I find Potato kurma to be a perfect side dish not only for rotis but also for steamed sona masoori rice, jeera rice, and also naan.

If you are looking for roti recipes, I have a couple that will pair with Potato Kurma perfectly and those are the phulka roti and the besan roti recipe.

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Ingredients notes
Instructions
Expert tips
Storage
Serving suggestions
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Ingredients notes

Potato kurma ingredients are on the table. — Aloo kurma ingredients

Potatoes: Use red or brown russet potatoes for best results. These potatoes give the right blend of sweetness and consistency to the curry. You can also use baby potatoes for equally good results.
Grated coconut: I used frozen grated coconuts that were thawed to room temperature. It is also a great idea to use fresh coconut if you have it. I have tried the coconut powder at times and found that it does not offer the creaminess we need for this recipe.
Spices: Spices like cumin seeds, coriander seeds, saunf or fennel seeds, black pepper, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cinnamon play a very important role in the Potato kurma recipe. Be sure not to skip any of these ingredients.
Cashew nuts: I used about 7-8 softened whole cashew nuts. To soften, soak them in warm water for about 10 minutes. Soaking is optional. However, it does help in making the paste a lot creamier.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

For the quick and easy method first, peel the skin of the potatoes. And cook them in a pressure cooker for up to 2 whistles. Or cook the potatoes on the stovetop until it is soft.

Once the potatoes are cooked, place them on a plate. Let it cool down before dicing them into cubes.

A blender is with dry ingredients for kurma

Blend the grated coconuts, coriander seeds, saunf, cinnamon, black pepper, and soaked cashews (soaked in warm water for 10 minutes to soften) with ½ cup of water. Blend to a smooth paste consistency and place it aside.

A steel vessel is with oil and cumin seeds over heat.

Place a steel or nonstick pan over medium flame on a stovetop. Add 1 tablespoon oil (coconut or olive oil) and the oil heats up, add cumin seeds.

a pan is with oil, garlic and ginger over the heat.

When cumin seeds start to sizzle, add grated ginger and chopped garlic and saute it for a minute.

A medium vessel with potato kurma masala over the heat.

Now, add chopped or sliced onions and saute until they turn translucent.

Add tomato paste and 3 tablespoons of water and stir well.

Add red chili powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala powder, and continue to stir well. Simmer down the flame to a low setting and let the curry flavors cook a little. Keep it on low flame until the raw smell disappears.

A pan is with aloo kurma masala over the heat.

Next, add the blended paste and mix well.

A pan is with cooked kurma gravy over the heat.

Now, the gravy starts to thicken. Add ½ cup - ¾ cups of water as per your preference to get a perfect consistency.

Potato kurma is cooking over medium heat.

Cook for another 1-2 minutes on medium flame add the cubed potatoes and mix well

A pan full of potato kurma is garnished with cilantro.

Simmer for 2 minutes and switch off the heat. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Potato kurma is ready to serve with rice, puri, chapathi, or naan!

Expert tips

If you don't like to add or use any potatoes, substitute that with other vegetables like cauliflower, carrots and make it a vegetable kurma instead of potato kurma.
Substituting canned coconut milk instead of grated coconuts is a faster way to get a creamy base.
Substituting cashews with other nuts like almonds and poppy seeds if that suits your taste better.
I used tomato paste instead of chopped tomatoes, but you are welcome to use chopped tomatoes. 2 chopped tomatoes is probably equivalent to a teaspoon of tomato paste.
Always use fresh spices to make the dish flavorful and aromatic.
Make sure the grated coconut and cashews are ground into a smooth paste. Adding a little bit of water will ease the grinding process.
You could also cook the potatoes in an Instant pot instead of a pressure cooker or a stovetop and pressure cook them for 6-8 minutes.
If you want to make your recipe even richer and flavorful, add poppy seeds (one tablespoon) or basil seeds to the coconut spice mix before blending.
Use ginger garlic paste instead for grated ginger and garlic.
The addition of whole spices compared to the powders can make a big difference. Whole spices offer the full spectrum of flavor from the spices. If you don't find any, use powders like coriander powder instead of seeds.
You can prepare this kurma with little or no oil when you saute the ingredients.
Adding bay leaf adds a new dimension to the flavor if that interests you.

Storage

Potato curry is best served hot. The flavor is retained for a day or two in the refrigerator, I do not recommend storing it for more than a couple of days.

Freezing: I would not recommend freezing as the texture and taste changes the longer it freezes. I recommend thawing to room temperature before reheating over a stovetop.

Serving suggestions

This recipe is the same dish served by restaurants under the names Poori Kurrma, Chapati Kurma, etc. I find this a great option to pair with rice dishes like Jeera Rice, Veg biryani, and coconut rice too!