Dum Aloo is a North Indian curry with baby potatoes simmered in onion and tomato-based gravy, spiced with turmeric, red chili pepper, garam masala, and garnished with dried fenugreek leaves. This vegetarian Instant Pot recipe is ready in under 30 minutes with creamy kid-friendly flavors that can be easily spiced down or up. A perfect weeknight dinner and a sure-hit dish for potlucks and parties!
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This Recipe originally published in April 2017 has been updated with new photos, a video, and tips.
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Mom's signature recipe
Dum aloo is my mom's signature recipe that I grew up eating. The baby potatoes are cooked to perfection in a smooth, aromatic, and creamy sauce with a hint of homemade garam masala , and dried fenugreek leaves that take the flavors and aromas to the next level. Just like my EASY Palak Paneer and Mushroom Masala, this creamy, restaurant-style Indian curry uses a swirl of cashew paste to round up the flavors.
Ingredient Spotlight
- Baby Potatoes - red or yellow baby potatoes in this recipe, traditionally the potatoes are peeled for this recipe but you may choose to keep the skin on for added nutrients.
- Spices - Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala add the perfect warmth and authetic flavors to this curry
- Ginger and Garlic - fresh homemade ginger and garlic paste
- Tomatoes - I like to add store-bought tomato puree to this dish which adds vibrant red color to the dish. You can use homemade tomato puree by simply pureeing 3 rough-chopped ripe tomatoes in a blender.
Tips and Substitutes
- Potatoes - You can buy red or yellow baby potatoes, available in most grocery stores. A mix of 2 also works well. Coring baby potatoes is an optional step. I know that is the most tedious step in this recipe, so go ahead and skip coring potatoes. It will be still delicious If you do not find baby potatoes, use Yukon gold or Russet potatoes, peel, and cut into big 2-inch pieces
- Tomatoes - 1 cup of store-bought tomato puree can be used in place of fresh tomato puree
- Gluten-Free - The curry itself is gluten-free. Serve with rice for a gluten-free meal
- Vegan Dum Aloo - Use cooking oil instead of ghee and soak cashews in water instead of milk.
- Kid-Friendly - Adjust the garam masala and Kashmiri red chili powder to make the dish less spicy
- Nut Allergies - Use heavy cream or unsweetened coconut cream instead of cashew cream
- Dried fenugreek leaves - These are not the same as fenugreek seeds. So simply skip it if you do not have them
How to make Dum Aloo
- Peel the potatoes and core about half an inch using a pairing knife. Reserve the cored potato bits as we will be adding them to the sauce. (photos 1 -4)
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and heat ghee. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes with a glass lid on. Add ginger and garlic paste, tomato puree, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala, and salt. Cook on saute mode for a minute. Next, add the potatoes, the carved-out pieces, and water. Give a quick stir and close the Instant Pot. Pressure cook(Hi) for 8 minutes followed by Quick Release (photos 5 - 8)
- Open the Instant Pot and add dried fenugreek leaves, cashew paste, and chopped cilantro. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and mix everything together. Add salt to taste. Bring to a gentle boil and then turn the Instant Pot off. (photos 9 - 12)
Serving
Serve with homemade whole wheat parathas and crunchy cucumber salad. You can also serve the dum aloo with roti, kale parathas, cabbage parathas, methi thepla, or naan. For a gluten-free meal serve with Basmati rice, Brown rice, or Yogurt-Rice
Storing
Refrigerate leftover Dum Aloo for up to 5 days. To reheat simply microwave or heat on the stovetop. This is also a perfect make-ahead dish.
Love Indian food? Here are some more delicious Indian Instant Pot Recipes:
- Aloo Rasedar
- Curried Baby Eggplant
- Curried Chickpeas
- Spicy potatoes
- Vegetable Kurma
- Pav Bhaji
- Misal Pav
★ Have you tried this recipe? We love your feedback, Please click on the stars in the recipe card below to rate.
Recipe
Instant Pot Dum Aloo
Equipment
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 10 baby potatoes peeled and cored from the top (save the carved out potato pieces)
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1 large yellow onion finely diced
- 2 teaspoons ginger grated
- 2 teaspoons garlic grated
- 2 tomatoes pureed
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder or any other mild red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup water See Note 8
- 15 cashews
- ¼ cup warm milk or water for dairy free
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Soak cashews in warm milk for 10 minutes and set aside. Blend together to make smooth paste and reserve.
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and heat add ghee. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes with a glass lid on, stirring few times. Add ginger and garlic paste, cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the carved-out pieces from the potatoes. Add tomato puree, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala, and salt. Cook everything on saute mode for 2 minutes with glass lid on, stirring a couple of times. Press the cancel button to turn off the saute mode.
- Add the potatoes to the Instant Pot insert along with the water and give a quick stir. Close the Instant Pot, and pressure cook(Hi) for 8 minutes followed by Quick Release.
- Stir in dried fenugreek leaves, cashew paste and chopped cilantro. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and mix everything together. Add salt to taste. Bring to gentle boil and then turn the Instant Pot off. Serve with hot parathas.
Notes
- Potatoes - You can buy red or yellow baby potatoes, available in most grocery stores. A mix of 2 also works well. Coring baby potatoes is an optional step. I know that is the most tedious step in this recipe, so go ahead and skip coring potatoes. It will be still delicious If you do not find baby potatoes, use Yukon gold or Russet potatoes, peel, and cut into big 2-inch pieces
- Tomatoes - 1 cup of store-bought tomato puree can be used in place of fresh tomato puree
- Gluten-Free - The curry itself is gluten-free. Serve with rice for a gluten-free meal
- Vegan Dum Aloo - Use cooking oil instead of ghee and soak cashews in water instead of milk.
- Kid-Friendly - Adjust the garam masala and Kashmiri red chili powder to make the dish less spicy
- Nut Allergies - Use heavy cream or unsweetened coconut cream instead of cashew cream
- Dried fenugreek leaves - These are not the same as fenugreek seeds. So simply skip it if you do not have them
- BURN Error - The newer Instant Pots are more sensitive to the BURN. You may need to add an extra ¼ cup of water.
Nutrition
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Cook with Smile.. says
Delicious ?
Archana says
Thank you Lathi!
Laura @ Feast Wisely says
Love this recipe Archana - gives me an excuse to buy some of those dried fenugreek leaves I've seen in my local wholefoods store!
Archana says
Hi Laura! Thank you. Yes I am also so happy that whole foods is carrying all these spices. There are few other recipes on my blog that use dried fenugreek leaves so they will def be useful. They give indian curries a restaurant-like taste.
Laura @ Feast Wisely says
Hi Archana I made this yesterday and wow! Amazing sauce and I'm so glad I made a big batch with some now in th freezer for my next Indian feast. My husband, whose mum is an amazing Gujarati cook, said it was fantastic too ??
Archana says
Hi Laura, SO glad that you and the family enjoyed this. It is a big compliment coming from your Gujarati mom in law!! Thank you. Comes out so delicious so such less efforts right? You can also stir in peas in the end if you like.
Louise Samson says
Absolutely amazing dish! Loved every bit of it (and unfortunately ate the whole pot all to myself). Easy, flavourful, and just wonderful. Next time, I feel like cutting the potatoes in half and put them in without peeling (I had really tiny potatoes); the skin is nutritious and tastes good in the IP. So does your Chicken Korma I made last night. Thank you for all these great recipes!!!
Archana says
Thank you Lousie! So glad that you are enjoying my recipes. I agree that the potato skin is nutritious, so cutting them in half will also work well.
Hetal says
This recipe is great, I have made a few times already! Will be following you for all your IP recipes! Thank you;)
Archana says
Thank you Hetal! Comments like these make the time I take to perfect these recipes so worth it. Thank you. Thank you.
Laura @ Feast Wisely says
Hi Archana - I loved your dum aloo so much I've dedicated my latest blog post to it - here's the link, I hope you approve...... https://feastwisely.com/2017/06/07/dum-aloo-sauce-archanas-recipe/
Archana says
Hi Laura! It warms my heart to hear that you enjoyed this recipe. I feel honored that you dedicated your blog post to it, and I love that we share the same love for these recipes. Thank you! Thank you!!
Elaine @ foodbod says
I've just seen your sauce on Laura's blog, and it does sound lovely. I take it it can be cooked in a saucepan, I don't need to use an instant pot?
Archana says
Hi Elaine, yes do not need a instant pot. It can be cooked in a sauce pan. Let me know if you have any questions. I will be happy to help!
Noela Botelho says
Made this per your instructions, and loved it! Finally found THE dum aloo recipe! This one is definitely going into my list of faves for parties! Thanks so much for sharing, I'm a huge fan!
Archana says
Thank you Noela! I am SO glad you enjoyed this easy and authentic tasting recipe.
sai says
Hi Archana I love this recipe and have tried it tonnes of times . I am planning to make it for my girl's birthday for about 25 guests. Should I just increase the proportions based on the servings or do you hve another suggestion? How much can I make in IP at a time.
Archana says
Hi Sai! I think you can easily increase all the ingredients by four times. Your initial sauté time will increase but the pressure cook time will still remain the same. This dish also tastes better the next day so you can also make this ahead of time and then reheat before serving. Hope this helps. And wishing a very happy birthday to your daughter!
sai says
Thanks a ton!
Priya says
Hi Archana. I had the same question as sai and im glad to see your reply. I'm planning to make for around 20 guests and I wonder if my IP duo plus 6QT can accommodate the sauce and around 35-40 baby potatoes? Also I don't have an IP glass lid but have regualr kadai glass lid. Can i use this lid? Kindly reply.
Archana says
You can coon 35-49 Baby potatoes just make sure you scrape the pot well after sauteeing etc. nothing should stick to the bottom . And yes any lid works
Priya says
Thank you archana.. Will update you once I make this today.
Archana says
Can't wait to hear how you like it.
Priya says
Hi Archana. I had used around 45 baby potatoes and IP couldnt generate pressure at all. the gravy was sticking to the base even though after deglazing pot. I even moved entire content 3 times to different kadai and washed the inner pot after scraping all brown bits but even then the IP could not generate pressure. I did add sufficient amount of water but still gravy was getting stuck at the bottom each time. Finally I had to move the sabzi to a normal pressure cooker and it turned out to be good.
Thank you.
Archana says
Hi Priya, Sorry this didn't work out. I guess with starchy potatoes and the fact that the Instant Pot insert does not have too much width, it must stick to the bottom. I have only doubled it in the pastor 20 potatoes. But we know now for the future.
Anjum says
Hi Archana, this looks like a fantastic recipe. One question - do you have a recommendation on a substitue for the cashews? We have treenut allergy in the family.
Thanks!
Archana says
Hi Anjum! Unsweetened coconut cream or low fat cream makes a good substitute for cashew cream. Hope this helps.
stuti says
Archana - how much of the coconut cream would you recommend?
Thanks
Stuti
Archana says
2-4 tablespoon (depending on the creaminess you desire) of unsweetened coconut cream will work. Hope this helps. Can't wait to hear how you liked this dish!
stuti says
Hi Archana
I plan to make this for our Diwali spread tomorrow. Quick question. My daughter doesn't have dairy so I want to replace milk with almond milk (or another substitute). What is your recommendation?
Thanks!
Stuti
Archana says
Hi Stuti, you can soak the cashews in warm water instead of milk to make the cashew paste and use it.
Mara says
How do u carve out the baby potatoes?
Archana says
Hi Mara,
I have a small 'curved pairing knife' that makes the coring easier. But I sometimes also just cube large potatoes and use them in this dish. It is equally delicious. Let me know if you have any questions.
Smitha says
I just made this and it was WOWWWWW
Archana says
Double all ingredients! Just sauté time will increase but same pressure cook time! So glad you enjoyed this. I will have to keep telling my mom how much everyone is loving her recipe! Let me know how the doubling works out!!
Pat says
I got home late after a busy day, wondered what I was going to eat. I found some potatoes that needed cooking. Searched on aloo instant pot to see what I could find. Found this recipe, saw I had most all the ingredients, so I tried it. I made it vegan by substituting water for the milk and the ghee. It still came out so delicious! Thank you so much for this recipe. You say it's even better the next day so I am restraining myself from eating it all right now! Thanks Archana and Archana's mom too!!
Archana says
Hi Pat! I am SO happy to see this note from you. It truly makes my day when I see my followers enjoying the recipes I work on. I will surely pass on your message to my mom. AndI hope you have some leftovers for today. If not, double the recipe next time!
Puneeta says
Hi Archana...I have aloo dum following the recipe couple of times and it has always turned out very nice..but this it became very spicy...any tips on how can I reduce the spiciness?
Archana says
Hi Puneeta! Make some more cashew paste and add it to the curry and may be a tablespoon of ghee to reduce spiciness
Rajani says
hi archana, i have made your recipe twice now..it turned sooo delicious .. everybody just loved it.. thanks a lot for the recipe:) 🙂
Archana says
You are welcome!
Rahul K says
Archana, I've used your recipe to make Dum Aloo on a couple of occasions. I must say... it came out AWESOME! The combination of ghee and fenugreek leaves does the trick I feel. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and taking the time and pain to post detailed, easy-for-dummies-like-me friendly recipes. Keep'em going.
Archana says
Hi Rahul, Thank you so much for your lovely note. I am so glad you are trying out all my recipes. I hope you will try more recipes and enjoy them!
Renuka Singh says
Tried this today and came out perfect. thanks for the post 🙂
Kruti says
Hello
I tried the recipe today and it was easy and yummy . Thank you so much for the great , yummy and easy recipe .one more new dish when there is a party. Yay! Thank you
Archana says
You are welcome Kruti! Thank you for your lovely feedback.
Punam Paul says
Liked this creamy greavy. We usually prepare this recipe in light greavy. The taste of the recipe greavy shared by you is fabulous.
Archana says
Thank you Punam. So glad you enjoyed it. Do rate the recipe on the recipe card