Punjabi Potatoes in Onion & Tomato Gravy: Dum Aloo

"Dum Aloo," also called "Aloo Dum" and other terms, has some regional variations, with this recipe here being based upon the style prepared in Punjab. Punjab is a region with parts in northern India and Pakistan. The part of Punjab in India is one of India's states, while the part in Pakistan is a province of Pakistan. The Indian state of Punjab has a majority Sikh population, the only Indian state with such, and in Pakistani Punjab, Sikhs are also part of the population, but they are far from a majority there.     

 

This Punjabi style potato dish is not terribly spicy hot, and it is thickened with ground cashews.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 1/2 pounds of small white or small Yukon Gold potatoes

water for cooking the potatoes, seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil

3 tablespoons yogurt, stirred so that it's smooth

1/2 cup chopped tomato, seeded (small chop)

1/3 cup chopped red onion (small chop)

1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

(optional) 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida 

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

3 teaspoons Kashmiri ground red pepper (or 1 teaspoon cayenne and 2 teaspoons sweet paprika)

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 inch piece cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

2 green cardamom pods, slit or cracked 

3 whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 cup water

15 cashews, ground into meal

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped

 

Rinse the potatoes, then in a pan cover the potatoes with water and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Boil the potatoes over medium heat. Cook until the potatoes are just cooked through, they should not be mushy at all. Drain the potatoes well, let them cool a little, then peel them (the peels/skins should come off pretty easily). In a skillet, add the 5 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the potatoes and let them fry, turning them often, until they are lightly browned. Remove the potatoes to a dish and set aside. Drain oil from the skillet to leave only about 2 tablespoons in the skillet over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, whole cloves, cardamom pods and peppercorns, stir often and let them fry for about 1 1/2 minutes, then add the onion and saute another 2 minutes before adding the chopped tomato, ginger and garlic, stir and keep breaking up the tomatoes. Continue cooking the ingredients until the onion softens, then add the asafoetida (if using), turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder (or cayenne/paprika substitute), ground coriander and ground cumin, stir well to mix. Cook for another 2 minutes, then add the fenugreek leaves, yogurt and sugar and stir to mix them in, then add 1 cup water and stir to mix everything well. Let the mixture come to a steady simmer (adjust heat to maintain the simmer), add the potatoes to the skillet, cover the skillet (lid or foil) and let everything simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, then gradually stir in the ground cashews and salt; continue simmering everything without a cover. When the gravy (sauce) begins to thicken, stir in the chopped cilantro (coriander). Serve with naan, roti or rice.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Kin-"Kin" is related to "kind," both the noun (meaning "type, classification") and the adjective (meaning "friendly, helpful"), and it is related, through Indo European, to "gender," a Latin-based word borrowed by English from French. It goes back to Indo European "gen/gn," which meant "produce, beget, give birth." The Old Germanic offspring was "kunjan/kunjam," which gave Old English "cynn," with the meaning "family," but also meaning "race, kind (as in, "what kind of plant is that?")." As for the other Germanic languages, it also gave German "Kind," (pronounced with a short "i," and the "d" is pronounced "t") obviously related to the English words of that spelling, but it means "child" in German, as it also does in Dutch; Norwegian has "kjønn," Danish has "køn," Swedish has "kön," and Icelandic has "kynlíf," but all of these mean "sex," in the sense "gender." In the 1100s, English also developed "kindred" from the base word, with the "red" suffix from Germanic meaning "condition, state (of)."

Punjabi Carrot Pudding: Gajar Halwa

"Halwa," also rendered as "halva" and "halvah," is a word from Arabic (maybe also Hebrew? Or did Hebrew get it from Arabic?) that was borrowed by Turkish. The Turks took over the area of what is now Romania; thus, the word was borrowed by Romanian and then taken on by Yiddish speakers in Romania. English borrowed the word in the mid 1800s via Yiddish speaking immigrants. While the term has stayed near its basic meaning of "sweet dish," it does not mean the same exact thing everywhere. In Punjab, in northern India, it usually means "a sweetened pudding of vegetables," while in the greater Middle East it is often a dish of compressed sesame seeds and honey, along with some spices. In Punjab, where the carrot type halwa is common, it is called "gajrela" in Punjabi,* and it is typically served warm in the winter, when temperatures in Punjab are usually in the 30s and 40s F, in contrast to summer temperatures which commonly exceed 100 F.

Ingredients:

 

4 cups grated (peeled) carrot (you can use a food processor)

3 1/4 cups milk 

4 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter, but regular butter can be substituted) 

1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar (to your own preferred level of sweetness)

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup chopped cashews

(optional) cream or extra butter for serving

 

You want to use a thick bottomed pan. Mix together the grated carrot and the milk in the pan. You can use medium heat briefly to warm up the mixture, but you need to reduce the heat to low well before it boils. Let the mixture boil, then adjust the temperature even further downward to just a slight simmer. Give the mixture a frequent stir. Between the carrots and evaporation, the milk will reduce and the mixture will thicken, but this can take some time, during which the main thing is to try to prevent sticking or burning. When the mixture is thicker, but still liquid, add the sugar and the ground cardamon, stir well, then add the butter. Continue to let the mixture simmer and thicken, still stirring frequently. Now add the raisins and chopped cashews. You may have to turn the heat even lower, if possible, but continue to cook the mixture until the milk is absorbed. Can be served warm or cold, with some extra butter, some cream or even with some extra dried fruit and nuts on top. 

   

* The Punjabi language is from the Indo Aryan branch of the Indo Iranian language branch of the Indo European language family. This makes it a relative of English, but further down the family tree.  

 

 

Topped with some cream ...

WORD HISTORY: 

Worsted-This word for a type of wool fabric is also used adjectively. It comes from about 1300 from the village of Worstead, in the county of Norfolk in eastern England, where the wool was first processed into such fabric. The Old English rendering of the village was "Wurþestede" ('þ' is essentially equivalent to 'th'), which then became "Worsted(e)," before the modern form. "Apparently" the town's name in Old English came from its location being considered to be a "worth(y) stead."