Aloo ke gutkey, Kumaon

A visit to a Kumauni family or Kumaun in Uttarakhand is never complete without having tasted the famous aloo ke gutkey with cucumber raita and poori.  It is also one of the quickest and favorite dishes of Kumaun. 

It looks like the usual aloo subzi but the tempering with a special herb imparts the peculiar flavor to this dish. Before  I proceed with this post, let me give a short introduction on the special herb which is going to be used, Jambu.

aloo ke gutkey

Jambu:

There is no parallel to this herb but I have noticed that since it belongs to Alium family, chives give a hint of this flavor. It is also extensively used in Nepali cuisine where it is called jimbu.
It is sold as a dry grass which is actually the greens of the plant. This is one of the most important herb in flavoring of Kumauni dishes like aloo ke ghutkey, bhatt ki chudkani, dupkey, ras, urad daal to name a few. They impart a wonderful aroma when used as a tempering.
Ingredients:
4-5 medium sized potatoes
4 tbsp preferably mustard oil
1 bayleaf
1 dried red chilli, broken into pieces
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tsp jambu
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp kashmiri mirch
Method:
Peel potatoes and cut them into thick wedges.  Put them in water so that they do not turn black.
Keep the spices ready.

spices used 

Forgot to put cumin seeds in the plate :(

jambu

Heat oil in a pan, let the mustard oil smoke.  Lower the heat and add bayleaf, dried red chilli pieces, asafoetida, cumin seeds, and lastly,  jambu.

tempering the oil

To the dry spice mixture, add a little water to make it into a paste.  Add this paste to the  hot oil . Since, the temperature of oil is going to be very high, adding water to the spice mixture prevents them from getting burnt.  This is the tip my mother taught me.

adding the spices

When the oil separates from the spices, add potato wedges and salt to taste. Cover and let them cook on medium heat.
Stir periodically so that the potatoes do not burn.

mixing spices with potatoes

Turn down heat once the potatoes get cooked.

final Aloo Gutkey in pan

Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle coriander leaves on top. Serve with hot pooris or just have it with a cup of tea.

ready to be served

My Notes:
Mustard oil needs to be smoked or aloo gutka does not taste good.
Slit green chillies can also be added along with potatoes.

No fry dahi vadas

Just the thought of chaats makes your mouth water and dahi baras or bhallas are one of the important accompaniment in any chaat.  My husband loves to eat them but I would always hold him back from taking a second serving.  The reason being, fried.  Although, the baras are immersed in water and squeezed taking some what of the oil also along with it but then also, whatever you may, oil is still there.

The wonder paniyaram chatti came to my rescue of making low fat dahi baras.  While, I was making paniyarams one day, the thought of making dahi baras in this chatti struck me.  The first batch was a disaster with baras hard and solid.  They were'nt as soft as the fried version.  But, on more trials, I figured out the secret ..... its the consistency of the batter.

So, now no frying :)

Drizzle a lavish amount of sweet tamarind chutney and enjoy the tangy taste....

Ingredients:
3/4 cup urad dal
1/4 cup moong dal

To be added while grinding:
1 tsp grated ginger or 1" piece
asafoetida
approx. 3/4 cup water

Optional ingredients to add to batter:
10 black peppercorns, cracked
1/4 tsp tsp cumin seeds
1 finely chopped green chilli

For assembling baras:
3 cups yogurt beaten and sieved
1/2 tsp black salt
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
1/2 tsp chat masala
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
salt to taste
sweet tamarind chutney

Method:
Soak the dals separately for 3-4 hours.  Do keep a watch, the soaking time varies with weather conditions. It takes a longer time during winters.

Add just enough water to dal to cover it and grind them adding ginger and asafoetida. Make sure to grind the dals separately.

Mix both dals together and get ready for some whisking.  Whisk and whisk till the batter becomes soft. Keep on addding cold water a little at time  in between.

Add cracked pepper and cumin seeds.

The batter should not be thick, it should be of pouring consistency. See the picture below.

Heat paniyaram chatti on medium heat, lightly grease it and pour a spoonful of the batter into each mould.

At this stage, if you want to have raisin and cashew in between, put it in the centre and cover with another spoon of the batter.

Cover the baras with a spoonful of batter.

The method below can also me used for making raisin and cashew filled baras.  I put 7 pieces each of cashews and raisin on the bowl. Scoop out the batter with a spoon making sure that the filling is inside and put it in the chatti.

Soon you would see the batter rise up a little, check the under side and flip it. Cook the other side and remove it on a plate.

Color is not going to be important because the baras would need to be soaked in water.

Heat some water, add salt, hing or asafoetida and let the baras soak in reasonably hot water for almost 2 hours.

Assembling dahi baras :
Squeeze out the water, place on a serving dish.  Meanwhile, prepare the yogurt.
Whisk yogurt, sieve and add white salt, black salt, a little black pepper, chat masala, roasted cumin seed powder, chili powder and sugar if you like. I like my yogurt to be sweet. But, you can omit this.

From this 3 cup flavored yogurt, take out 1/2 cup and add 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup water. Adjust salt to taste.  Pour this over the baras. Let the liquid absorb and now pour the thick flavored yogurt on top of baras.

Garnish with sweet chutney, a little chaat masala, coriander leaves and red chilli powder.

Enjoy your guilt free dahi baras.

My notes:
I do not add salt to the batter. I add salt to water for soaking the baras.
Add a pinch of baking soda if, desired or you see the baras not getting soft.
I like the yogurt to be slightly sweet so I add a little sugar.
Fresh pomegranate seeds, fine sev can also be added as garnishes.
If, the yogurt is sour, add milk to bring down the sourness.

You can add more yogurt if you like.

Sweet tamarind chutney

Any chaat or dahi baras is incomplete without a lavish drizzle of this sweet tamarind chutney. Adding to bhel puri or aloo chaat makes it all more tasty. I prefer to make it myself , experimenting with various ingredients.
The amount of spices can be adjusted to taste.

There is always a bottle of this in fridge.  I sometimes just add this chutney to whipped yogurt, spice it up with chilli powder and coriander leaves, sit in front of tv and slurp :)
The shelf life is quite long so one need not worry about finishing it soon. The number of ingredients added act as digestive aid for stomach also.

Ingredients:
 a tennis ball sized tamarind
 1/8th tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp dry ginger powder (sonth) or 1 tsp grated ginger
1/8 tsp fenugreek powder
1 1/4 tsp black salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp roasted cumin seed powder
a pinch of nutmeg
1 black cardamom seeds, ground
1/8 tsp green cardamom powder
1 1/4 cup sugar

Method:
Take tennis ball sized tamarind.

Soak  in water till soft.

Mash and extract all the pulp. It comes out approx. 1 1/2 cups and put it in a saucepan.

Add black salt, asafoetida, dry ginger powder, garam masala, fenugreek powder, roasted cumin seed powder, nutmeg, cardamom powder, red chilli powder,  black pepper and bring the mixture to a boil.
Do not add sugar at this stage.
Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for two three minutes.
Remove from flame.
Now, add sugar and stir.
Add melon seeds if desired.

My notes:
Do not add sugar while the tamarind liquid is boiling.  The sugar caramalises and gives chutney a blackish color.
Adding black salt is a must. This imparts a peculiar flavor to chutney.
Add chilli powder and sugar according to your taste.
Raisins and dates can also be added to the mixture while it is boiling.