Potato Curry Recipe (Aloo Curry)

Potato Curry aka Aloo Curry recipe with stovetop & Instant pot instructions. Easy Potato Curry packed with delicious flavors & made under 30 minutes in one pot. This incredibly easy Aloo Curry recipe is a perfect family dinner when you want Indian curry in a hurry. Made with pantry staples, yet it is tasty & packed with great flavors of spices and herbs. Serve it over steamed rice, basmati rice or with Indian flatbreads like roti, chapati, plain paratha, tandoori roti or butter naan. You will just love it!

Indian cuisine is diverse so a Potato Curry is made in numerous ways. Each region has a different recipe & even every home has their own to make it. Some also make it in combination with other vegetables like peas, vegetable drumsticks, eggplants etc.

About Potato Curry

Potato is known as “Aloo” in Hindi. So basically any Indian curry made with potatoes is known as “Aloo curry”. Potatoes, sautéed onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, spices and herbs come together to make this delicious curry that is absolutely perfect for weeknight dinner.

Make this either in a regular pot or an instant pot, it turns out great both ways.

This recipe is very forgiving so you can easily substitute the ingredients if you do not have any of them. More often I find myself tweaking this to make different variations like using different spice blends or adding different veggies like peas or bell peppers.

Sometimes I also make the dry potato curry/sabzi or add some boiled eggs to the simmering gravy. So there are so many possible variations you can make to this recipe. Of course the spices have to be adjusted to suit the add-ons. My tips and notes below will help you with all that.

Similar recipes with potato
Aloo Matar
Aloo Gobi
Bombay Potatoes
Dum Aloo
Potato Masala

Photo Guide

Step by step Photo Instructions

Note: To make this potato curry, I prefer to cook them directly in the curry. It takes about 25 mins to cook potatoes once it is added to the gravy. [Optional Tip: If you are using canned tomatoes/tomato paste or old potatoes, consider boiling them al dente first and then cut to small cubes. Then add to the onion tomato masala/curry.]

1. Here are the ingredients you will prepare for the curry. (If cooking in IP prepare these ingredients and scroll down for the stepwise pictures.)

• 1½ cup onions (200 grams, 1 large onion fine chopped or processed)
• 1 cup tomatoes (200 grams, chopped or pureed, read above note to use canned)
• 1.1 lbs. ( ½ kg) potatoes (peeled, cubed to ¾ inch for stovetop method, 1 inch to cook in IP, keep them immersed in a bowl of water to avoid discoloring)
• ½ tablespoon ginger (½ inch, fine chopped/grated or paste, or use 2 tsps ginger garlic paste and leave out garlic)
• ½ tablespoon garlic (2 to 3 cloves, fine chopped or paste)
• 1 green chilli slit or deseeded for low heat (optional)
• 10 to 12 curry leaves (1 sprig, pat dry) or 1 bay leaf (optional)

Make Onion Tomato Masala

2. On a low to medium flame, heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil in a pan. Add the optional whole spices – ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds and curry leaves or bay leaf. (all optional and you may leave out).

3. When the cumin seeds begin to splutter, add chopped onions and slit green chili (optional). Saute on a medium heat, until onions turn golden & lose their raw flavor, for 4 to 5 minutes.

4. Next add ginger & garlic. Saute until a nice aroma comes out from ginger garlic. This step takes about 1 to 2 minutes.

5. Add tomatoes and sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon turmeric. Saute until the tomatoes turn mushy. If the tomatoes are hard, cover the pan and cook for a while.

6. Add the following ground spices

• ¾ to 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (or ½ tsp cayenne or 1 tsp paprika)
• 1 to 1¼ teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
• 1 to 1½ teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder (optional)

7. Mix well and saute until the onion tomato masala turns aromatic. This takes about 2 to 4 minutes. At this stage you can see oil begins to separate from the onion tomato masala. This step is done to bring out the flavors of the onion tomato masala.

Make Potato Curry

8. Add chopped potatoes.

9. Pour 1½ to 2 cups water or stock or or light coconut milk. Give a good stir.[Tip: If using parboiled potatoes, pour half cup water/stock or coconut milk. Bring to a rolling boil and cook the onion tomato masala first until the onions soften, then add the potatoes and simmer just for 3 to 5 mins, adding more liquid as required]

10. Bring the water to a rolling boil and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook until potatoes are cooked fork tender or soft. Keep checking every 3 to 4 minutes and stir as they cook, add more hot water if needed as some kind of potatoes need more water.

11. Optional: Take 1 teaspoon kasuri methi in your palm and crush it before sprinkling here.

12. Taste test and add more salt or garam masala if needed. Check and turn off the stove. If the curry is runny, evaporate the excess liquid by cooking on a slightly higher flame. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves to garnish.

Enjoy potato curry with rice, chapathi or bread.

Ingredients & Substitutes

Garam masala is a key spice blend used in Indian curry recipes. It not only enhances the flavour of the dish but also makes it tasty. However if you do not have it just replace with a good flavorful Curry powder or sambar powder.

The taste of the potato curry depends on the spice blend used so choose a good one or make your own following this garam masala recipe.

Curry leaf is an herb predominantly used in the South Indian cuisine. These leaves contribute to the flavours of South Indian curry & are considered healthy as they aid digestion. If you like to use them, add a sprig of these leaves to the hot oil before adding the onions.

Whole spices: If you like a pungent flavour in your curry, add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds to the hot oil at the first step. You can also add half teaspoon whole cumin seeds.

Kasuri methi are dried fenugreek leaves. These can be used for a unique aroma. I use this when I don’t have curry leaves.

Variations

For South Indian flavors, use fresh curry leaves. You can also add 1 tablespoon tamarind paste towards the end i.e after the potatoes are cooked. Avoid adding tamarind before the potatoes are tender.

Usually potatoes harden when they come in contact with highly acidic ingredient like tamarind so they take forever to cook.

For North Indian flavors, use 1 teaspoon amchur powder (dried mango powder) and 1 tablespoon crushed kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves). Add both these at the last step to retain their best flavors.

Add-ons

For some reason I try to limit the consumption of potatoes or at least eat them in moderation. If you are like me then you will love these variations.

Peas: Add 1cup of green peas to the curry. To use frozen peas, add them when the potatoes are almost tender. Stir them in the boiling curry and cook for just a minute. Cover and rest the curry. To use fresh peas, boil them separately and add them the same way.

Bell peppers: Fry the bell peppers in 1 tablespoon oil before you begin to make the potato curry. When they are partially tender, yet crunchy remove them to a bowl and set aside. Add these bell peppers after the potatoes are cooked. Turn off and rest the curry for 10 to 15 mins. Do not cook any more after adding bell peppers as we want them crunchy in the curry.

Boiled eggs: This is one of our favorites. Hard boil the eggs and peel the shell. Make a few cuts into them. When the potatoes are slightly al dente, add these eggs and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not overcook. Cover and let them rest for 10 minutes.

Chickpeas: 1 cup of boiled chickpeas can be added when the potatoes are half cooked. Simmer them along with the potoatoes.

Coconut milk: Sometimes I use coconut milk when we plan to serve this potato curry with flavored rice like jeera rice, ghee rice or roti. I have shown this in the Instant pot method.

Photo Guide

Instant Pot Potato Curry with Rice

This Instant pot recipe serves 4. You can cook 2 cups rice along with the curry. Please note that basmati rice has to be soaked while you prepare the ingredients for the curry. Also use hot water to cook the rice as the pressure cook time for the curry is just 4 mins.

Instructions

1. Rinse 1 ½ cups basmati rice and soak in hot water for 20 to 30 mins. Meanwhile prepare the veggies.

2. Press saute button and pour 2 tbsps oil in the inner pot of the Instant pot. Add ¼ teaspoon mustard, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and 1 sprig curry leaves (or 1 bay leaf).

3. Next add 1½ cup onions and 1 chopped green chilli. Saute until the onions turn transparent or pink. Then add half tbsp each ginger and garlic chopped. Saute for 30 seconds.

4. Next add 1 cup tomatoes (or puree). Sprinkle ¾ teaspoon salt and saute until tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

5. Add ¾ to 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric, 1 to 1¼ teaspoon garam masala, optional ingredients – ½ teaspoon cumin powder  & 1 teaspoon coriander powder.

6. Saute for 30 seconds.

7. Then add potatoes cubed to 1 inch pieces. Pour 1 cup water and deglaze the pot to release any bits of food stuck at the bottom.

8. Press cancel. Drain the water from the rice bowl completely. Place a long legged trivet and then place the rice bowl. Pour 1 ¾ cups hot water to the rice.

9. Cover and secure the Instant pot with the lid and position the steam release handle to sealing. Press pressure cook button and press the timer to 4 mins (high pressure).

10. When the instant pot is done cooking. Press cancel and turn off. Do a quick manual release with the help of a spoon. Fluff up the rice with a fork. Remove and keep covered until served.

11. Taste the curry and add more salt or garam masala if needed. You can serve the potato curry as is or add coconut milk following the steps below.

12. Press saute button and gently bring the potatoes to the center of the pot. Then pour ¼ to ½ cup coconut milk around the edges. This prevents the potatoes from getting overcooked.

13. Let simmer until the potato curry reaches a desired consistency. Sprinkle coriander leaves or 1 teaspoon kasuri methi.

Serve potato curry with steamed rice or flavoured rice like jeera rice or roti.

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