Instant Pot Pahadi Aloo / Aloo Ke Gutke / Instant Pot Potato Wedges Cooked in Indian Spices
What is Pahari / Pahadi Aloo?Pahadi Aloo / Pahari Aloo is a potato recipe from the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is a stir-fry potato dish that is very easy to make, mainly because it doesn’t need onions or tomatoes. In the authentic recipe the potatoes are cooked in a wok with oil. The spices are then added and the potatoes are stir-fried and cooked on a low flame with a closed lid.I attempted to make this recipe in the instant pot and it turned out great.How do we make Pahari / Pahadi Aloo in the instant pot?It is very easy. We sauté the spices: cumin seeds, whole dried red chili peppers, asafoetida, ground coriander, ground turmeric, amchur powder (a powder from dried unripe green mangoes), and red chili powder (cayenne pepper) along with the potatoes. Once after the spices and potatoes are nicely mixed we pressure cook them for 6 minutes. Sounds too easy right? Believe me it is!Potatoes: This recipe has been tried specifically on yukon gold potatoes. If you use any other potatoes the taste may not be as required.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp oil of choice
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
(jeera)
- 1/2 tsp asafoetida
(heeng)
- 4 whole whole dried red chili peppers
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
(haldi)
- 1 tsp red chili powder
(ground cayenne pepper)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp mango powder
(amchur powder)
- 1 and 1/4 tsp ground coriander
(dhaniya powder)
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 5 small to medium sized yukon gold potatoes (approximately 1.5 cups washed, peeled, and chopped into long wedges)
- 2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped (dhainya ke patte)
Instructions
Prep
- Wash, peel, and chop the potatoes into long wedges (roughly 6 per potato).
- Wash and finely chop the cilantro.
Cook
- Select sauté on the instant pot and adjust to normal.
- Add oil to the pot.
- When oil is hot (in about 30 seconds), add cumin seeds.
- When the cumin seeds splutter, add asafoetida, whole dried red chili peppers, and stir.
- Add ground turmeric and stir.
- Then add red chili powder and water. Stir.
- Let the red chili powder give out some color for about 30 seconds.
- Then, add amchur powder, coriander, and salt.
- Add the potatoes and stir well so that the spices are mixed well with the potatoes. Make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pot and scrape the bottom of the pot well.
- Press cancel.
- Close the lid with the pressure-release valve sealed.
- Select manual and cook at high pressure for 6 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, use quick pressure release to depressurize. To remove the excess water, select sauté and dry the water. This should take about to 3 to 4 minutes. Stir gently. Do not stir too hard or the potatoes will break.
- Transfer right away in a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.
Serve
- Serve hot with roti or naan (Indian flatbread).
Notes
- This recipe has been tried on a 6-quart instant pot. The proportions may vary depending on the size of the instant pot you choose to use.
- Ground cayenne pepper and red chili powder can be used interchangeably as both of them make the dish spicy. So if you don’t have red chili powder you can use cayenne pepper instead.
- I use small to medium size Yukon golden potatoes. Make sure the potatoes aren't too large, or else the wedges will break.
