New potatoes have arrived in the market, and a holiday is not complete without cooking something different with them.

Aloo dum is eaten often enough, but have you ever tried achari aloo dum? If not, make it today.

• New potatoes: 12–14
• Sour yoghurt: 1/4 cup
• Pickle with its oil: 1.5 tablespoons
• Ginger paste: 1 tablespoon
• Kashmiri chilli: 1 tablespoon
• Green chillies, slit: 4–5
• Turmeric: half a teaspoon
• Coriander powder: 1 tablespoon
• Chopped coriander leaves: 2 tablespoons
• Sugar: half a teaspoon

• Bay leaf: 1
• Cumin: half a teaspoon
• Fennel: 1/4 spoon
• Mustard seeds: half a teaspoon
• Dried red chillies: 2

First boil the potatoes with salt and peel them. Heat mustard oil in a karahi, lightly fry the potatoes and set them aside.

In a bowl, mix the sour yoghurt, your choice of pickle with its oil, Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder thoroughly.

Now heat mustard oil in the karahi and temper it with the dried chillies, whole mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek and fennel. Add the ginger paste, then the whisked yoghurt mixture, lower the heat and keep cooking. To stop the yoghurt splitting, you can stir in a teaspoon of gram flour (besan) dry-roasted in a pan.

After about five minutes, add the potatoes. On low heat, stir-fry all the ingredients together very well. Then add the sugar, the coriander leaves with their stalks and the green chillies. Add a little hot water if needed.

When the oil separates and the masala coats the potatoes, take the karahi off the heat. You can sprinkle a little pickle oil over the top before serving.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.