Bombay potatoes

Bombay potatoes in a copper Indian bowl with spoon and fork.

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4.75 from 27 votes

Call them Bombay potatoes. Or Bombay aloo. Either way it's one seriously delicious potato curry.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Servings:

Calories: 395kcal

Author: romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

Potatoes

6-7 small waxy potatoes, peeled - around the size of golf balls
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt

Spice mix

1 tsp indian restaurant spice mix - recipe link below
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp kashmiri chili powder - or more to taste
1/2 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 tsp kosher salt or 1/3 tsp table salt

Bombay potatoes

3 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
the cooked potatoes
3-4 tbsp onion sliced about 1/8 inch thick
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp garlic ginger paste - recipe link in notes
1/2 tbsp tomato paste diluted with 1 tbsp water
10 oz curry base - recipe link in notes
1/2 tsp amchoor powder or the juice of 1/6 lemon
1/2 small tomato coarsely chopped
cilantro to taste

Instructions

Do your prep

Make the spice mix. Combine all the spice mix ingredients in a small bowl.
Dilute the tomato paste with the water.
Cook the potatoes. Combine the potatoes, turmeric and salt along with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Simmer until you can just push a fork into the potato without resistance. Be gentle. You don't want to break them up.
Have everything ready to go. Onions chopped. Garlic ginger paste standing by. Curry base pre-heated. Ingredients at hand. Be ready. It's going to go fast from here.

Make the Bombay potatoes

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium low heat .
Add the potatoes to the hot oil and fry until they just start to colour. This firms them up so they don't self destruct when you make the curry.
Remove the potatoes and set aside. Add the onions and cook over gentle heat until translucent. You are trying to keep them from browning. I know - anti-Indian cooking but this time that's what you want.
When the onions are translucent, raise the heat to medium. Add the mustard seed and cook around 20 seconds.
Add the garlic ginger paste. Cook until it stops sputtering, around a minute.
Turn down the heat and add the spice mix.. This is the critical step. Stir it constantly for 30 seconds. If it starts to darken lift the pan off the heat. You want the spice mix to cook in the oil but not burn.
Turn the heat up to medium high. This is important. The heat is what makes curry base work and gives the this dish its Indian restaurant flavour. As you become more comfortable with this technique try pushing it. Add the diluted tomato paste and stir until bubbles form (the oil will likely separate). This takes around 30 seconds to one minute depending on the heat.
Add 3 oz of curry base. Stir until bubbles form (little craters really), around 30 seconds. Think lively boil. Watch the edges of the pan. The curry can stick here. Sticking is OK. Just scrape it back into the base. Burning is bad.
Now add the remaining curry base and stir briefly. Let it cook until the bubbles form again. This takes 1-2 minutes.
Turn the heat down to low. Add the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are warmed through and the sauce thickens. This takes about 3 minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes and amchoor (or lemon if you aren't using amchoor). Stir to combine. Cook for another minute or two.
Garnish with a bit of chopped fresh cilantro and green chili if you like. Serve. Enjoy.

Notes

The recipe for curry base is here.

The recipe for indian restaurant spice mix is here.

The recipe for garlic ginger paste is here.

If you haven't read about Indian restaurant technique yet, do that before you start cooking. It's a good read. Worthwhile.

Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go.

If you are making multiple curries, have your curry base warming in a pot on the stove. If you are just making one, microwave it to warm it up right before you start cooking.

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