Jeera aloo is one of the quintessential Indian vegetarian dishes which is loved by everyone across the board not only because we love potatoes but also because they soak up all Indian spices’ flavors beautifully!
There are often few recipes which you make innumerable times for your meals but miss to focus on their specialty and take them for granted easily.
Jeera aloo is one such dish which is a regular part of Indian meals but somehow way too underrated.
Jeera aloo which can be translated to cumin potato is kind of a stir fry with potatoes and dominated by flavors of cumin.
The combination of cumin flavor with potatoes is simply amazing and makes our phulkas taste even better.
This jeera aloo is one constant dish in any Indian restaurant’s menu and for good reason as this jeera aloo is a very frequently ordered dish in most of them.
I love to enjoy jeera aloo with chapatis or phulkas, but you know what? This jeera aloo is so delish that it can be relished on its own as a starter or snack!
Potato a.k.a aloo is an integral part of Indian cuisine and you will find many recipes with only this one vegetable, for example dum aloo which is another flagship dish of our cuisine.
Jeera aloo and dum aloo are very different in taste and flavor and I am addicted to both; yes, I admit that I am a real potato-lover and I am not at all embarrassed about it!
Potatoes are so cook-friendly that you don’t have to do much to make them tasty; they are easily available anywhere, cook fast, soak up any flavor gorgeously and mingle with any accompanying vegetable or meat on the side like a bestie!
Plus, potatoes are very filling and mostly everyone loves potatoes across globe. What more would you want from a veggie?
This jeera aloo is another great potato recipe to collect & save in your repertoire if you are new to Indian food and trust me this is extremely simple to make without having to remember a long list of spices!
Jeera is the Indian name of cumin and you will need a generous amount of cumin for making this jeera aloo.
The highlight of this recipe of jeera aloo is definitely the superb aroma of roasted cumin seeds which are ground to a coarse powder after dry roasting and then sprinkled on top of jeera aloo at the very end.
When you dry roast cumin seeds in a pan, your kitchen starts smelling like a royal kitchen and if you grind the roasted cumin in a mortar pestle instead of an electric grinder, you will simply fall in love with its awesomeness!
Even if you are not fond of potatoes, you will still want to make this jeera aloo over and over again only because of the incredible aroma of roasted cumin, trust me!
Roasted cumin powder is used in many Indian vegetarian dishes and raises their taste quotient to a different level.
This entire recipe of jeera aloo has materialized to celebrate the deliciousness of jeera i.e. cumin. Moreover, cumin has its own health benefit which is not even ruined in this dish as you are sprinkling dry roasted cumin powder on top instead of cooking it in oil.
There are practically countless reasons of making this jeera aloo but I love it just for its amazing taste. The nutty flavor of jeera infuses cubes of potatoes and the clinging masala is something you will love to scoop up your phulkas with!
I recommend to use baby potatoes for making jeera aloo, but in case those are not handy, you can cut bigger ones into small cubes and proceed as instructed below.
All in all, this jeera aloo is a total win-win recipe, for the one who is making it as well as for them who are devouring it! Enjoy!
- Potato – 500 gms, boiled
- Pomegranate – ½
- Sunflower or any other flavorless oil – 4 tbsp
- Black mustard seeds – ½ tsp
- Cumin seeds – 4 tsp
- Sesame seeds – 2 tsp
- Curry leaves – 8 to 10
- Red chili powder – 1 tsp
- Cumin powder – 2 tsp
- Coriander powder – 2 tsp
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
- Fresh coriander leaves – ½ cup, chopped
- Lemon – 1
- Salt to taste
- Cut the boiled potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Set aside.
- To remove the pomegranate seeds, place it over a large bowl with cut-side down and hit with a back of a spoon (you can use your rolling pin also!), catching the seeds in the bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle for a minute over medium heat.
- Then add the cumin seeds, sesame seeds and curry leaves and stir-fry for a minute until fragrant.
- Next add the ground spices – red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder.
- Stir in the cubed potatoes and season with salt to taste. Mix well.
- Stir-fry everything on high heat for 4 to 5 minutes until all potatoes are coated well with spices.
- Remove from heat and stir in the chopped fresh coriander leaves and pomegranate seeds.
- Drizzle lemon juice and serve your warm jeera aloo with phulkas or paranthas!
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Hey keep posting such good and meaningful articles.
Priyanka these potatoes look real delicious!!
Thanks a lot Ami! 🙂