
Heeng Jeere ke Aloo
A classic dry potato curry intensely flavoured with toasted cumin, pungent asafoetida, and tangy pomegranate. It is savoury, earthy, and lightly spiced with a crisp exterior.
Asafoetida
0.3 gBloomed in the hot ghee (step 2)Cumin seeds
4.2 gToasted in the ghee (step 3)Ground spices
6 gStirred into the potatoes (step 5)Everything else
Method
- Boil 500 g potatoes in well-salted water for roughly 12 minutes, ensuring they are cooked through but remain firm. Drain thoroughly and reserve.
- Warm 79.2 g ghee over medium heat in a sturdy pan, introduce the asafoetida, and let it swell for 30 seconds.
- Scatter in the cumin seeds and allow them to crackle for 1 minute, then toss in 4 g fresh ginger and 12 g green chilli, cooking for 30 seconds.
- Tip the reserved potatoes into the pan and saute for 1 minute to coat them in the aromatics.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon ground pomegranate seeds alongside the ground spices. Fry over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until the spices darken to a rich brown and adhere to the potato pieces, then finish with salt to taste and remove from the stove.
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New potato

Baby potatoesUse the same weight. Scrub and leave whole or halve if large; they cook in about the same time and give a similar waxy bite.
Small potatoUse the same weight. Peel only if the recipe needs it; cut to the size of new potatoes so they cook evenly. The flesh is slightly more floury.
PotatoUse the same weight, cut into even walnut-sized pieces. It may break down a little more in long cooking, thickening the gravy.

Ghee

Unsalted butterUse 120% of the weight; melt gently over low heat to avoid burning the milk solids, which will yield a softer, creamier richness rather than a nutty aroma.
Vegetable oilUse 85% of the weight; holds high cooking temperatures without smoking, but the final dish will lack traditional dairy depth.
Mustard oilUse equal weight; heat to smoking point and cool slightly before cooking, bearing in mind it introduces an assertive, pungent edge.

Asafoetida

Garlic powderUse double the weight. Stir into hot oil just before adding wet ingredients; mimics the allium savoury background without the sulphurous edge.
Garlic pasteUse 2 g for every 0.5 g of asafoetida. Sauté in oil until the raw smell clears; adds moisture and sweet allium depth.

Cumin seed

Ground cuminUse 70% of the weight; add with ground spices or sauce bases rather than hot oil tempering, where it scorches quickly and turns bitter.
Black cumin seedsUse equal weight for oil tempering. Delivers an earthy profile with an additional musky, smoky, and slightly bitter edge.
Fennel seedUse 60% of the weight for tempering; offers comparable warm aroma, but leans sweet and liquorice-like rather than savoury and earthy.

Fresh ginger

Ginger pasteUse equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.
Ground gingerUse 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

Green chilli

Chilli powderUse 10 to 15% of the weight (about 1/4 teaspoon per chilli); imparts dry pungent heat and reddens the dish without the grassy crunch.
Dried red chilliUse 1 dried pod per fresh green chilli; snap in half and temper in hot oil for a deeper, toastier heat.

Ground dried pomegranate seed

Dried pomegranate seedsGrind the same weight fresh; this is effectively the same spice.
Ground pomegranateUse the same weight; it is the same souring spice.
Dried mango powderUse 50–70% of the weight; it gives a clean mango sourness but less fruity bitterness.

Chilli powder

Red chilli powderUse 100% of the weight. Provides direct, sharp heat and red colour in equal measure.
Kashmiri chilli powderUse 150% to 200% of the weight if matching colour, but add a pinch of black pepper or hot chilli if you need equivalent fiery heat.
Cayenne pepperUse 75% to 100% of the weight. Offers a sharp, clean heat with slightly less earthy depth and less crimson colour.

Ground turmeric

Ground gingerUse 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.
SaffronSteep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.
Similar dishes

- Same: Lucknowi Khatte Aloo shares with this dish new potatoes, a cumin and asafoetida tempering, ginger, green chilli, chilli powder, turmeric, pomegranate souring and salt.
- Different: Lucknowi Khatte Aloo uses vegetable oil rather than ghee, adds 199 g water, 4.2 g sugar and 30 g coriander leaf, and has more potato and anardana but far less green chilli than this dish.

- Same: Khatte Aloo is also a spiced potato dish made with cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric, green chillies, and ginger.
- Different: Instead of ghee, Khatte Aloo is cooked in mustard oil, uses amchoor for tartness instead of pomegranate, and introduces fenugreek seeds, coriander, and clove.

- Same: Bedmi Aloo shares new potatoes, ghee, asafoetida, cumin seed, turmeric, green chilli, ginger and salt with this dish.
- Different: Bedmi Aloo adds tomato purée, water, ground coriander, Kashmiri chilli powder, dried mango powder, sugar and coriander, and it is a gravy curry, while this dish is dry, uses ground dried pomegranate seed and more ghee.

- Same: Maharashtrian Batatachi Bhaaji shares with this dish a dry potato cooking style and uses asafoetida, cumin seed, turmeric, green chilli and salt.
- Different: Maharashtrian Batatachi Bhaaji uses boiled, lightly crushed floury potatoes with garlic, curry leaves, vegetable oil, sugar, lemon and coriander, while this dish uses new potatoes with ghee, ginger and ground dried pomegranate seed.





















