Mar 17, 2020, Updated May 22, 2023 Best enjoyed with warm rotis.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information on my Affiliate and Advertising Policy, please click here. Panch phoran was one of my favorite spices growing up. My mom used to make Aloo Baingan (potato & eggplant) sabzi using panch phoran and that was my absolute favorite. For those who are not aware, panch phoran is a 5 spice blend and is an integral part of Bengali and east Indian cooking. I think eastern UP food has some influence from the east Indian cooking and that’s the reason that my mom added panch phora to several of her dishes including chutneys and sabzis. These 5 spices also form the base for pickling spices in India. In India pickle=achar, which is very different from what pickle is here in the US. Achar or Indian pickle is made from vegetables and fruits which are preserved in vinegar/lemon juice/mustard oil etc. and flavored with Indian spices namely the achari spices. So what are these achari spices? Fennel Seeds Cumin Seeds Black Nigella Seeds Mustard Seeds Fenugreek Seeds These spices lend a very distinct flavor to the anything that they are added to. They are often added to achars (pickle) but can also be added to dals, sabzi, chutneys so on. Here, I added them to a potato curry and hence the name Achari Aloo!
This Achari Aloo
✔ made in one-pot ✔ packed with so much flavor ✔ goes well with rice or roti ✔ vegan and can be made gluten-free I used baby potatoes for this recipe. Not the super tiny ones, those I only see at farmers market in summers. But the regular baby potatoes that we see in the stores here in US. So, I used those and cut them in half. Each piece measured around 1.5 inches. You can make this recipe using regular russet or gold potatoes too. Just remember to cut them into really large pieces, around 1.5 inches. If you cut them small, around 1 inch then you would need to adjust the cooking time. Please see the instructions for that below. Most of the flavor for this recipes comes from the pickling spices. It is what makes the recipe so these are must here.
What if you don’t have all the achari spices? Okay, you can still make this achari aloo even if you don’t have all the 5 achari spices. But make sure you have cumin seeds, mustard seeds and fennel seeds. Fennel is really important here so do not skip on it. Is this gluten-free? No, I have used hing here which is not gluten-free. So, to make it gluten-free, either skip the hing or use gluten-free hing. If you are bored of eating regular potato sabzi or just looking for a new way to cook potatoes, then give this a try. It makes a nice side with roti and dal.
Method
1- First peel the potatoes and cut them into 1.5 inch pieces. I used baby potatoes here, each was around 2.5 inches wide and 50-70 grams by weight. So, I cut the smaller ones in half and slightly bigger ones into 3 to 4 parts. Set aside. Also, puree the tomatoes using a blender and set aside. 2- Press the saute button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add the oil and then the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black nigella seeds (kalonji), mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Saute for few seconds until seeds crackle. 3- Then add the hing and stir. 4- Add the chopped onion, green chili and curry leaves. Saute for 2 minutes until the onions are softened.
5- Then add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for 1 minute. 6- Then add the pureed tomatoes and de-glaze the pot using a wooden spatula. Scrape the bottom with the spatula making sure there’s nothing stuck at the bottom of the pot. This is important else the pot might not come to pressure. 7- Add in the tomato paste. 8- Then the potatoes and then coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder.
9- Add the water and stir. 10- Also, add the salt and mix. 11- Close the pot with it’s lid. Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then do a quick pressure release. If using regular potato (like russet & gold) and you have cut them in 1-inch pieces, then pressure cook for 2 minutes only with quick release. 12- Open the lid and stir in the cilantro. You can add 1 tablespoon yogurt, cream, coconut milk or cashew cream at this point (optional). I did not add anything.
Serve achari aloo with rotis or paratha or rice.
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot Achari Aloo Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
title: “Instant Pot Achari Aloo " ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-07” author: “Dennis Cox”
Mar 17, 2020, Updated May 22, 2023 Best enjoyed with warm rotis.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information on my Affiliate and Advertising Policy, please click here. Panch phoran was one of my favorite spices growing up. My mom used to make Aloo Baingan (potato & eggplant) sabzi using panch phoran and that was my absolute favorite. For those who are not aware, panch phoran is a 5 spice blend and is an integral part of Bengali and east Indian cooking. I think eastern UP food has some influence from the east Indian cooking and that’s the reason that my mom added panch phora to several of her dishes including chutneys and sabzis. These 5 spices also form the base for pickling spices in India. In India pickle=achar, which is very different from what pickle is here in the US. Achar or Indian pickle is made from vegetables and fruits which are preserved in vinegar/lemon juice/mustard oil etc. and flavored with Indian spices namely the achari spices. So what are these achari spices? Fennel Seeds Cumin Seeds Black Nigella Seeds Mustard Seeds Fenugreek Seeds These spices lend a very distinct flavor to the anything that they are added to. They are often added to achars (pickle) but can also be added to dals, sabzi, chutneys so on. Here, I added them to a potato curry and hence the name Achari Aloo!
This Achari Aloo
✔ made in one-pot ✔ packed with so much flavor ✔ goes well with rice or roti ✔ vegan and can be made gluten-free I used baby potatoes for this recipe. Not the super tiny ones, those I only see at farmers market in summers. But the regular baby potatoes that we see in the stores here in US. So, I used those and cut them in half. Each piece measured around 1.5 inches. You can make this recipe using regular russet or gold potatoes too. Just remember to cut them into really large pieces, around 1.5 inches. If you cut them small, around 1 inch then you would need to adjust the cooking time. Please see the instructions for that below. Most of the flavor for this recipes comes from the pickling spices. It is what makes the recipe so these are must here.
What if you don’t have all the achari spices? Okay, you can still make this achari aloo even if you don’t have all the 5 achari spices. But make sure you have cumin seeds, mustard seeds and fennel seeds. Fennel is really important here so do not skip on it. Is this gluten-free? No, I have used hing here which is not gluten-free. So, to make it gluten-free, either skip the hing or use gluten-free hing. If you are bored of eating regular potato sabzi or just looking for a new way to cook potatoes, then give this a try. It makes a nice side with roti and dal.
Method
1- First peel the potatoes and cut them into 1.5 inch pieces. I used baby potatoes here, each was around 2.5 inches wide and 50-70 grams by weight. So, I cut the smaller ones in half and slightly bigger ones into 3 to 4 parts. Set aside. Also, puree the tomatoes using a blender and set aside. 2- Press the saute button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add the oil and then the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black nigella seeds (kalonji), mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Saute for few seconds until seeds crackle. 3- Then add the hing and stir. 4- Add the chopped onion, green chili and curry leaves. Saute for 2 minutes until the onions are softened.
5- Then add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for 1 minute. 6- Then add the pureed tomatoes and de-glaze the pot using a wooden spatula. Scrape the bottom with the spatula making sure there’s nothing stuck at the bottom of the pot. This is important else the pot might not come to pressure. 7- Add in the tomato paste. 8- Then the potatoes and then coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder.
9- Add the water and stir. 10- Also, add the salt and mix. 11- Close the pot with it’s lid. Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then do a quick pressure release. If using regular potato (like russet & gold) and you have cut them in 1-inch pieces, then pressure cook for 2 minutes only with quick release. 12- Open the lid and stir in the cilantro. You can add 1 tablespoon yogurt, cream, coconut milk or cashew cream at this point (optional). I did not add anything.
Serve achari aloo with rotis or paratha or rice.
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot Achari Aloo Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
