Potato Yogurt Curry or Dahi Aloo – An easy and delicious comfort food made with minimal ingredients. This curry is made with just two main ingredients: potatoes and yogurt, tempered with cumin seeds, ginger, and flavorful spices. Make it in the instant pot or stovetop with this easy recipe. Enjoy it with puri, paratha, or rice for a satisfying meal.
I had never eaten these Dahi Wale Aloo while growing up. Recently, one day, my mom-in-law made these, and I was amazed by the flavors.
Guess what…I usually don’t even like potatoes in a curry. But this one…I must say is super flavorful and has converted me to like potatoes. If you like kadhi, this potato yogurt curry has similar flavors, and I am sure you will enjoy it.
I love how easily and quickly this dish comes together. This curry does not have onion or garlic and is great to enjoy while fasting during Navratri. If you don’t have many veggies at home and want to make dinner quickly, this is the dish you are looking for!
Table of Contents
Watch How to Make Dahi Aloo (Potato Yogurt Curry)
How is Dahi Aloo made Traditionally?
Here is my mom-in-law’s method of making this curry. She would boil potatoes first, then peel and cut them. Then, add the tempering, spices, water, and yogurt in a pan. Cook until it comes to a boil, then add the potatoes and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
This method is great if you have boiled potatoes or you boil potatoes for your weekly meal prep. This potato curry will come together in 10 minutes if you have boiled potatoes.
I wanted to make this as a one-pot recipe in the pressure cooker or instant pot. So here is the method I used.
How to make Dahi Wale Aloo in the Pressure Cooker?
I skipped boiling the potatoes separately and just added raw-cut potatoes after tempering and pressure-cooked them with some water. Then I did a quick release and added whisked yogurt (also known as curd) while stirring continuously. That is all; garnish and Dahi Aloo are ready to enjoy!
I used plain whole milk yogurt I made in the instant pot the day before. If you have not made yogurt in the instant pot yet, I highly recommend it for consistent results, especially when the weather is cold.
Tips to Avoid Curdling of Yogurt in Curry
- Whisk the yogurt well before adding to the curry.
- Stir continuously after adding yogurt until the curry comes to a boil so that the yogurt does not curdle. Stir gently so the potatoes don’t all get mushy.
- Add salt when the curry starts boiling after adding yogurt so it does not curdle.
- Another tip for this curry is to saute on medium-low heat, so the spices don’t burn.
You will love how easy it is to make this flavorful potato curry. Serve it with puri, roti, or rice. We also enjoy this with jeera or cumin rice.
Can you make Dahi Aloo for Navratri/Fasting?
This potato yogurt recipe is perfect when fasting. You can skip the spices you avoid during fasting, and use sendha namak (rock salt). Also, skip cilantro if you prefer not to eat it during fasting.
Dahi Aloo (Potato Yogurt Curry)
Ingredients
- 3 Potatoes, medium size, about 600 grams
- 2 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1-2 Green Chili Pepper, slit into two pieces (optional)
- 1/2 tablespoon Ginger , minced
- 1 cup Water , 1 1/2 cup for traditional method
- 1/2 cup Yogurt, whisked with 1/2 cup water, plain
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt , adjust to taste
- 1/4 cup Cilantro, to garnish
Spices
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne or Red Chili powder , adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala, (optional)
Instructions
One-pot Pressure Cooker Method
- Peel and cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
- Start the pressure cooker in Saute (Normal) mode and let it heat. Add oil, cumin seeds, green chili pepper and minced ginger. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add spices. Mix them well with the oil and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add potatoes, water and stir well. Press cancel and close lid with vent in sealing position.
- For instant pot, start on Manual/Pressure Cook mode at high pressure for 1 minute. When the pressure cooker beeps, press cancel and release the pressure manually. For stovetop Pressure Cooker, cook for 1 whistle, and then turn off the heat. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Whisk the yogurt and keep it ready.
- Start the instant pot in Sauté mode. Add yogurt while stirring. Keep stirring gently until the curry comes to a boil in about 3 minutes. Then turn off the pressure cooker. Add salt to taste and stir it.
- Garnish with cilantro. Potatoes in yogurt sauce are ready to be enjoyed with roti, puri or pulao.
Tradiitonal Method
- Boil 3 medium potatoes in a pressure cooker or in a pot on the stovetop. In a stovetop pressure cooker, cook on high heat for 6-7 whistles or in the instant pot for 12-15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Peel the skin and crush the potatoes with your hands. You can also cut into 3/4-1 inch cubes if you prefer.
- Whisk the yogurt and keep it ready.
- Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Add oil, cumin seeds, green chili pepper and minced ginger. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add spices. Mix them well with the oil and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the potatoes and mix unti they are coated with the spices.
- Now add the water and let the curry come to a boil.
- Now reduce the heat to low. Add the yogurt while stirring continuously. Keep stirring until the curry comes to a boil again in about 2-3 minutes.
- Add salt to taste and stir it. Simmer dahi aloo for 3-4 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro. Potatoes in yogurt sauce are ready to be enjoyed with roti, puri or pulao.
We
Thoroughly enjoyed it but next time will put a bit more cayenne or whole Chili, we didn’t find it spicy enough. I loved the idea of putting Besançon flour to make it thicker. What would be the ratio?
Hey Monique – Glad you enjoyed the Potato curry. I do keep my food relatively mild for my daughter, so please feel free to add more green chili peppers or red chili powder. I have not tried adding besan, but I would suggest to add 1-2 tablespoons to the yogurt. Mix it well, so there are no lumps and add it to the curry. Boil for an extra minute so the besan cooks well. Hope you enjoy it again 🙂
Love this recipe and made it a few times. Though I was looking for a healthier Altenative Can it be made with cauliflower? I do like your aloo gobhi recipe but feel that the yogurt here satisifies a more rich/comforty craving. Something I’m definitely looking for in these winter months.
Thanks Charles. I have never tried this with cauliflower, but it could certainly work. I would just pressure cook for 0-1 minutes on low pressure if using cauliflower. And I totally agree, this is so much more comforting in the cold weather.
Great recipe!!Added some besan flour at the end and it made a nice and thick gravy. If you prefer thicker gravy then this is a great hack for this wonderful recipe.
Hey Monica – Thank you for sharing the wonderful tip and your review. So glad you enjoyed the potato curry!
What variety of green chili pepper do you recommend?
Hello Mona – I typically use Thai, Serrano or Bird’s eye chili peppers for indian cooking. In this one, I used Thai chili. Please do adjust to taste as the sizes vary.
Tried this! Very Tasty! Just curious though, your dish looks much more orange. I did use very little cayenne, bit mine looks very yellow like kadhi. Is it the type of potato? I used small red ones.
Hey Nina – Glad to hear you enjoyed the potato curry. The main color this curry gets is from turmeric and red chili pepper. I use Kashmiri red chili powder which has a deep red color. Another thing could be the consistency of yogurt. You can reduce the amount of yogurt or make it thinner. Hope that helps and thank you for sharing your review!
I finally got to make the Dahi Wale Aloo tonight. We moved to northern California after living in San Francisco for 30 yrs where we had world class Indian food. Anyone that is craving true Indian flavors, as we were, should try this dish. My husband and I both loved it. I did have to change the recipe a little since at our age we no longer enjoy very hot food. I used russets, 1/2 t of red pepper, no green chili pepper, 1 t grated ginger since I didn’t mince it. Thank you so much for giving us a dish that could have come from the most wonderful restaurant in San Francisco.
Hey Rochelle – Thank you so much for the kind words and sharing your review. I am so glad that you enjoyed the curry 🙂
What a life saver ! So simple but so delicious ! Thank you !! Added some curry leaves and cloves to the tadka and kasuri methi at the end. Thank you so much !
Hey Chhavi – Glad to hear you enjoyed the curry. Thank you for sharing back your review!
Perfect recipe. My first time cooking aloo dahi. Came out super good. Kisangani loved it too!
Hey Sonal – Glad you all enjoyed Dahi vale aloo. Thanks you for sharing back your review!
Thanks! On my grocery list right now.
Hey Rochelle – Would love to hear how it turns out!
This sounds wonderful. Please give me a weight for the potatoes.
Thanks Rochelle. Each potato was about 5oz. Hope you enjoy it!