Achaari Aloo

Posted On April 22, 2021

This Achaari Aloo is an absolutely drool-worthy dish of baby potatoes, marinated in pickling spices and cooked to perfection! The slightly tangy and spicy flavors make this potato dish such a flavorful vegetarian dish! With each bite of Achaari Aloo, you get the crunch of seeds (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and nigella seeds) and the tang of various pickling spices. Achaari Aloo is a dish that reminds you of the magic of spices!

You can make an appetizer version as well. Here we will make the gravy version. You can pair it with Roti, paratha, naan, or for that matter any Indian bread and /or rice for a delicious and comforting meal. Let’s get a quick rundown of Achaari Aloo.

What is Achaar?

Achaar is the name given to pickled condiments in Indian subcontinent. Anything and everything can be pickled. Mango pickles are the most popular ones. There are some spices that are common to all the achaar aka pickle recipes.

• Kalonji aka Nigella seeds
• Methi aka Fenugreek seeds
• Saunf aka Fennel seeds
• Rai aka Mustard seeds
• Salt
• Turmeric powder
• Red Chili powder

Achaar masala

You can make the achaar masala at home the traditional way by roasting all the whole seeds and add spices and salt to it, but for this recipe I used the ready-to-go Achaar masala by PUR Spices. It’s absolutely perfect and tastes just like homemade. This Achaar masala by PUR Spices is so good, and adds an authentic achaar taste!

What is Achaari Aloo?

Achaari Aloo is a simple everyday potato sabzi where baby potatoes are pressure cooked or boiled and then marinated in yogurt with achaar masala and other spices like red chili powder, turmeric powder, amchur aka dry mango powder, salt, green pepper, red pepper and onion. After that you can cook on stove top, bake in oven or even air fry the marinated potatoes. These achaari potatoes served with coriander chutney and work great as a party-pleasing appetizer. If you like it tangier, you can even squeeze some lemon juice on top.

I went one step forward by making a tomato and onion gravy with the achaar masala and adding the achaari aloos that we just cooked. Check below for serving suggestions to turn this into a complete and wholesome meal. My family loved eating the achaari aloos in both ways and asked to make it again!

Serving Suggestions

You can serve it with roti, paratha, naan or any Indian bread of your choice. You can also serve it as a side dish with Dal and steamed rice.

Step by step instructions

Rinse the potatoes under cold water. Pressure cook or boil the baby potatoes until they are about 75% cooked. Once they cooled down, remove the skin. Prick the potatoes with a fork 3-4 times.

In a big bowl, take yogurt, dry roasted besan aka chickpea flour, ginger-garlic paste, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, amchur powder, black salt, and PUR Spice achaar masala. Mix well.

Heat mustard oil in a pan until hot. Switch off the flame. Keep it aside and let it cool down until just warm and not very hot. Add the cooled down mustard oil to the yogurt mix. Whisk it until smooth.

Taste the marinade and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Cut green pepper, red pepper and onion in medium size about 1″ – 1.5″ cubes. Add baby potatoes, green pepper, red pepper and onion to the yogurt mix.

Using your hands or a big spoon, gently mix the veggies to coat generously with the marinade.

Cover and let it sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours for the flavors to develop.

In a big fry pan, heat mustard oil, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and nigella seeds.

Add marinated potatoes, peppers and onion to the pan. Keep turning potatoes around. Make sure they don’t break. Cook them well. Dry achaari aloo will be ready in about 5-7 minutes. You can serve them as an appetizer with green coriander chutney.

If you want to make Achaari Aloo with gravy, then continue as follows.

Cut onions and tomatoes and keep them aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of mustard oil in a pan. Add bay leaves, whole red chilies, clove, black pepper, cinnamon, green cardamom, and asafetida. Add chopped onion, sauté until the onions golden brown.

Keep the flame low and add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala and PUR Spice achaar masala and salt. Saute until the spices turn aromatic.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

Let it cool down and puree the gravy until smooth. Clean out the pan to make sure none of the residual spices burn in the pan and then add the pureed gravy. Cook for few minutes and add cooked potatoes. Add kasuri methi aka dry fenugreek leaves. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy with Roti, naan, paratha, or any Indian bread.