Bombay Potatoes (Indian Style Spicy Potatoes)
on Jan 11, 2023, Updated Sep 29, 2023
This easy Bombay Potatoes (Indian-Style Spicy Potatoes) recipe is made using baby potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and a few basic Indian spices. Serve it with paratha or roti for a delicious meal.
Here are some more Indian potato recipes that you can try: Aloo Methi Sabzi, Aloo Baingan, Punjabi Style Aloo Gobhi, Punjabi Jeera Aloo, and Sindhi Aloo Tuk.
There is no dish called Bombay Potatoes in Bombay. Yes, you heard it right. Only when I visited a restaurant in London did I come across a dish named after Bombay that had no connection to Bombay. Anyway, potatoes coated with spicy, robust masala—it was love at first bite.
I worked my taste buds hard to figure out the ingredients involved, and my homemade version was ready within a few hours of returning home. Guess what? It was love at first bite, too.
About Bombay Potatoes
Bombay Potatoes (Bombay Aloo) is a dry Indian-style dish made using baby potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and basic Indian spices.
This dish is popular in Indian restaurants outside India, especially in the UK.
Serve it with hot, flaky lachha or tawa parathas or a simple dal phulka or dal rice for a comforting Indian-style meal.
Ingredients
Potatoes – This Indian potato recipe mostly uses baby potatoes. If baby potatoes are unavailable, you can use regular potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes.
Yukon gold potatoes, Russet potatoes, etc., are some options. If you live in the UK, use Maris Piper or baking potatoes.
Oil – I use canola oil to make this recipe, but you can also use sunflower oil, light olive oil, mustard oil, or ghee.
Spice Powders – You will need basic Indian spice powders such as coriander powder, turmeric powder, and Kashmiri red chili powder.
Green chilies – Adjust to suit your taste.
Lime Juice – It adds a nice tangy flavor to the sabji. Lime juice can be replaced with lemon juice. You can also use dry mango powder (amchur powder) for the tang.
Others – You will also need brown mustard seeds, asafetida (hing), fenugreek seeds (methi dana), cumin seeds (jeera), crushed fennel seeds (saunf), crushed coriander seeds (dhaniya beej), red onions, fresh ginger, curry leaves, and cilantro (fresh coriander leaves).
To crush coriander and fennel seeds, add the whole seeds to a mortar and pestle and crush them roughly. You can also crush the seeds in a grinder: add the whole seeds to a grinder and grind for 2-3 seconds.
Skip adding asafetida to make gluten-free Bombay potatoes.
Although not traditional, you can add some curry powder to the recipe for a taste change.
You can also add a little garam masala powder and cumin powder to make the curry even more flavorful.
Some add a little tomato puree or paste to this aloo curry. You can try it too.
How To Make Bombay Potatoes
Cook The Potatoes
In A Stovetop Pressure Cooker
Wash 1 pound (500 g) potatoes and add them to a pressure cooker with 2 teaspoon salt. Add water to cover the potatoes and cook for two whistles on high heat.
Note – If using regular potatoes, wash and cut them into 1-inch cubes.
Remove the pressure cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally.
Open the cooker and run the potatoes under cold water. Peel them and keep them aside.
Note – You can choose to keep the skin of the potatoes if you wish to.
In An Instant Pot
Add 1 pound (500 g) potatoes to the inner pot of the instant pot along with 2 teaspoon of salt. Add water to cover them.
Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 4 minutes at high pressure. Once the timer goes off, do a 10-minute NPR followed by QPR.
Open the lid and run the potatoes under cold water. Peel them and keep them aside.
Make The Sabji
Heat 3 tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
Add the following ingredients once the oil is hot, and let them crackle for 5-6 seconds.
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida
- 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
Add 10-12 curry leaves and ½ cup of chopped red onions and saute until they turn light brown (5-6 minutes), stirring frequently.
Now, add 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger and 2 teaspoon of chopped green chilies and saute for another minute.
Now add the following ingredients and cook for 10-15 seconds, stirring continuously.
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Add ½ cup of water and cook for a minute.
Now add the cooked potatoes to the pan and toss them well in the masala.
Cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes, stirring a few times.
Now add 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice and mix well. Garnish with 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro and serve hot.
Pro Tips By Neha
Don’t overcook the potatoes. They should hold their shape and not get mushy.
Adjust the chilies as per your heat tolerance. My recipe makes medium spiced potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bombay potatoes and jeera aloo are similar dishes featuring potatoes cooked with cumin seeds and spices. However, there are slight variations in the ingredients and preparation method. Jeera aloo is milder, whereas Bombay potatoes are spicy and robust.
You can add green peas, sweet corn kernels, chopped spinach, fenugreek leaves etc to this sabji.
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Bombay Potatoes Recipe (Indian Style Spicy Potatoes)
Ingredients
To Cook The Potatoes
- 1 pound baby potatoes (500 g, or regular potatoes cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- water (as needed)
For The Sabji
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds (sarson)
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing) (skip for gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds (dhaniya beej)
- 10-12 curry leaves
- ½ cup chopped red onions
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 2 teaspoons chopped green chilies
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
Instructions
Cook The Potatoes
In A Stovetop Pressure Cooker
- Wash the potatoes and add them to a pressure cooker along with salt. Add water to cover the potatoes and cook for two whistles on high heat.
- Remove the pressure cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the cooker and run the potatoes under cold water. Peel them and keep them aside.
In An Instant Pot
- Add the potatoes to the inner pot of the instant pot along with salt. Add water to cover them.
- Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 4 minutes at high pressure. Once the timer goes off, do a 10-minute NPR followed by QPR.
- Open the lid and run the potatoes under cold water. Peel them and keep them aside.
- Note – You can choose to keep the skin of the potatoes if you wish to.
Make The Sabji
- Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds, and let them crackle for 5-6 seconds.
- Add curry leaves and onions and saute until they turn light brown in color (5-6 minutes), stirring frequently.
- Add ginger and green chilies and saute for another minute.
- Now add coriander powder, turmeric powder, chili powder, and salt, and cook for 10-15 seconds, stirring continuously.
- Add ½ cup of water and cook for a minute.
- Now add the cooked potatoes to the pan and toss them well in the masala.
- Cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes, stirring a few times in between.
- Now add lime juice and mix well. Garnish the Bombay potatoes with cilantro and serve hot.
Video
This was extremely delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
It’s delicious, I am also adding green bling beans. It gives extra colour, nutrition and taste. Thanks for sharing this recipe:)
Awesome! Thank you…
🙂
Great
Thanks
Same like this recipe i have eaten in Poona, they have added tomato juice & more masala to it. After all your recipe is very nice.
Thnx 🙂
Turned out amazing ???? thanks for sharing!
Thnx for trying and leaving your feedback 🙂
I like all ur recipes a lot
Thnx 🙂
I like all ur recipes a lot.
Looks yummy. For me, it’s different from those aloo curry that we cook often. Most importantly, It’s quick and easy! Will try this for sure. Thanks for sharing ?
Thnx Tarang.Do try, I am sure you will love it.
Beautiful clicks, I make it the same way, as you said tomatoes do give their own taste when added and my hubby doesn’t prefer that, kids love the taste with flavours only with the potatoes , they just eat it as it is, but I usually make it with Rasam or pulka. Your baby potatoes is reminding of back home
Thnx Jayasri. Don’t you get these baby potatoes in Uk?