Hing Wale Aloo

Potatoes in a thin, peppery gravy perfumed with asafoetida and cumin and thickened with crushed potato: the curry that goes with puris and kachoris at breakfast in the Braj country

Origin: Mathura & the Doab, Uttar Pradesh

From the journey of Asafoetida.

Hing wale aloo, potatoes with asafoetida, is the wet partner of the fried breads of northern India. Where hing jeere ke aloo are dry, these potatoes swim in a thin, loose gravy, deliberately runny so that a torn piece of puri or kachori can be dipped into it, and the gravy is thickened with nothing but a few potatoes crushed into it. The flavour is asafoetida first: more of it than in most dishes, bloomed in hot fat with cumin, then softened by the water and the potato starch into something savoury, faintly oniony, and warm with ginger and chilli. It belongs to the breakfasts of the Braj country around Mathura and to the sweet shops of Uttar Pradesh, where a plate of kachori or puri comes with a ladle of these potatoes and, often, a sweet jalebi on the side. Hathras, the town that calls itself the hing capital of India, lies a few dozen kilometres away. The gravy should be thin, and the temptation to reduce it should be resisted; it thickens as it stands, and it is meant to be mopped up rather than eaten with a spoon.

Ingredients

Potatoes

  • 500 g floury potatoes

Tempering

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil, mustard oil, or ghee
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 0.5 tsp compounded asafoetida
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 2 green chillies, slit

Gravy

  • 1 small tomato, grated (optional)
  • 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 750 ml hot water
  • 1.25 tsp salt

To finish

  • 0.5 tsp amchur (dried green mango powder), or a squeeze of lemon
  • 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method

  1. Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender, about 20 minutes. Peel them and break them into rough pieces with your hands rather than cutting them; the ragged edges thicken the gravy.
  2. Heat the oil or ghee in a heavy pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and, when they crackle, the asafoetida, ginger, and green chillies. Stir for 20 seconds.
  3. Add the tomato, if using, with the turmeric, chilli powder, and ground coriander, and cook for 2 minutes until the oil glistens.
  4. Add the potatoes and stir them through the spices for a minute, then pour in the hot water and add the salt. Bring to the boil.
  5. Crush a few pieces of potato against the side of the pan with the back of a spoon and simmer for 10 minutes, until the gravy is lightly thickened but still thin enough to pour.
  6. Stir in the amchur, scatter with the coriander leaves, and serve hot with puris or hing kachoris.

Notes

Compounded asafoetida usually contains wheat flour; use a gluten-free brand or pure resin if you need to. The gravy should taste of asafoetida first; add more with the cumin if yours is mild.

The Gastrographer

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Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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