Name: Punjabi Aloo Wadiyan
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ½ cup Amritsari Wadi, spicy urad dal dumpling, broken into chunks; 1½ Potato, peeled and cut into large chunks; 1 Onion, finely chopped; 1 Tomato, pureed or finely grated; ½ tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste; 1 Green Chili Pepper, slit; ½ tsp Cumin Seeds; ¼ tsp Ground Turmeric; ½ tsp Ground Coriander; ½ tsp Kashmiri Chili Powder, wadi is already spicy; use mild chilli for gravy color; ⅛ tsp Garam Masala, use sparingly; 1½ tbsp Mustard Oil, adds the authentic punjabi kick; ½ tsp Salt, to taste; 1¼ cup Water, wadiyan absorb a lot of water; 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped

45 mintotal

35 min hands-on10 min hands-off

Prep 10 min · Cook 25 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Spicy

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Method

Heat the mustard oil in a pressure cooker until it just begins to smoke, which takes away its raw, bitter edge. Turn the heat down straight away.
Add the broken wadiyan pieces to the hot oil. Fry them over low to medium heat, stirring constantly and watching closely, until they turn a deep, well-toasted reddish brown. Lift them out and set them aside. Wadiyan that have not been fried first will fall apart into a bitter mush.
In the same well-flavoured oil, add the cumin seeds and let them crackle.
Fold in the finely minced onions. Fry with utmost patience until they collapse into a rich, deep golden brown caramelization.
Add the ginger-garlic paste and the slit green chillies. Sauté for 1 minute to cook off the sharp smell of raw garlic.
1 min
Pour in the tomato puree along with the turmeric, coriander powder, Kashmiri chilli powder and salt. Cook this masala base down until it reduces and thickens and the oil separates cleanly from the paste.
Return the potato chunks and the fried wadiyan to the pot. Sauté everything for 2 minutes so the thick masala coats the ingredients.
2 min
Flood the cooker with the measured volume of water. Stir with authority and lock the lid tightly in place.
Pressure-cook over medium heat for 3-4 whistles. The hardened wadiyan need this long under pressure to soften, soak up the broth and turn spongy inside, which is the point of the dish.
Demand a natural pressure release. Once unlocked, dust the surface with garam masala and a generous handful of fresh coriander. Serve instantly.

How to tell it's done

Hyper-spongy, flavor-exploding lentil dumplings seated next to utterly melt-in-the-mouth potatoes, both drowning in a ferociously thin, fiery, and highly aromatic red gravy.

Getting it right

Tip

Amritsari wadiyan are already heavily loaded with black pepper and chilli. Go easy on any extra spice or salt in the gravy, because the wadiyan release their own heat into the broth as they boil.

What to serve it with

A Punjabi household comfort curry, especially on a cold or rainy day. Serve it with hot rotis or plain white rice.

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Ingredients