Baby Potato Malai Curry
Creamy baby potato malai curry in a cashew, onion, and tomato gravy finished with fresh cream. Mild weeknight sabzi for roti or rice.
Equipment
- Blender
- Wide pan or kadhai
Ingredients
For the baby potatoes
- 500 g baby potatoes about 1 lb, scrubbed
- water for boiling
- 1/2 teaspoon salt for the boiling water
For the gravy
- 2 tablespoons oil or ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste or 1 inch ginger + 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 medium tomatoes roughly chopped
- 12-15 cashews soaked in warm water 15 minutes
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder mild color and gentle heat
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3/4-1 cup water as needed
- 1/4 cup fresh cream (malai) plus more to finish
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
Cook the baby potatoes
- Place baby potatoes in a pot, cover with water, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil. Cook 12 to 18 minutes until a knife slides in easily. Drain, cool until handleable, then peel. Keep whole.
Blend the gravy base
- Drain the soaked cashews. Blend onion, tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, and cashews with 2 to 3 tablespoons water into a smooth paste.
Cook the gravy
- Heat oil or ghee in a wide pan or kadhai on medium. Add cumin seeds and let them crackle.
- Pour in the blended paste. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the raw smell goes and the paste looks thicker and slightly darker. If it sticks, splash in a little water.
- Add turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, coriander powder, and salt. Cook 1 minute until the spices smell fragrant.
- Add 3/4 cup water and bring to a gentle simmer. The gravy should look pourable but not watery.
Finish with potatoes and cream
- Add the peeled baby potatoes. Simmer on low 6 to 8 minutes so they pick up the gravy. Stir gently.
- Turn the heat to low. Stir in cream and crushed kasuri methi. Warm 1 to 2 minutes. Do not boil hard after adding cream.
- Taste for salt. Finish with garam masala and cilantro. Add a spoon more cream on top if you like it richer.
Notes
Soak cashews in warm water for 15 minutes so they blend smooth and thicken the gravy without flour.
Add cream off a rolling boil. High heat can make cream look grainy.
Boil baby potatoes only until just tender so they stay whole in the gravy. Overboiling splits the skins.
For dairy-free, skip cream and finish with thick coconut milk or blended cashew cream. Use oil instead of ghee.
Store leftovers airtight in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat gently with a splash of hot water.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!