Achari Aloo
Updated: September 15, 2026, By Swasthi Shreekanth
Achari Aloo is a North Indian side dish where potatoes are simmered with pickling spices. These potatoes are full-flavored, delicious, tangy, spicy and moderately hot. They go well as a side with any Indian meal but are amazing specially with hoti rotis, plain parathas, naan and puri.
About Achari Aloo
This dish is very easy to make if you have the boiled and cooled potatoes ready. I prefer to ditch the onions here as it saves a lot of time that goes to chop and saute them. We just temper the spices and cook down with tomatoes to make the masala. Later add the potatoes and simmer slowly for the magic to happen.
When the aloo is out of the pan, it is super flavorful, delicious, soft and literally melts in your mouth. I love to add some paneer to improve the nutrition profile and make a more filling meal. I’ve the substitutes below.
Ingredients
- Potatoes : You can use baby potatoes, waxy potatoes like yukon gold or general white and yellow potatoes. Though russet is not the best for this recipe you can still use them when making in small quantities. But avoid them if you plan to 2x or 3x the recipe.
- Paneer: If you are not using paneer, sub with – boiled pressed tofu, 6 boiled eggs, marinated shrimp, baked chicken or simply increase the quantity of potatoes by 200 grams. Inplace of 1 pound, use 1.5 pounds (680 grams).
- Tomatoes: Ripe pulpy tomatoes help the masala cling well to the potatoes. I puree vine ripe pulpy tomatoes in a blender. If you want you may use canned tomatoes but pureed.
- Yogurt: I prefer using a small amount of yogurt for a unique tart flavor. You may sub with the same quantity of pureed tomatoes. If using canned tomatoes, omit the yogurt.
- Achar or achar oil: Adding half to 1 tablespoon of Indian pickle or oil that floats on the pickle takes this dish to the next level. I used mustard oil from my homemade Mango Pickle.
Achari Masala
Much of the flavor in a achari dish comes from the achari masala which is a spice blend made with dried chili, coriander, cumin, fennel, mustard and fenugreek. I always make my own spice blends which I’m sharing below. But if you want you may use the store bought achari masala available in Indian stores or online.
Photo Guide
How to make Achari Aloo (Stepwise Photos)
Boil aloo
1. Peel and dice 450 grams/ 1 pound potatoes to 1.5 to 2 inches and place them in a steam basket/ bowl. Steam them in a pot or steamer until fork tender, yet firm and not mushy. It takes me 8 mins to steam in the pressure cooker with the vent open. To use baby potatoes, read my expert tips section below.
(I forgot to take a pic of the potatoes while steaming. So I included another one with fewer aloo, just to show you my steamer setup)
Make the masala
2. Add the following spices to a pan and roast them on a low heat until crunchy & aromatic.
- 1 dried Kashmiri red chilies (deseed for low heat)
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 pinch fenugreek seeds / methi
- 1½ teaspoon fennel seeds (if you don’t like this flavor cut down to 1 tsp)
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
3. Cool them completely and transfer to a grinder. Also add the hing and make a very fine powder.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Place 200 grams/ 7 to 8 oz of diced paneer (bite sized). Fry them until heated through or golden and remove to a plate. You can also omit this step.
5. Place the boiled and cooled potatoes in the same pan. Fry them on a medium high heat until light golden and aromatic, for 2 to 3 minutes. You don’t need to brown them. Remove to a plate.
Make Achari Aloo
6. Heat 1 tablespoon oil on a low flame and add half teaspoon of kalonji/ onion seeds. When they begin to sizzle, add 1 tablespoon grated ginger. Fry for a minute without burning.
7. Stir in
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (I used 3/4)
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala (I use aromatic homemade blend)
- 1 teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder)
- achari masala we just made.
8. Mix and add ¼ cup thick yogurt.
9. Mix well and cook for 2 to 3 mins, until it becomes a thick paste.
10. Add ¾ cup pureed tomatoes (150 grams, 2 fresh medium pulpy tomatoes).
11. Cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes lose the raw flavor.
12. Pour ¾ to 1 cup water and bring to a rolling boil. Simmer for 2 to 3 mins so the spices soften and cook down well else you may feel the spices gritty. Stir in the potatoes gently. Cover and cook on a low heat for 4 to 5 mins, until you see traces of oil on top. Do not stir too much at this stage because the potatoes are precooked. They can break down.
13. When the curry is thick, gently mix in the paneer. Cook covered for another 1 to 2 mins.
14. Turn off and taste test to adjust salt. This is the consistency you should be getting.
15. Pour half to 1 tablespoon achari oil or stir in the achar. I used 1 tbsp oil. If you have kids for the meal, reserve their portion before adding the achar as it can become spicier. Garnish with 2 tablespoons fine chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot with Plain Parathas, Tandoori Roti, puffed puri, Naan or Chapati. It turns very thick and dry when it cools down completely because some of the starch in the potatoes thicken the curry.
Store the leftovers in fridge and consume within 2 days. Before reheating, you may add a splash of hot water if you want a looser curry. I reheat mine in the Instant pot for 2 to 3 mins without water.
Expert Tips
- Mustard oil: If you want to use mustard oil, smoke it & cool down, right before adding the other ingredients. I don’t like this process of smoking the oil for my everyday cooking so I use organic extra virgin olive oil in all my achari recipes and infact it goes really well.
- Heat levels: This dish is not hot and spicy because I reserved the heat part to be completed by the pickle or achar oil. If you want it hot, add more chili powder while you cook the tomatoes or simply add more achar or its oil.
- Baby Potatoes: I personally don’t like baby potatoes much because it’s hard to get the flavor into them. But if you want you may still use them. Poke holes into the unpeeled potatoes with fork or picks and boil them in a pot of water with 1 tablespoon salt.
- If you want to properly brown the potatoes, use a non-stick pan. Though I have not browned them, they got lot of flavor by frying briefly. So don’t omit that step.
Recipe Card
Achari Aloo
Ingredients
- 1 pound potatoes (450 to 500 grams)
- 7 to 8 oz paneer (200 grams/ bite size or sub with boiled tofu, eggs, marinated shrimp or baked chicken)
- 2 tablespoons oil (30 ml, I use extra virgin olive oil)
- ½ teaspoon kalonji (onion seeds)
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger (or minced)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- ¼ cup thick yogurt (or sub with pureed tomatoes)
- ¾ cup pureed tomatoes (2 medium pulpy tomatoes, 150 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder, adjust to taste)
- ½ to 1 tablespoon mango pickle /achar (or achar oil, may omit)
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves fine chopped
- 1 dried Kashmiri red chilies (deseed for low heat)
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds (daniya)
- 1½ teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (brown rai)
- 1 pinch fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
- ¼ teaspoon hing (optional)
Method
- Peel (optional) & dice potatoes to 1½ to 2 inch size. Boil or steam them in a steamer basket, until fork tender yet non-mushy and firm. (takes me 8 mins) Cool down.
- Add dried chili, coriander seeds, fennel, cumin, mustard & fenugreek to a pan. Toast them on a low heat until crunchy and aromatic. Cool down, add to a grinder along with hing. Grind to a fine powder.
- Pour 1 tablespoon oil and add the cooled potatoes. Fry on a high heat for 2 to 3 mins until slightly golden. Remove to a plate. If you want you may also fry the paneer for 2 mins on each side and remove to a plate. (don't overfry)
- Heat the remaining oil in a pan and add kalonji. When the seeds sizzle, stir in the ginger and saute for a minute.
- Add salt and all the ground spices – turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala, amchur and achari masala.
- Mix gently and deglaze with yogurt. Cook for 2 to 3 mins until it becomes a thick paste.
- Stir in the tomato puree & cook until the raw flavor of tomatoes is gone and turns thick.
- Pour ¾ to 1 cup hot water and bring to a rolling boil. Cook for 2 to 3 mins and then stir in the potatoes gently. Cover and cook on a low heat for 4 to 5 mins, until you see traces of oil on top. (refrain stirring too much as the aloo can break down)
- Mix in paneer. Cook covered for another 1 to 2 mins. Turn off and taste test to adjust salt.
- Pour the achari oil or stir in the achar. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with roti, puri, naan or chapati. (It turns very thick and dry when it cools down completely)
Private Notes
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Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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