Jeera aloo recipe – Quick, simple, delicious potatoes sauteed in mild spices. Making jeera aloo is one of the easiest that even a beginner can try. It is a side dish that can be served with Rice Dal, roti, phulka or Poori. I often make Jeera aloo for the lunch box as there is no preparation work involved.
Sometimes I also use it as a filling in the Kathi rolls and sandwiches along with some julienned veggies. Jeera aloo is a dry dish, so it is good to serve along with a gravy, dal or atleast a raita.
For more simple Aloo recipes, you can check
Aloo gobi ki sabji
Restaurant style Aloo gobi
Aloo methi
Potato curry
Jeera aloo recipe
Jeera aloo recipe | How to make jeera aloo fry
Quick jeera aloo is a mildly spiced dish made of boiled potatoes. It is served as a side dish with rice-dal, puri or roti.
Ingredients (240 ml cup used)
Ingredients for jeera aloo
- 4 medium potatoes or aloo
- 2 tbsp oil or ghee
- 1 tbsp ginger chopped or adrak (optional)
- 1 green chilli chopped or hari mirch
- 1/8 tsp asafoetida or hing
- ¼ tsp mango powder or amchur (or lemon juice)
- ¼ to ½ tsp salt or namak as needed
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves or kasuri methi (optional)
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 to 3 tbsp coriander leaves or daniya patta
spices for jeera aloo
- 1¼ tsp cumin or jeera
- 1/8 tsp turmeric or haldi
- ¾ to 1 tsp red chilli powder or lal mirch powder
- ¾ tsp cumin powder or jeera powder
- 1¼ tsp coriander powder or daniya powder
How to make the recipe
Preparation for jeera aloo recipe
Wash and boil potatoes just until cooked. They should not be mushy. You can boil them in a pot or cooker with enough water covering them.
Cool them and peel off the skin.
Cube them to desired sizes. Set aside.
How to make jeera aloo
Heat a pan with oil and ghee. Add jeera and allow them to splutter.
Next saute ginger and green chilies for a minute.
Reduce the flame to low. Then add in hing, turmeric, chili powder, jeera powder, daniya powder, salt and amchur.
Also add in kasuri methi. Saute till fragrant. This takes just a minute.
Pour 3 tbsp water and combine well. Very soon the mixture thickens.
Add in the boiled aloo. Toss them gently and cover the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 mins on a low heat.
Sprinkle coriander leaves. Add more salt if needed.
Serve jeera aloo with rice-dal, poori, roti or chapati.
Recipe Notes
You can use more spice powders to make the dish spicy. It was medium spicy and not hot.
Preparation – jeera aloo recipe
1. Wash potatoes thoroughly. Boil them just until cooked and not mushy. You can cook in a pressure cooker on a medium flame for 1 to 2 whistles. I cook in a pot with a partially covered lid. To check if they are cooked, prick with a fork. If still uncooked then you will feel the hardness.
2. Cool them and remove the skin. Cube them to desired sizes.
How to make jeera aloo
3. Next add ghee or oil to the hot pan. Add cumin and fry until they smell good.
4. Add chili and ginger. If you have kids at home, skip the chili. Ginger is also optional but adds flavor.
5. Fry them for a minute. Then add hing.
6. Reduce the flame to low. Add chili powder.
7. Then next goes in the cumin powder.
8. After that add in coriander powder as well.
9. Sprinkle amchur. You can skip this and add lemon juice later.
10. Add in the salt and kasuri methi too.
11. Mix and fry for a 30 seconds to 1 minute. Do not burn.
12. Quickly pour 3 tbsp water and mix.
13. Soon the the spice powder blends well with water and thickens.
Frying jeera aloo
14. Next add in the potatoes and toss them gently. Do not over mix otherwise they may turn mushy.
15. Cover and cook on the lowest flame. This helps jeera aloo to absorb the flavors.
16. Finally sprinkle coriander leaves.
Serve jeera aloo as a side.
Nabarun says
Just tried it out. Very nice recipe with quite a subtle taste. Would go along great with a dhaba style dal fry. Will go through your recipes to find the same. Also hope to find a nice recipe for bhindi masala in there.
Anyways, thanks.! Cheers!
swasthi says
Hi Nabarun
Thank you so much for trying.
I have the simple bhindi masala here
You can also check this simple homestyle dal fry here
Maina says
Yummy jeera aloo. I made this for the first time. very good and my family too loved
Karthika says
Yummy! Couldn’t believe a simple dish can taste so good. Thank you
Tiya says
Yummy.My kids loved it. Thank you very much
swasthi says
Welcome Tiya
Thanks for trying.
amina says
hi swasthi my daughter is 5 years old and she is underweight she is just 12 kg. she does not eat anything. what can I do. I m not able understand swasthi pls help
swasthi says
Hi Amina,
Yes she is underweight. A 5 year old has to be at least 18 kgs.
Initially give her only fruits, boiled vegetables, soaked almonds, soups for 1 week. Don’t give her lot of heavy foods. Along with this give her 1.5 tsps honey with 1.5 tsps lemon juice on empty stomach for 6 weeks. Followed by a cup of water.
After 1 week –
Give her this dry fruits milkshake for her breakfast. You can skip her other breakfast and give her 2 boiled eggs on alternate days for mid morning snack. The rest of the days give her 200 ml curd/dahi for morning snack. You can also give her this carrot shake for breakfast.
Lunch – include dal/ meat with rice and one stir fried veggie in ghee or butter.
2 fruit serving 45 to 60 mins before dinner and lunch.
Evening snack give her any thing you can make
Avoid all deep fried foods, sugar, bread, maida, biscuits and all junk. Avoid atta or all wheat products. Try to give her more fruits and raw veggies to boost her appetite. Preferably 45 mins before her lunch and dinner.
Don’t allow her to watch TV or play with gadgets while eating. Narrate nice happy stories. I hope these tips will be useful.
Suzanne says
Swasthi – this recipe was fantastic. Thank you. I made it tonight and I may have gone a little overboard on the chile, but I like spicy, so that was fine by me. Delicious and easy. While I haven’t made all of your recipes, I’ve made quite a few and they are all delicious. Your instructions are spot-on. Thanks! I enjoy reading your posts. – Suzanne
swasthi says
Hi Suzanne
You are welcome. So glad to know you liked it. Thanks a lot for trying the recipes.
🙂