A simple potato dish made with cumin/jeera as the main ingredient and few basic spices. There are many variations to jeera aloo, but I have made it with minimum spices consumed while fasting.

Since vrat or fasting is a time of eating simple,satvik food, this dish is made in practically every home during navratris. I love potatoes with puris and remember mom packing this kind of dry potato sabzi with puris while travelling or picnics and day trips, along with some pickle. I am drooling and getting nostalgic as I reminisce about moms cooking and our trips and picnics to Victoria Memorial along with our extended families. What fun we used to have with cousins, playing badminton in the open grounds,eating puris with jeera aloo and eating junk like cotton candy!

Of course, mom made it with a few other spices as it wasn’t meant for fasting. If you make jeera aloo while not fasting, feel free to add Heeng,turmeric,coriander powder and a pinch of garam masala. It tastes awesome and goes really well with Moong Dal, Restaurant style dal Fry and Dal Makhni. Also goes really well with Bedmi Puris. Bedmi puri is my special recipe that I learnt from my aunt, It’s made without soaking,grinding or stuffing any dal in puris!

I made this jeera aloo to go with Instant Vrat Dosa and coconut coriander chatni. Will share recipe of Vrat Dosa next. This potato sabzi also goes really well with Rajgira parathas which can also be consumed while fasting. For more recipes for the days you are fasting, here is a Collection of Vrat/Navratri recipes, made without onion and garlic.

Here is the written recipe followed by the step by step pictorial one-

Jeera Aloo for Vrat/Upvas-No Onion Garlic Recipe

Aanchal Gupta

Potatoes cooked in Cumin and few spices consumed during fasting.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Total Time 10

Servings cups

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes boiled and cut into very small pieces(I used red potatoes)
1/2 tsp cumin/jeera
few curry leaves
1/2 tsp ginger minced
1/2 tsp green chilies minced
1/2 tsp Red chili powder/lal mirch
Senda Namak/salt as per taste
juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon/lime depending upon size
2 tbsp oil
2-3 tbsp cilantro/coriander/dhania patta chopped

Instructions

In a pan heat oil and add cumin/jeera
Add ginger and green chilies and cook till the raw smell of ginger goes away
Add curry leaves and Red Chili powder/lalmirch
Add potatoes,salt,lemon juice and a few drops of water(only if needed) and mix well
Add cilantro and mix well and serve

Notes

I have only used spices allowed during vrat. You can easily customize it to your taste by adding or omitting some ingredients that your family does/doesn’t consume during fasting.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Here is the step by step pictorial recipe-

Ingredients