Jeera Aloo, translating to Cumin Potatoes, is a weeknight side dish that is very popular is the Northern Part of India. Jeera Aloo is utterly simple to prepare and so very comforting when paired with paratha or roti.
In Indian cuisine, you will find countless recipes where potatoes play an important role as the star of the dish. It is consumed a lot, and so far I have not come across a single potato dish that I don’t like! If you enjoy potatoes, you will definitely love this Jeera Aloo Recipe.
What is Jeera Aloo
Jeera is Cumin Seeds in Hindi, and Aloo is Potato. Jeera Aloo is a quick, minimal side dish that is often prepared on busy weeknights.
It doesn’t call for too many spices, doesn’t require too much chopping or any other prep work, which makes it the best go to weeknight side dish to pair with roti or paratha.
I didn’t grow up eating this dish and learned it only after I got married. As a Bengali who loves potatoes any day, learning about this side dish got me excited to prepare it every day.
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Ingredients for Jeera Aloo
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) – A Key Ingredient for the dish, and you definitely need cumin seeds.
Potatoes (Aloo) – I like to use yellow potatoes for the dish and instead of boiling, I steam the potatoes in my electric Pressure Cooker. Makes it so hassle free to peel the potatoes. Also, steaming helps to keep the potatoes dry and not too watery so when you stir fry it in the hot pan, it creates a lovely crust.
Other Spices – Cumin powder, Coriander Powder, Chili Powder and Turmeric Powder.
Asafoetida (Hing) – In my opinion, Asafoetida(hing) is yet another key ingredients in this dish. You can totally skip the rest of the spices if you don’t have them. But cumin seeds and Asafoetida cannot be substituted.
Raw Potatoes, Boiling or Steaming ?
I personally always go for steaming the potatoes with the skin on. When you steam the potatoes, they don’t absorb excess water and remains dry.
Once cooled just enough, so you can handle, peeling the potatoes are super easy and effortless.
If you chose to boil the potatoes, then make sure to leave it on the colander for a while to dry out, after draining the hot water.
You can use raw potatoes, too, to prepare this Jeera Aloo recipe. The only reason why I prefer steaming is because, it needs less oil to prepare the dish and the spices coats beautifully on the soft cooked potatoes.
Cooking raw potatoes with the spices will definitely call for more oil and more time to prepare the dish.
What goes well with Jeera Aloo?
It is best paired with paratha or roti alongside some daal. We also love it with poori.
You can also use the jeera aloo in wraps and sandwiches.
Here are more recipes featuring the humble potatoes!
How long to boil to steam potatoes?
I steam the yellow potatoes for not more than 10 minutes! You want the texture of the cook potatoes to be soft but retains shape easily.
As you cook the boiled/steamed potatoes in the spices, you want the potato bites to coat the spices and not turn into mashed spiced potatoes.
If you never tried this simple, side dish, you absolutely must and let me know how you liked it!

Jeera Aalu (Potato Fried in Cumin Seed)
Jeera Aloo, translating to Cumin Potatoes, is a weeknight side dish that is very popular is the Northern Part of India. Jeera Aloo is utterly simple to prepare and so very comforting when paired with paratha or roti.
Ingredients
- 4 medium size yellow potatoes
- 3 tablespoons cumin seed
- 1 tablespoon asafoetida (hing)
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoons oil
- salt to taste
- few sprigs of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Instructions
- Don't peel or cut the potatoes. Place the potatoes on a steamer and steam for 10 minutes.
- Once it is cool enough to handle comfortably, peel the potatoes and cut into bit size cubes.
- In a skillet, pour the oil. Once the oil heats up, add the cumin seeds and the asafoetida. Let it sizzle for a few seconds, then add the potato bites and toss it around.
- Add all the spice powder and season with salt. Toss it around and let it cook for 2 minutes. The toss again and let it cook for 3 minutes.
- Sprinkle with cilantro leaves and taste for salt. Add more if needed.
- Enjoy Jeera Aloo with your choice or bread.
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 ServingsAmount Per Serving Calories 252Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 0mgSodium 182mgCarbohydrates 41gFiber 5gSugar 2gProtein 6g
All nutrition information presented are intended for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
9 Comments
Miz Helen
January 20, 2011 at 4:01 PMOh my goodness…those potatoes look awesome. I am putting a large portion on my plate and can’t wait to try them. Thank you so much for coming to Full Plate Thursday and please come back!
Kankana Saxena
January 20, 2011 at 5:03 PMThanks for making my Thursday eventful 🙂 Will surely comeback !
Brittany @Real Sustenance
January 23, 2011 at 12:40 PMWow! These look like heaven. I LOVE cumin.. especially using it in whole form. Recently we have been eating it with Roasted Cauliflower. Wanted to invite you to share this recipe at Seasonal Sundays. Its a weekly event that I host and this recipe fits the theme perfectly!
-Brittany-
Kankana Saxena
January 23, 2011 at 8:50 PMThanks So Much Britney 🙂 Shared it at Seasonal Sundays .. will follow!
Umm Mymoonah
February 1, 2011 at 1:08 AMWow! Looks so yummy. I’m happy to discover yummy recipe site. Thank you for linking with Any One Can Cook 🙂
briarrose
February 9, 2011 at 10:45 AMI have a great love of anything potato as well. 🙂 The cumin would add great flavor.
Motoko
February 9, 2011 at 7:56 PMI agree potato is the most comforting food.
Ruth
February 10, 2011 at 8:15 AMThanks for this recipe, it’s looks delicious i will surely try it out.
mjskitchen
May 21, 2022 at 4:41 PMLove the idea of lots of cumin with potatoes. Have no idea what asafoetida tastes like, but it sounds interesting and having tried a few other Indian spices I wasn’t familiar with, I’m sure it adds a very interesting flavor to the potatoes.