Kashmiri Dum Aloo - Baby Potatoes in Yoghurt based Gravy

Today I made Kashmiri dum aloo, which is nothing but baby potatoes in yogurt based gravy with traditional North Indian spices.
Potatoes is a vegetable we all like and here is another yummy dish using potatoes.
My daughter loved this dish mainly cause of the baby potatoes that look as well as taste delicious.
In the traditional Kashmiri recipe, the Potatoes are stuffed with Khoya, cashew nuts, raisins and green chillies, but this version of Dum Aloo I learnt from my Grandmom who only fried the potatoes before simmering them in the gravy.
For those watching their weight, you could just par boil the potatoes once, and then simmer them in the gravy without frying.
Serves 4
Ingredients:

Potatoes - 500 gms - around 15 small
Black cardamom - 2
Cloves - 4
Poppy seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 medium cut into halves + 1 chopped finely or grated
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Garlic - 10 flakes
Tomato - 2 - pure'ed
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Dry red chilly - 2
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece
Bay leaf - 1
Curd - 1 cup - beaten
Garam masala - 1 tsp

Ghee - 2 tsp

Olive Oil/Ghee/ - for frying as required

Method:

Boil the potatoes, peel and prick each potato all over with a fork or needle and allow to dry on kitchen towel.

Deep or shallow fry the potatoes in few tbsp of butter or ghee or olive oil until the potatoes are golden and crispy.

Drain on kitchen towel and keep aside.

If you do not wish to fry you could skip this step of frying and only used the boiled and peeled potatoes.

Now take a pan, roast cardamom seeds, cloves, cumin and poppy seeds till they give out good aroma. Now grind these roasted ingredients along with onion, garlic and ginger into a fine paste, use little water if required.

Now take a heavy bottomed pan, keep on medium heat, add 2 tsp oil or ghee, add the red chilly, cinnamon and bay leaf and fry for a few seconds. Now add the finely chopped/grated onion and fry well till golden, and then add the ground paste, tomato puree, salt, chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and fry well for a few seconds more.

Now add curds slowly 1 tbsp at a time and stir fry till all the curds mixes well with rest of the gravy.

Add potatoes and stir gently and bring to boil.

Be careful while mixing or stirring so that the potatoes do not break or mash.

Serve hot.