22 Indian Potato Dishes You Should Try At Least Once

If we could pinpoint one moment in history that changed world cuisine forever, then Christopher Columbus' exploration of South America and the later discovery of potatoes in Colombia would be a strong contender. After European colonists brought the crop from South America to Europe, Africa, and Asia in the 1500s, the humble potato became a dietary staple of many generations across many countries.

One might forgive you for mistakenly believing that potatoes are a native Indian crop; after all, much like its European counterparts, the potato has become inseparable from traditional Indian fare. However, potatoes first reached India's shores on the boats of Portuguese and Dutch colonists and later spread across the region by the directive of the East India Company, which provided farmers with cheap seed potatoes to replace rice as the primary carbohydrate. While their mission ultimately failed — bread and rice retain a slight dominance — evidence of the past is still visible in India, whether through the Marathi word for potato, "batata," a loan from Portugese, or the sheer number of potato farmers.

In present-day India, everyone, from rural villagers to multi-millionaires, takes delight in potato-based recipes. They relish potatoes for breakfast in the form of aloo paratha, savor vada pav for lunch, and indulge in them for dinner, too. For every occasion and every course, potatoes come to the rescue — let's dive into which Indian potato dishes you should try.

From pani puri to dahi vada, India has a love affair with chaat. The beloved dish is named for its status as "chatpata," meaning foods that make you slap your lips from the sour, tangy flavors. Often sold from street carts or restaurants dedicated to the cuisine called chaat houses, it's the perfect snack — spicy, crunchy, sweet, and sour.

If there is one chaat you must try, it's aloo chaat, a potato dish perfect for serving at parties. The mouthwatering dish features crispy fried potatoes at the base, then topped with sweetened yogurt, fresh green chutney, sour tamarind sauce, juicy pomegranate arils, finely chopped onions, a smattering of vibrant cilantro, and brittle chickpea flour noodles. Ideally, serve it as a small-plate appetizer or set up a chaat station so everyone can help themselves.

Originating from the mountainous North-Western region of India known as Kashmir, dum aloo is a unique potato preparation. One of its distinctive features involves using whole baby potatoes, which undergo boiling and deep-frying in pungent mustard oil. 

In contrast to typical Indian curries, the base takes a different route: instead of the usual tomato and onion sauce, dum aloo incorporates thick yogurt cooked with vibrant Kashmiri chili powder, peppery ginger, and sweet crushed fennel. The resulting curry exudes a highly aromatic and smoky aroma, courtesy of infused flavors from black cardamom, cinnamon sticks, and black cumin.

Is there anyone on this Earth who can resist the moreish delight of soft-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside potato fries? We certainly can't. But if you thought the humble potato reached its apex with potato fries, you'd be mistaken. Meet Indian aloo pakora: thinly sliced potatoes dipped in a nutty chickpea flour batter seasoned with fresh cilantro, thyme-scented carom seeds, spicy chilis, and a dusting of salt. Even better, they're naturally vegan and gluten free. 

All great snacks need an accompanying sauce, so serve aloo pakora alongside ketchup, green chutney, or hot sauce. People traditionally relish the crispy bites amidst the torrential rains of the monsoon months, but we think a plateful of aloo pakora is always a good choice.

Despite popular belief, not all Indian dishes have to be spicy. That's the case with puri bhaji, a Maharashtrian meal often part of festive feasts. The recipe has two components: puri, a crispy hollow bread, and bhaji, a dry potato curry.

If the golden-hued potatoes weren't a giveaway, puri bhaji is heavily spiced with turmeric powder, lending an earthy over note to the curry. Other spices — garlicky asafoetida, hot black mustard seeds, crunchy urad dal, and zesty curry curries — shine when tempered in peanut oil. The dish is uncomplicated, light on the palate, and works well as an appetizer course or main dish. Consider serving it alongside sweet kheer (Indian milk pudding) as a complete festive thali.

You've likely heard of fenugreek, but have you ever cooked with it? The multifaceted herb has many uses, especially considering all of the parts of the plant are edible, including its seeds and leaves. While fenugreek seeds are easy enough to find, the fresh herb is a different case; you'll almost certainly have to travel to your local specialist shop. Fenugreek leaves taste like nutty, mildly bitter caramelized sugar or maple syrup. After being cooked, the greens wilt down and become mellower yet undeniably distinctive in flavor.

The most widely known dish to employ fresh fenugreek is aloo methi, a dry vegan stir fry. Although potatoes are the main ingredient, they're just a base for the fenugreek (methi), bulking out the dish and adding butteriness.

Of twenty superfoods you should consider adding to your diet, spinach is one of the most accessible — affordable, and available in every major grocery outlet. The leafy green pulls its nutritional weight, providing essential vitamins, minerals, and protein (via Healthline). One look at the eye-catching green color of aloo palak will tell you it's Popeye's favorite recipe.

As you may have guessed, aloo palak is made by blanching then puréeing fresh spinach with onions, garlic, ginger, and chilis into a deep, silky sauce. After being simmered with aromatic spices, boiled potatoes stirred through absorb all those lovely warming flavors. Why not top the dish with more fried garlic, then serve it with naan, paratha, or fragrant jeera rice. Aloo palak is bound to be a certified crowd-pleaser.

Deep-fried and potatoes. What two words suggest a more indulgent (and tasty) recipe? Aloo bonda is a South Indian snack from the Udupi hotels in Kanarkata. It bears similarity to its neighbor Maharashtra's batata vada, and while we'll never know which crispy potato ball came first, there are distinct differences.

A simple recipe at heart, aloo bonda begins by steaming potatoes, mashing them, and then tempering them with a typically South Indian mix of spices: hot and spicy black mustard seeds, earthy cumin, grated ginger, fried urad dal, aromatic curry leaves, and tangy lemon juice to freshen the flavor profile. Then rolled into balls and batted with the classic turmeric-spiced chickpea flour, aloo bonda is irresistible when accompanied by piping hot Indian tea, chai.

Few snacks have made quite an impactful global impression as samosa, a treat as celebrated outside India as it is within. These pastries have diverse stuffings, including minced lamb, paneer, or even sweetened condensed milk — but the most traditional of all is a gently-spiced potato and pea mixture seasoned with fenugreek seeds, dry mango powder, and plenty of fresh cilantro. Encasing the filling, a flaky, buttery, and crisp pastry is flecked with carom seeds. The resulting dish is so tempting it's impossible to eat only one.

If you want to make samosa at home, you can make the pastry yourself or buy it from an Indian grocery store. The snacks are typically deep-fried, but if you prefer less mess, opt for an air fryer samosa instead — it's equally appetizing.

India is a country with a vast cuisine spread across many regions. Some are perhaps not as widely known as they should be — that's certainly the case for Bengali fare. Aloo posto features a relatively obscure ingredient beloved by Bengali cooks: poppy seeds. While poppy seeds are famous for their morphine content and use in lemon-flavored desserts, Bengali cuisine utilizes the spice, called posto in the local language, to create a beautifully nutty, mildly sweet flavor to curries.

Traditionally, aloo posto is very simple, to let the poppy seeds shine. After soaking overnight, add a paste of blended white poppy seeds and green chilis to potatoes sautéed with onion seeds, turmeric, and salt. The thick, nutty sauce is a perfect complement to soft potatoes and steamed rice.

You'll have a hard time locating restaurants that serve Bombay potatoes in India, but if you find yourself in the U.K., the situation is quite different. Indian takeouts up and down the country — even in the remotest villages — will feature this best-selling side dish on its menu, with the simple potato becoming a beloved takeout tradition.

And it's no wonder they're so in demand. Fluffy, almost falling apart potatoes are coated in a thick, zingy seasoning sauce dominated by pops of roasted cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, and an abundance of fresh julienned ginger. Bombay potatoes are vegan, gluten-free, and perfect for any occasion. They may not be strictly traditional, but the British-Indian chefs knew what they were doing; you'll be hooked in no time.

The title of the most decadent, luxurious, and rich curry dish has to go to malai kofta. Although you may have heard "kofta" relating to meatballs around the world – specifically, the etymology is Persian – in this case, the dish is not a meatball but rather a crispy vegetarian potato ball made from a mixture of grated paneer cheese, soft potatoes, and fresh herbs.

In Hindi, malai translates to cream. So, it stands to reason that the sauce is silky, velvety, buttery, and above all else, creamy. Smooth puréed tomato and onion simmered with aromatic bay leaves, cinnamon, and cardamom, then a paste of nutty cashews, almonds, melon seeds, and poppy seeds makes the whole dish scrumptiously creamy. It's finished with spices, smoky dried fenugreek, and a drizzle of cream.