Instant Pot Aloo Masala (Indian Potato Filling)

A mildly spiced South Indian potato and onion curry served for breakfast or as a filling for Masala Dosa, made super easy in the Instant Pot.

Similar to cubed hashbrowns or cottage potatoes, Aloo Masala is a delicious potato filling often served for breakfast in Southern India. This warm and fragrant potato dish has many aliases; as it is also known as Potato Masala, Dosa Pancake Filling, Dose ka Masala, Mamta Gupta, Aloo Masala or Potato Masala for Dosa.

Ah, dosa.

Dosa has got to be one of my all-time favorite Indian dishes. It is the one item I look for every single time we come across an Indian restaurant. If you’ve never had the pleasure of enjoying dosa for yourself, dosa is a large and crisp thin crepe filled with Aloo Masala. And though it’s often served for breakfast in India, I enjoy mine for dinner.

As it turns out, dosa is usually served in Indian restaurants that feature more southern cuisine. Part of the reason I love ordering dosa can be attributed to the delicious Sambar traditionally served with the dosa. Sambar is a flavorful South Indian vegetable and split pigeon pea soup, made with fresh herbs and aromatic spices – powered by plant protein and fiber.

Sambar is delicious served with steamed rice, roti, naan, or idli. But whenever I have a bowl of sambar, I start craving dosa!! And while the dosa itself is pretty incredible, I simply adore the flavorful potato curry mixture inside the dosa – the Aloo Masala. It is just so good and so flavorful!

It’s important to note that this recipe can be done in a pressure cooker or on the stove. And depending on whether you use the pressure cooker or the stove, the method or technique will vary. This post focuses on using a pressure cooker, though if you’re cooking this Aloo Masala on the stove, simply follow the step-by-step instructions found in the Notes section after the recipe below. I explain exactly how to make this on the stove.

Before we proceed any further, it’s important to note that this Instant Pot Aloo Masala uses spices and seasonings that you may not have in your pantry. This includes dal, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafetida powder, ginger, green chili or jalapeño, fresh curry leaves, ground turmeric, and fresh cilantro.

I was able to purchase the ingredients I didn’t already have at a nearby Indian grocery store. Once you have all the ingredients, it’s important to do a little prep work to set things up beforehand so that you can work quickly.

As the name suggests, Aloo Masala features potatoes, but it also contains onions, dal, and a myriad of herbs and spices. I prefer using Yukon gold potatoes and yellow onion, but you can use any kind of potato or onion you have on hand.

Dal is another name for lentil or split bean. Chana dal is a split garbanzo bean and urad dal is a spilt black gram (or split black lentil). It’s important to soak the chana dal for at least ten minutes to ensure it cooks properly, whether using the pressure cooker method or the stovetop method.

While the dal is soaking, prep your other ingredients. Slice your onion, peel and chop your potatoes, and dice the pepper, and set everything out next to the pressure cooker. It may not seem like much, but all of these ingredients work in concert to add so much character and depth to this otherwise simple potato dish.

In fact, most recipes call for quite a bit of ghee (clarified butter) or oil and quite a bit of salt. If you’ve read any of my previous posts or recipes, you’ll know that I try to limit or eliminate the amount of oil used whenever possible.

If you’re going to use oil, you don’t need much. I recommend using one-half teaspoon avocado oil to heat up your seeds and spices. And I find that when you use fresh spices, you don’t need much salt, if any at all.

I think this is one of the reasons my husband and I enjoy Indian food as much as we do. It’s packed with flavor!

Let’s begin, shall we?

Start making this Instant Pot Aloo Masala by pressing “Sauté” on your Instant Pot or pressure cooker. After a minute, add in the the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. About a minute later, stir in the hing, followed by the drained chana dal and urad dal. Stir to combine.

After another moment, stir in the sliced onion, ginger, garlic, green chili or jalapeño, and curry leaves. You’ll want to deglaze the liner by pouring in about one-half cup (four ounces) of water. Then stir or scrape the bottom of the insert to ensure all of the bits are removed. This ensures you don’t get a “burn” notice.

Add the potatoes, peas, turmeric, and red chilies and close the lid. Make sure the pressure valve is turned to the sealing position and press high pressure for four minutes.

Allow the pressure to release naturally for five minutes, then turn the sealing knob to release any remaining pressure. Gently fold in the fresh chopped cilantro and serve!

One more important thing to consider is the amount of spice or heat you want to add to this Instant Pot Aloo Masala. If you prefer your food mild, reduce or omit the amount of red chilies and jalapeño peppers used. If you like your foods on the spicier side, then add in more. I prefer adding a little of each, but not too much. I like a hint of spice.

It really is that easy!!

Now that you’ve made this delicious Instant Pot Aloo Masala, what are you going to do with it?

As mentioned previously, you can serve this Instant Pot Aloo Masala with a tortilla, roti, naan, or flatbread. But my absolute favorite way to enjoy this filling is inside a dosa or Masala Dosa. It’s delicious served on fresh warm toast, in lettuce wraps, with steamed rice, and dal.

I hope you enjoy this Instant Pot Aloo Masala as much as I do.  

I would love to see your results! Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!   Enjoy!!   

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Ingredients

• 1 tsp avocado oil
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp hing (asafoetida powder)
• 2 tsp chana dal, soaked in water for 10 minutes, drained
• 1 tsp urad dal, soaked in water for 10 minutes, drained
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger (1-inch knob)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 green Thai chili or ½ jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 12-15 curry leaves
• ½ cup water
• 4-5 yukon gold potatoes (about 1½ pounds), cubed
• 1 cup frozen peas
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1-2 dry red chilies, broken up, seeds removed (optional)
• salt or to taste (optional)
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Using the sauté feature on your Instant Pot or pressure cooker, sauté the mustard seeds for 1 minute.
2. Stir in the hing for 10-15 seconds, then stir in the chana dal. Sauté for 1 minute until the dal starts changing color.

1. Then stir in the onion, ginger, green chili, and curry leaves. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until the onions soften, stirring occasionally. The onions should look slightly transparent.

1. Add the water and deglaze the pot, scraping the bottom of the insert with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula to ensure there are no brown bits stuck on the bottom.
2. Stir in the potatoes, peas, turmeric, and red dried chilies.
3. Close the lid. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes, with the pressure valve turned to the sealing position.

1. Once complete, wait 10 minutes, then release the pressure by turning the sealing knob to release.  It may take 20-30 seconds to release pressure.  Remove the lid.
2. Stir in the cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.
3. And serve!

Notes

To make on the stovetop, boil the potatoes until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan on medium heat. Add the mustard seed and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the hing and chana dal. Cook for 1 more minute.  

Add the onion, ginger, green chili, and curry leaves. Cook until the onion is softened, about 4-5 minutes.  

Stir in the potatoes, turmeric, 2 tablespoons of water, and salt, if using.  Cook another 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.

Serve as a filling for Masala Dosa, in a sandwich, tortilla roti or flatbread, in lettuce wraps, with steamed rice and dal.