Home » Recipe » Aloo Phulkopir Rasa (not Dalna)- A Spicy Bengali Potato Cauliflower Curry

Aloo Phulkopir Rasa (not Dalna)- A Spicy Bengali Potato Cauliflower Curry

by Shyamali Sinha

Aloo Phulkopir Rasa – Rasa pronounce as “Raw-Sa“. It is a thicker, slightly spicier version of the famous Bengali vegetarian curry Aloo Phulkopir Dalna which used to be a winter delicacy in Bengali kitchen.  Aloo means Potato, and Phulkopi means cauliflower.

Rasa and Dalna both are no-onion no-garlic curry.

Dalna is a thin, pourable mild gravy served with steamed rice, and Rosha is a semi-dry, yet pourable curry served with fried rice, Pulao, Luchi, Paratha.   As the Indian  Hindu festive season is around the corner, this curry recipe is perfect for the festive season with minimal effort. It is a sattvic dish, no onion and garlic added. 

Aloo Phulkopir Rasa
Aloo Phulkopir Rasa

Minimum Ingredients, maximum Flavour!

Curries have a reputation for being difficult to make on weeknights. Time-consuming,  you need to do a lot of prep-work, you have to make a special trip to the local Indian store to track down spices if you don’t cook Indian curries frequently! High on fat, so heavy on the stomach, and so on! 

But, this vegetarian curry is one of those dishes where you add minimum ingredients and get maximum flavour! You can make it any time of the week with minimal effort and not high in fat, as most popular Indian curries are known for.

Aloo Phulkopir Rasa in a meal
Aloo Phulkopir Rasa in a meal

Cook from scratch without making a trip to local Indian store for spices!

It is made from scratch with fewer spices. You don’t even need a trip to the supermarket if you use basic spices in your everyday cooking, such as whole and ground cumin, chilli powder, turmeric powder. 

Being a bengali, cooking curry in Mustard oil is my obsession, I love the pungent flavour of mustard oil. But if you are not familiar to cook with mustard oil, then don’t bother yourself to make a trip to the Indian store, make it with vegetable or canola oil! But, make sure next time when you visit your local Indian store, try to make at least one small bottle of mustard oil for your Bengali style cooking. 

What particular dish goes with this curry?

Aloo Phulkopir Rasa can be served with any flavoured rice, such as Jeera rice, Bagara Bhaat or Peas fried rice. Sometimes I paired this with plain Roti.

Aloo Phulkopir Rasa
Aloo Phulkopir rasa

Aloo Phulkopir Rasa

Author: Shyamali Sinha
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Bengali, Indian
Diet: Vegetarian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings : 6
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Aloo -Kopir Rasa- Rasa pronounce as " Raw-Sa". It is a thicker, slightly spicier version of the famous Bengali vegetarian curry Aloo- Kopir Dalna which used to be a winter delicacy in Bengali kitchen.  Aloo means Potato, and Phulkopi means cauliflower.

Ingredients

  • 1 head medium Cauliflower - ~ 550- 600 gm
  • 2 medium Potatoes - ~ 250gm
  • ¼ cup Peas - ~ 50 gm
  • 1 medium Tomato - ~ 100 gm Chopped
  • 20 gm Ginger - grated
  • ¼ cup Mustard Oil - ~ 60 gm (any unflavoured cooking oil will work)
  • 2 tsp Ghee

Whole spices

  • ½ tsp Cumin seeds
  • 2 Dry red chilli
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 5 cm Cinnamon Bark
  • 4 Green Cardamoms
  • 3 Cloves

Ground spices:

  • 3 tsp Cumin powder
  • 1 ½ tsp Red Chilli powder
  • 1 tsp Turmeric powder
  • ¼ Garam Masala
  • Salt
  • ½ tsp Sugar
  • cup Warm Water
  • 1 ½ cup Boiling water - for gravy

Instructions

  • Cut cauliflower into medium size florets and wash and keep the florets in a mixing bowl
  • Sprinkle salt and pour boiling water. Cover with a lid for 10 minutes.
  • Drain the cauliflower and rub salt and turmeric powder. Keep aside for another 10- 12 minutes.
  • Take a bowl filled with water. Peel the skin off  the potato and cut it into dice pieces
  • Put the diced potato in the bowl. Wash the potato pieces a few times, rub salt and turmeric powder into the potato pieces and keep aside.
  • In a bowl, add grated ginger, cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, sugar and 1/8 cup of water to make a spice slurry.
  • Pour mustard oil in a pre-heat a Kadhai or Dutch oven, save about 2 tbsp of oil and heat up oil over medium heat. Once the oil reaches to smoky heat temperature, reduce the heat to low and sprinkle a few pinches of salt.
  • Add marinated potato and over medium to medium-high heat fry the potato until almost 80% cooked through. Remove from oil.
  • Add cauliflower in the remaining oil and over medium heat fry the cauliflowers till developed brown colour in the edges. Remove from oil.
  • Pour the remaining 2 tbsp oil in the cooking pot and let it hot.
  • Add dry red chilli, bay leaves, whole spices, cumin seeds in the hot oil, stir for a few seconds to homogenise the flavour of oil and spices.
  • Add chopped tomato and cook till the tomato softened.
  • Add the spice slurry and a ⅛ cup of water. you will notice the spices are settling in the bottom of the cooking pot, stir with a spatula, over high heat cook until the liquid starts bubbling from the edges.
  • Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium and cook till the raw flavour of the spice removed.
  • When the spice mix well roasted, it will start separating from the oil.
  • Add fried potato, cauliflower and peas. With the help of a spatula, toss the vegetables in the spice mix.
  • Sprinkle a little bit of water and increase the heat to high. The vegetable will start soaking up the spice mix and flavour.
  • Add warm water. Give a stir.
  • Over high heat lets, the liquid comes up to a rolling boil.
  • Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium
  • Simmer for a few minutes.
  • Sprinkle garam masala and ghee.
  • Increase the heat to high and wait for one last rolling boil.
  • Turn off the heat, cover with the lid and wait for 10 to 15 minutes resting time before you serve.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  • This is a sattvic dish, no onion and garlic added. Perfect for the festive season with minimal effort.
  • Difference between Dalna and Rosha (pronounce raw-sa)is Dalna is a pourable mild gravy served with steamed rice, and Rosha is a semi-dry gravy served with fried rice, Pulao, Luchi, Paratha.
  • Not high in fat, as most popular Indian curries are known for. for example paneer butter masala, malai kofta, veg kurma. I can make it any time of the week for a quick curry.
Keyword: Aloo Phulkopir Rasa, Bengali Vegetarian recipe
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