Instant Pot Bombay Potatoes

Jump to Recipe

Instant Pot Bombay Potatoes - Instant Pot Indian Style Roast Potatoes or Aloo Jeera Recipe A perfect side to any indian meal - Soft inside and crispy and spicy outside. Also incidentally Paleo, Whole 30 approved, Vegan & Gluten Free.

This simple but extremely comforting side is a must know!

Potatoes are loved world over and these potatoes are made on a daily basis in most Indian households.

Usually, the potatoes are pressure cooked in the traditional stover top cooker, peeled and then shallow fried with ghee and spices.

But while making this Instant Pot Cumin Roasted Potatoes recipe - we will use baby potatoes aka new potatoes and Steam them in the Instant pot and then sauté them in oil along with spices.I find steaming the potatoes better than boiling especially for this recipe because we are looking for firm but cooked potatoes.Sometimes boiling makes them too soft and they fall apart while sauteing.

You could add other vegetables like beans, carrots and peas to make it less carb heavy.

How to Make Instant Pot Bombay Potatoes

Step 1: Place the Potatoes in the steamer basket.Add 1 Cup water to the Instant Pot Inner Pot.

Step 2: PRESSURE COOK for 5 minute on HIGH.Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then Quick release.Remove potatoes from the pot and peel all of them.

Step 3:Using the SAUTE more, heat the inner pot.

Step 4: Add oil/Ghee and let it get hot- 20-30 seconds.

Step 5:Add the cumin and asafetida(omit asafetida for gluten free version).Let it splutter.

Step 6: Add the steamed Potatoes and Sauté the potatoes for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the spices and salt.

Step 7: Mix till the spices coat the potatoes and Cancel the saute. Take the pot out or the spices will burn and stick to the bottom of the inner pot.

Step 8:Garnish with Coriander leaves and serve.

Special Notes

1. Peeling the potatoes- You can choose to not peel your potatoes.The skin of potatoes is full of nutrients and the potatoes do not stick to the inner pot of the instant pot while cooking. But peeled potatoes absorb the spices better.
2. For Dairy Free Version- Replace Ghee with Oil.
3. For Gluten Free Version- Omit Asafetida
4. Spices- The main spices in this dish are Cumin,Turmeric and Coriander.The rest of them are all supporting actors.You can choose to skip them if you can't find them.
5. Browning the Peeled Potatoes- The boiled, peeled potatoes will frankly brown better in a cast iron or a nonstick pan.Ideally, i would boil the potatoes in Instant Pot and saute in a pan on the hob.

Dietary details of Instant Pot Bombay Potatoes

This Aloo Jeera is

• Paleo and Whole 30 approved
• Gluten Free- Omit Asafetida
• Dairy Free and Vegan - if oil is used instead of Ghee

Variations of Aloo Jeera aka Bombay Potatoes

Potatoes are the perfect blank canvas! You can change the spice mix and make your kind of spiced potato. Here are some ideas of different spice mixes with which you can make these roast potatoes-

-Peri Peri Spice Mix
-Zaatar
-Curry Powder
-Panchporan
-Butter & Galic

You can also change the cooking fat - mustard oil,Sesame oil,Duck fat.

How to Eat Cumin Roasted Potatoes

The best way to eat it with fresh Pooris or parathas.The next best way is to eat it as a side to Dal and Rice or fresh chapatis.

More Indian Vegetarian recipes for you

Kurkure Bhindi Fry
Masala Baby Potatoes
Smoky Baigan Bhaja

Vegetarian Instant Pot Indian Recipes

Instant Pot Tari wale Aloo|Indian Potato and Tomato Curry
Instant Pot Chole
Instant Pot Rajma
Instant Pot Toor Dal
Instant Pot Langarwali Dal

Read about how to make indian food in Instant Pot in detail here

Part 1: Instant Pot for Indian Cooking

Part 2: Which Instant Pot Model to buy

Part 3: Making Indian Food in Instant Pot

Part 4: Instant Pot Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few quick pointers on the instant pot.

I use the 6 qts DUO Instant Pot and all my recipes are tested on the same.
Here are a few quick need to knows while using an Instant Pot.

Saute & Pressure Cook Setting – These are the most used settings on the instant pot. Pressure Cook setting can also be called Manual on your multicooker.
Minimum liquid- There is a minimum liquid requirement for most instant pots. For a 6 qts IP - 1 cup is the minimum liquid required as per the manufacturer.
Burn Message- If the food starts burning this notice pops up on the instant pot and cuts off any further cooking. This message can also come if you have used the SAUTE setting before and not deglazed the pan.or if you use a bigger 8 qts pot.The minimum requirement of the liquid changes and hence you could potentially get it while using it. To solve this, add about ¼ cup of more water than the recipe calls for.
While using certain sauces like tomato sauce or cheese sauces, you may get burn message because they are more viscous than water and burn easily.To solve this, again add ¼ cup of water to the bottom of the pot first, then add the sauce and proceed with the rest of the recipe. You could also use pot in pot method for these recipes.
Pressure Build Up
Most recipes only mention the time setting you need to use while cooking in the instant pot.In actual, the total time taken to cook is time taken for the pressure build up+ time taken for actual cooking + time taken for the steam to release.
Quick Release(QR) ,Natural Pressure Release(NPR) & 10 minute Natural Pressure Release(10NPR)
Quick release(QR)- when you release the pressure valve, as soon as the cooking time is up.This release hot steam, so make sure you are careful while doing this.
Natural Pressure Release(NPR)- You open the pot only after the pressure in the IP is released on its own. This could vary depending on the Pressure setting, amount of food, size of the pot.
10 Natural Pressure Release(10NPR)
Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes after which you Quick Release the pressure.
What not to do in Instant Pot
-Use Instant Pot without any liquid in the pot.
-Open the lid without the releasing the pressure first.
-Keep the Instant pot on the stove- there have been a lot of instances where the instant pot has gotten burnt from the bottom on accident.
-Dump food in the instant pot without the inner pot.
-Fill the pressure cooker up till the brim.

About Indian Spices and Herbs

Spices
Indian food relies heavily on spices. While Spices are an important part of the recipe, you can skip them if you are new to Indian cuisine or just do not have them at hand.

Curry Powder 
Coriander powder, Turmeric Powder ,Cumin and Chili Powder are 4 pillars of Indian cooking. Usually, store bought Curry Powder is a pre of these 4 spice powders. You can make Simple recipes like – Dal, Basic Chicken Curry, khichadi, with just curry powder.

Garam Masala & other Spice Mixes
Garam Masala is usually a mix of other spices like black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, Cumin etc. You could buy a ready made garam masala and use instead of making a mix for every recipe.

Whole Spices
In addition to the 3 pillars and Garam Masala, we also use whole spices in elaborate Indian recipes like Chicken Korma,Laal Maas and Chicken Biryani.These add an unmistakable aroma and flavor to these dishes.They are easily available online or on big retail stores. Buy small quanities of these and keep refrigerated if not using often.

Herbs 
Main Indian herb which is used across almost all recipes is coriander or cilantro. It is used as a garnish on almost all Indian recipes. It adds a much-needed freshness to otherwise spice heavy stewed food. The other Herb that is used while cooking is Curry Leaves.