Name: Quick & Easy Indian Bombay Potatoes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 250g (10 oz) potatoes, diced; 1 tbsp oil; 1/2 small onion, finely diced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1/2 tsp ginger, minced; 1/2 tsp cumin seeds; 1/2 tsp mustard seeds; 1/4 tsp turmeric; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground coriander; 2 tbsp tomato puree; 1 tbsp lemon juice; salt and pepper, to taste

Jump to Recipe

These easy bombay potatoes (also known as bombay aloo) are the perfect Indian side dish to any main! They’re super flavourful and quick to make. In fact, they’re one of my favourite Indian recipes to serve!

frying pan full of potatoes in a red sauce

Who else loves Indian food?! Well, probably all of you if you’re looking at this recipe! It’s probably my favourite cuisine; well, probably joint favourite with Italian. After all, they’re both so versatile in their flavours. After all, there are so many different combinations of spices in Indian cuisine – not to mention the other prominent ingredients such as paneer, yogurt, pistachios and more.

What do I need to make this recipe?

You don’t need to many ingredients to make this recipe, and if you regularly cook Indian food then you’ll probably have at least most of the spices already. Such as mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and turmeric, all of which I feature in my one-pot Indian potatoes or the carrot equivalent.

One brilliant aspect of this recipe is that all the ingredients have a pretty long shelf life! Why not try some of these hacks for making them last longer:

The onion: if you ever have onions starting to go bad, why not chop them and then freeze them? That way whenever you need an onion, you can fish out the appropriate quantity of chopped onion and either defrost it in the microwave, or even simply just add it to a hot pan!
The garlic and ginger: I prefer to buy pre-minced garlic and ginger (preferably frozen and not jarred as the jarred sort is kept in vinegar. This can give the garlic a very sharp, sour taste). That way you’ll always have it to hand and can save your hands the torture of trying to peel and mince them both perfectly every time!
The spices: most spices and blends last around 1 year in a sealed container kept in a dark space. So, it’s worth always keeping your spices in a dark place to maintain the proper depth of flavour, as well as replacing them when they start to lose fragrance as that signifies loss of flavour. That way you can make sure that all your spice-infused dishes will come out with the maximum possible flavour!
The potatoes: make sure to keep potatoes in a cool dark place. It should also be dry and well ventilated, such as in a net inside a cupboard.
The tomato flavour: I like to use tomato puree for this as it’s already smooth and jam-packed full of flavour. This prevents any watery tomato juice from thinning down the “sauce” part of the dish too much.
The lemon juice: lemons don’t have a particularly long shelf life, but bottled lemon juice does! It might not be quite as vibrant in flavour (so you may need a little extra), but it works just fine in a pinch!

The other ingredients are simply the oil, salt and pepper, and fresh coriander, which are all pretty staple ingredients.

How do I make bombay potatoes the easy way?

My method to make bombay potatoes is not only quick and easy, but it’s also vegan, gluten-free, nut-free and more! Plus, you can customise it completely to suit your tastes (scroll down for some customisation suggestions).

parboil the potato cubes, then drain
heat up the oil and soften the onion
add the garlic and ginger and spices
to the pan, add the tomato puree and toast
add the potatoes and stir gently to coat in the “sauce”
season to taste and serve

See? Super simple! It really couldn’t be easier – and it only takes approximately 20 minutes including prep time!

How can I customise my potatoes?

There are practically unlimited ways that you can customise this recipe, so I’ll simply list a few here to give you some inspiration!

for creamier bombay potatoes, try adding 2 tbsp plain, natural yogurt. If that still isn’t creamy enough then add 2 tbsp more at a time until it’s perfect for you.
for some extra veggies, try adding in some diced pepper with the onion (I love green peppers in Indian food, personally) and try substituting some (or all) of the potatoes with either butternut squash or sweet potato.
if you prefer crispier potatoes, leave the skin on and roast them instead of parboiling, then continue with the recipe as written.
for extra spice, why not add a green chilli pepper (super finely chopped) in with the onion? That’s sure to bring the heat! Or, add a little cayenne pepper at a time, tasting regularly, until they’re spicy enough for you.
if the tomato puree is too sweet, try adding a touch of either vinegar or extra lemon juice to mellow out the sweetness.