ALU/ALOO

 Alu in Persian means Plum, that's where dried Plums get their name "Alubukhara" from. Literally "Plum from Bukhara". Bukhara being the ancient hub of dry fruit trade on the silk route.

However, in India, potato’s name is a classic example of "linguistic recycling."

Potato came to India from South America with the Portuguese.

Before the potato arrived in India, the word Aloo (from the Sanskrit Āluka) already existed. It was used to describe Elephant Foot Yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius) and other native tuberous roots.

When the potato was introduced, it looked and cooked remarkably similarly to these native tubers. Over time, the name "Aloo" was simply transferred to the new, more popular vegetable, while the original owner of the name became specifically known as Ool (in Bangla) or Jimikand (in Hindi).

The Persians call it Sib-zamini which is a literal translation of the French phrase pomme de terre, which means "apple of the earth" or "earth apple."

Interestingly, some historical records suggest that the shift to calling it "Aloo" solidified in Kolkata. While the Portuguese called it Batata (a name still used in Marathi, Gujarati, and Konkani today), the British brought it to the Bengal Presidency. As cultivation spread from the plains of Bengal to the hills of Nainital, the local term for tubers—Aloo—became the standard name for the potato across North India.

In Telugu language potato is called Bangaladumpa....... Literally "Bengal Tuber," as it was widely traded from Bengal.

The Persians call it Sib-zamini which is a literal translation of the French phrase pomme de terre, which means "apple of the earth" or "earth apple."

The name Batata has an interesting journey too

The word originates from batata, a term used by the Taíno people (the indigenous inhabitants of the Caribbean, specifically in areas like Haiti and Puerto Rico) to describe the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas).

The Spanish brought the Batata to Europe and called it Patata(from which it became Potato in English). Their Iberian neighbours, the Portuguese called Patata as Batata.

For a long time, Europeans didn't distinguish clearly between the sweet potato (the original batata) and the white potato (Solanum tuberosum), which was discovered later in the Andes.

The Portuguese brought Batata to Western India/Goa and introduced the name into Marathi, Gujarati, and Konkani. The British took Batata to Bengal and Bengalis renamed it Aloo, which then the British spread all over Northern and Eastern India

The "aloo" in Vindaloo is actually a corruption of Portuguese Alhos meaning Garlic.
Vindaloo is a Goan adaptation of a Portuguese dish called Carne de Vinha d'Alhos.