Saturday, March 15, 2008

Cook's Corner: Spicy potato for the beginner!!

Serving :
Dinner for 4 (for those who hog mercilessly. May be scaled down as per requirement)

Time :
Approximately 20 mins

Ingredients (marked with * are mandatory, rest is optional but its better to add those or more, for taste)

  1. * Potatoes : 6 medium size (as required)
  2. * Onions : 1 large (or 2 small)
  3. Kadipatta (Curry leaves) : for taste
  4. Kothimbeer/dhaniya (Corriander or cilantro) : for garnishing and aroma
  5. Green Chilies : 3 – 4 as per “hot” requirement
  6. * Red chilli powder : 3-4 teaspoons for color and taste as well
  7. Rai/Mohri (Mustard seeds) : For “Tadka”
  8. Jeera (Cummin) : For “Tadka”
  9. * Oil : For “Tadka” and frying onions and potato
  10. * Salt : For “Taste"
Procedure:

Cut potatoes in small n thin SLICES. Thin slices cook quickly. But please refrain from transparent slices as those will break off while stirring. Have (You are the Chief Chef… ask your roomies to do the adjunct work!!!) the onion, cilantro and chilies chopped finely. That’s it!! More than half the work is done !!

Pour (as in few teaspoons not a barrel!! It’s an expensive commodity. Use discretion!) some oil in a pan with a large base. It helps in frying and cooking the potato slices evenly. Add some mustard and then some cumin seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds start popping throw in the chopped onion and chilies in the oil. Let the onion fry for some time. Throw in some (half of the chopped) cilantro and curry leaves (fresh leaves add more taste as compared to dried ones!) As the cilantro gets fried the aroma will be awesome!! Throw in some salt for taste. Salt helps to soften the onion.

Feel the mixture and when your 7th sense forces throw in the chili powder as per taste (hotness!!!). Stir for some time and throw in the potato slices in the “gravy”. Mix well such that the “gravy” covers all slices and the potatoes are fried equally well. You may chose to cover the vessel and chat with a friend or for better result keep stirring frequently. Once done, spread the remaining cilantro for garnishing!

Best with dal rice or you may even try sandwich toast for lunch!!

Cheers!

2 comments:

Kranti Kumar Vangipuram said...

Vikram bhai ...

bring it to school for me the next time u make it :p

Vikram said...

HAHA.... dude thats precisely the reason i wrote.... someone could make it and bring it to school!! keep a watch n lemme know!!