Sharmila on Food

My mum’s aloo recipe - for Koser

The aloo (potato) that my mum makes is stuff of legend.  Few ingredients, serious taste.  It was one of my favourite dishes growing up, and she still makes it for me now when I visit home.  But then, who wouldn’t love spicy, crispy, soft potatoes?

I now make this myself, but even though I follow what my mum does, it never tastes quite as good.  Ah, such is life.  Even so, it still tastes great, and is a dish that comforts as much as perks you up with its spiciness.  Anyhow, one of my oldest friends mentioned that she would love to have the recipe for this, as it was one of her favourite things that she would eat at our house when she would come round for tea.  I was more than happy to oblige, seeing this as a great opportunity to cook this fantastic dish.

Ingredients for two people:

2 medium sized potatoes - red skinned ones are best as they hold their shape but aren’t too waxy

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp urad dhal (you should be able to pick this up in any Asian grocers, or in some bigger supermarkets with a “foods of the world” section)

a pinch of asafoetida (sometimes also called hing)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chilli powder

Salt to taste (you do need quite a bit, but maybe that’s just me)

Groundnut oil (or vegetable oil if you can’t find groundnut)

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into medium sized chunks - if you imagine a chunk of pineapple, that’s probably about right.  Parboil until almost cooked and drain.

2. Heat a tablespoon of groundnut oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.  Add the mustard seeds and urad dhal.  Fry until the mustards seeds begin to pop and the urad has changed a shade darker and smells nutty.  Be careful not to burn the spices.

3. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and asafoetida, stir and cook for about 30 seconds (make sure you have a window open or your extractor on - this can often smell quite pungent and induce a coughing fit - spoken from bitter experience)

4. Add the potatoes, toss in the pan until all the potato is coated with the oily spice mixtue.

5. Fry for a few minutes until brown in places, and developing a lovely crisp exterior.

6. At this point, I usually add a splash of water to stop the spices burning.  Then, cover and turn the heat to low.

7. Cook until the potatoes are cooked through.  If you wish, you can then uncover, turn up the heat and cook so that the potatoes end up crisp on the outside.

8. Season with salt to taste.

I have been known to devour a bowl of this on it’s own, but it does taste wonderful with rice and rasam (a soupy, spicy South Indian broth flavoured with tomatoes - this is often mixed with the rice itself), which would be traditional in my house.  I also love it just with chapatis, though a lot of people find this a bit dry.  I don’t mind though, even if that is carb overload.