Today’s recipe is based on potatoes which are cooked in the hilly regions of North India. I came across this recipe years ago, and since then it has been marked as a favourite in my diary. Simple to cook and made in a jiffy, it is best eaten with a soft phulka. The aromatic flavours of saunf (fennel seeds) just hit your palate in a burst of tasty goodness. I have used baby potatoes in this dish, as I find they hold their shape well after steaming or boiling.
Potatoes in any form are a favourite all over the world and adapt so well to any cuisine, be it American hash browns, French fries, mashed potatoes, or the Swiss potato rosti, or our own Indian cuisine. From the delicious aloo ka paratha in the north, to poshto aloo made with poppy seeds in the east, to pav wada in the west, up to the aloo sabzi stuffed in crispy dosas in the south.
Memories of the humble potato ruling my mother’s kitchen still linger. Sundays normally meant having fried potato tikkis in the evenings for snacks while Doordarshan played some old Bollywood movies on our black and white TV sets. Of course, the tikkis were served with slices of white bread and fresh mint chutney. Most often than not, this snack was filling enough not to have anything more for dinner, only to wait eagerly for the jelly and custard which was a favourite dessert at home.
Leftover uncooked tikkis were sometimes made into aloo toasters, sandwiched between two slices of bread buttered on the outside, to be toasted manually on the gas stove in a quaint sandwich toaster. This, served with tomato ketchup, was good to go for breakfast. No one was fussy about carbohydrates or calories. Life was fun and happy-go-lucky. Simple pleasures of life were the norm. Oh, those good old days.
Do try this recipe and team it up with Sindhi dal makhni or any of your favourite dals.
Ingredients
- 250 gms baby potatoes, boiled, peeled, and halved (or normal boiled potatoes, peeled and cubed)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp saunf (fennel seeds)
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsps freshly ground saunf powder
- 2 or 3 dry red chillies, broken
- 1 tbsp chopped ginger
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 sliced onion
- 2 tbsps thick tamarind paste
- 2 tbsps honey
- Salt to taste
- Chopped coriander leaves
- 2 tbsps mustard oil
Method
- Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and saunf.
- Sauté till fragrant.
- Add ginger, garlic, dry red chillies, and sliced onion.
- Now add the potatoes and salt.
- Sauté for a few minutes.
- Add saunf powder, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder.
- Finally, add tamarind paste and honey.
- Mix well and serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander leaves and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
👏 awesome