Recipe: Potato Masala

Potato Masala
Potato Paliya

Preparation time: 30 min.
Cooking time: 50 min.
Serves 4

Potato Masala 500 g (1 lb.) potatoes
2-3 green chilles (chili peppers), finely chopped
A piece of fresh ginger (2-1/2 cm/1 inch long),
scraped and finely chopped
2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup (8 fl. oz.) water
1/2 cup (3 oz.) boiled green peas (optional)
1 small bunch of coriander
(Chinese parsley) leaves, finely chopped (to garnish)

For Tempering
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black gram da1
(washed urad dal), picked over and rinsed
1 teaspoon Bengal gram dal
(yellow split peas, chana dal), picked over and rinsed
1 red chilli (chili pepper), halved
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida powder
A few curry leaves

Method

Boil the potatoes in their jackets until cooked. Peel, mash and set aside.

Tempering: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy saucepan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black gram dal, Bengal gram dal, halved red chilli, asafoetida powder, and a few curry leaves.

When the mustard seeds splutter, add the finely chopped green chillies, ginger, onion and tomatoes (if used). Sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Add the salt to taste, ground turmeric, and 1 cup (8 fl. oz) water. Cover pan with a lid. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the onions are well cooked. Add the mashed potatoes and boiled peas (if used). Cook for another 2 minutes, until thoroughly blended.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with Masala Dosai or puris.

Buy the Book!

Dakshin:
Vegetarian Cuisine from South India
By Chandra Padmanabhan
Periplus Editions/Tuttle Publishing, November 1999
Trade paperback, $18.95
176 pages, 97 full-color photographs
ISBN: 962-593-527-4
Recipe reprinted by permission.