As one of the worlds largest food crops and with India being in the top 3 and United Kingdom in the top 15 when it comes to potato production it is no surprise that this vegetable features a lot in our day to day life. I always remember having many variations of ‘Potato Curry’ growing up. Six decades ago when my grandparents moved to England from India it would have been one of the few vegetables that would have reminded them of home and was readily available.
This dish is super simple and one of the first dishes I remember learning to cook. It requires key ingredient ‘Potatoes’ and everything else is just a spice. It can be cooked pretty quickly and you can adjust all spices to suit your tastes. The key to this dish is to keep an eye on it. A lot of tossing of the potatoes is required in order to avoid sticking to the pan.
- 500g New Potatoes (diced into approx. 1cm cubes)
- 3 tbs Oil
- Pinch of asafoetida (adds to the taste but is optional)
- ½ tsp Black Mustard Seeds
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- 1 ½ tsp Ground Coriander
- ½ tsp Chilli Powder (optional and to taste)
- ½ tsp Salt (or to taste)
- Heat your oil in a wide bottom pan.
- Add Black Mustard Seeds – stand back as these will sizzle and pop.
- Add a pinch of asafoetida (optional) this will sizzle give it 5 seconds and throw in your potatoes.
- Throw in your chopped potatoes and stir so that they are coated in the oil.
- At this point add all your dry spices. Add Turmeric, Ground Coriander, Salt and Chilli Powder if using.
- Toss potatoes or stir to ensure that the spices coat all the potatoes.
- Turn down the heat and add 50ml water to avoid potatoes sticking to the pan, also the steam created from the water will help to cook the potatoes. Toss the potatoes every 2-3 minutes until potatoes are crispy on the outside and softer on the inside.
- Depending on the size of your potato cubes you may need to adjust cooking time. What you are looking for is a crispy outer and soft inner. What you are not looking for is burnt on the outside and not cooked on the inside.
- To make it easier I throw all my dry spices and salt into the bowl with the chopped raw potatoes. You can then mix the potatoes and spices by hand or spoon (wear a glove if you are using chilli powder).