INDIAN POTATO APPETIZER
For me no Indian meal is complete without at least one potato dish; an
alu, or aloo as it's more commonly spelled. As far as I've been able to
discover, Indian chefs in London don't go out of their way to find
specific varieties of potato for their many and varied potato dishes.
They do though seem to have considerable success with their aloos,
purls, samosas, batis and bondas. Spices, chilies and peppers seem to
enhance the potato's flavour and the cooking and success rate of Indian
potato dishes seems foolproof.
ALOO CHAT
Serves 6-8
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6 medium-sized potatoes, boiled and cut
into 1/2-in (1-cm) cubes
-
3 fl oz (75 ml) water
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1 tbs chat masala
-
2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
-
1 lb (450 g) ripe tomatoes, peeled and
chopped
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3 or 4 tbs coriander leaves, chopped
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1 tsp ground, roasted cumin seeds
-
2 tbs lemon juice
-
salt
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Mix the water into the chat masala. You
can buy a proprietary brand or make your own by mixing together 3/4 tsp
ground roasted cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp each of red pepper, ground
asafetida and mango powder, 1/2 tsp black salt and 3/a tsp coarse salt.
-
Pour the mixture over the potatoes. Stir
well and leave for 15 minutes or so, giving the occasional stir.
-
Add the tomatoes, onions and coriander,
cover the dish and leave to cool. Stir in the cumin, salt and lemon
juice.
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