Thursday, June 13, 2013

Potato Bhaji (turned out pretty well for Kim's contribution to an Indian cuisine day at Cambridge)

For 25 potatoes
10 onions chopped
2 or 3 green chillies, take out the seeds.
10 small tomatoes
One bunch of cotmir
5 tsps of haldi
4 tsps of pepper powder
3 tsps of garam masala
40-50 curry leaves
5 tsps mustard
5 tspns jeera
5 flakes of garlic chopped very fine
1 inch long pieces of ginger sliced then julienned fine.
2tspns of sugar
Salt to taste,
3 sour limes
Cooking oil
Place vessel on stove, When it is hot add oil. (2 tablespoon for 1 kg potaotes)
 
When the oil starts smoking slightly, turn stove to medium, chuck in one tsp mustard. When it stops crackling chuck in a tsp of jeera. When that stops crackling throw in 8-10 curry leaves.
 
Add the chopped garlic. One flake for a kg. and 1/5th of the ginger cut fine. Throw in half a tsp of sugar.

Stir a couple of times, then chuck in the chopped onions. (Two onions for one kg of potatoes)
When the onions turn transparent, throw in two chopped tomatoes (tiny ones), About a tablespoon of chopped coriander,
Add half a green chilli chopped. Stir a bit.
Add the haldi powder now, one tsp. (for 1 kg potato), a tsp of pepper powder, half a tsp of  garam masala. Stir for about a minute. If it is too dry add just a tablespoon of water and stir till the masala is cooked, Maybe a minute or two.
Then throw in the potato pieces. Gently stir with a spoon lifting and mixing rather than mashing it around.Add three tablespoons of water after mixing the masala properly. Close the vessel and keep the stove on simmer for about 3 minutes, open, stir carefully, add juice of half a lemon. Stir gently, then sprinkle a little chopped cotmir on the hot mixture, mix gently. Take it off the stove.
Do that for the remaining 4 kgs.- 1 kg at a time. Make you friends taste one piece of potato and ask if they want less of anything. If they say it is pungent, lessen the pepper and green chilli. you taste the potato for the haldi content. too much haldi will make it too yellow and have a strong turmericy taste. But I am pretty sure 1 tsp on haldi is fine for 1 kg of potato.