"Divine Potatoes" - Recipe for Indian style dish

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"Divine Potatoes" is my nickname for a fabulous vegetarian dish - reminiscent of samosa filling - that my equally-fabulous housemate Palak can, to my surprise, whip out with amazing ease... a dish for which she says there's no name.   Hence my nickname!   

I think it deserves a "Michelin star"! (a prestigious culinary award.)  Do we dare to re-create it?  Fasten your seat-belts, and let's jump in!

SHORT VERSION :  boiled potatoes with Indian-style gravy.

LONG VERSION :  the full recipe is 1,862 pages long, and requires a 10-year apprenticeship to master, but here's an executive summary :)


The following recipe is scaled for smallish portions for 6 people.

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TRACK 1 (start here, because it takes longer) - the POTATOES.   3 or 4 medium (Russet) potatoes.

Peel and slice into small-ish cubes; put into water and boil until moderately soft.

Then drain the water with a colander.


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PARALLEL TRACK 2 - the GRAVY

On a cutting board, start preparing what will become the GRAVY:

  1. Ginger (about a small finger size): grate it
  2. (Chinese) green chile (about the size of a finger joint) : chop into small pieces
  3. 1/2 Red onion : chop
  4. 1/2 Tomato : double-slice into small pieces   [VARIATION: use tomato puree instead]
In a large frying pan or small-ish pot, on a low flame, start with:
  1. Add a small amount of ground-nut oil, or olive oil : enough to barely cover the bottom
  2. Add about a 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
  3. Add about a teaspoon of cumin
Now add to the pot the green chile and ginger prepared earlier.

Cook for about 45 seconds, while stirring.

Add the red onion prepared earlier.

Add a little salt and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric.

Cover, and reduce heat.

Occasionally stir.  Wait until the onions start becoming soft.

Add the tomatoes chopped earlier.   

Wait until tomato is softer.    Then add 4 spoons of tomato puree (such as "Mutti Organic" brand); other tomato sauce might be substituted for.

Stir until things are getting softer.  Then continue cooking on low heat, but covered, for a couple of minutes.

Now:
  1. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala
  2. Add 1 teaspoon of raw mango powder
  3. Add a pinch of red chile powder
  4. Add 3 teaspoons coriander powder.  (also ok to add directly to the serving)
About a minute later, when the gravy is getting generally soft, and the oil separates in the pan, it's ready!


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FINAL MIX

Mix the desired amount of gravy and potatoes  (rule of thumb: 1 tea cup of gravy per potato.)

Let it sit for about 5 mins.  

Meanwhile, the cheat method for (pseudo-)Indian bread : just use a tortilla, warm on a pan, optionally splatting it with a little ghee.  Flip it over once.

Use the (not-so-)Indian bread to take bites of the potato mix, or simply make a small "burrito".

ENJOY!


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