Potato Parade

When I found out that the lovely Vaishali of Happy Burp is hosting “Jhihva for Potatoes” for the month of Febuary, I was excited! Potato –that’s an easy vegetable to cook with. There are recipes galore, both Indian and International that make use of this versatile bulb.
Everyone at our home loves Potatoes. What’s not to love about it? It cooks easy, tastes delicious no matter how you cook it and is easily available in most parts of the world!
So without much ado let’s get to the reason for this Post…Potato Recipes!

Potato-Methi Masala Curry


Potato and Methi (Fresh Fenugreek Leaves) – what a perfect combination! Fenugreek leaves have this slightly bitter taste and the humble potato combined with it dulls this effect and gives this curry a rich, exotic creamy flavor that tastes great as a side to chapathis or even with rice. This curry is different from the other aloo methi recipes I have come across. I learnt how to make this curry from my dear grandmother.
She mostly combined traditional masala’s with regular vegetables to make them delicious and authentic. Try them and you’ll surely thank my grandmother for this.

For the curry:
2 Potatoes – Washed, Peeled, Boiled and chopped into cubes. I usually cook my potatoes with some water in the microwave for about 6 minutes.
1 big bunch Fresh Methi Leaves – Wash and chop fine.
1 small Onion – Chopped fine
1 medium Tomato – Chopped into cubes
Salt to taste

For the Masala:
½ cup grated Fresh Coconut
1 clove garlic
5 green chillies
2 cloves
1 small piece cinnamon

Grind the above into a smooth paste with some water. Keep aside.

For the seasoning:
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
some curry leaves
a pinch of turmeric powder

To make the curry:
In a pan heat oil, add the seasoning ingredients. When the mustard splutters, add the chopped onions and sauté until light brown. Then add the chopped methi leaves, some salt and about ½ cup water. Cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the cooked potatoes, the ground masala paste, chopped tomatoes and some more salt if needed. Mix well. Cover with a lid and cook until all the water has evaporated. Stir in between. Serve hot with rice or rotis.

My next Dish is Sabudaana Khicdi.. This simple dish is the traditional dish made on days when the Hindu’s fast from most grains and beans. I make this dish whenever we feel like eating it! No fasting in our home, we are pretty poor when it comes to following religious fasts!
Almost everyone makes Sabudaana Khichdi. It is a Maharashtrian dish that is delicious, bland and chewy. Sabudaana are white, pearly rounds that are hard when dry and are soft and chewy when cooked. They are made from the sap of the tapioca tree. Read more about Sabudaana here.
My way of making sabudaana khichdi varies each time. But I have started to follow this recipe mostly, a recipe I learnt from Radhika .. a friend of mine from whom I have learnt many recipes. She loves giving me these recipes but acts like I am bothering her all the time! But I know .. she loves the attention :-)
Ok, now on to the recipe…

Sabudaana Khichdi

2 Cups Dry Sabudaana (Wash 2 or 3 times in a colander. Drain all the water. Transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle some water and cover with a lid. Keep covered for about 3 hours and keep sprinkling some water and mixing the sabudaana evenly a couple of times in between). The recipe itself is simple, prep time takes a little bit!

2 Potatoes – Peeled and grated. Then keep the grated potato in some water. When you are ready to make the sabudaana, drain all the water well from the potato and use.
1 cup Whole Peanuts – Roasted and ground into a coarse powder. (You may leave the peel on if u want or u can get rid of it after roasting).

1 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste
A few drops of fresh lime juice
Chopped Cilantro for garnishing

For seasoning:
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Jeera or cumin seeds
A few curry leaves
3 green chillies – Chopped fine

To make the Khichdi:
In a pan, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds and the jeera. When the mustard splutters, add the remaining seasoning ingredients. Sauté for a minute. Then add the grated potato and mix well. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring in between, making sure the potato does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Then add the soaked sabudaana, salt and sugar and mix well. Cook for about 5 to minutes stirring gently in between. When the sabudaana turns translucent, add the coarsely ground peanut powder and mix well. Add the lime juice and mix well. Serve hot garnished with chopped cilantro and grated coconut (optional).

And finally for a simple, traditional Karnataka Dish… Potato Palya. Potato Palya or Potato Curry is a perfect side for Puri, Masala Dosa or even Chapathis. I even use Potato palya as a filler in sandwiches when I have leftovers!

Potato Palya

To make this simple dish you need:
3 Large Potatoes – Boiled, Peeled and roughly mashed. Mash with your hands, since a masher usually mashes it into a very creamy paste, that is usually best for mashed potatoes with biscuits and gravy!
1 Large Onion – chopped lengthwise
3 green chillies – slit lengthwise
a few curry leaves
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

For the seasoning:
2 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Channa dal
1 tsp Urad dal
¼ tsp Asafoetida or hing

To make the Potato Palya:
In a pan, heat the oil. Add seasoning ingredients. When the mustard splutters, add the chopped chillies, grated ginger, curry leaves and the onions and sauté until the onions are translucent. Then add the turmeric powder and the roughly mashed potato and salt. Mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a few drops of lime juice (optional) and serve hot with puris, chapathis or dosa.

Do check out some more Potato Recipes from my Masala Kitchen:

Potato Fry

Cabbage Potato Curry

and

Ragda Patties

These are my entries to the "Jhihva for Potato" parade at Vaishali's Happy Burp. Enjoy the Parade dear friends and dont forget to leave me a note! I would love to hear from all you wonderful readers. Cheers.