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Words and photo by Maunika Gowardhan.
If there is one dish I grew up eating that I absolutely loved, it’s puri bhaaji. Waiting in the queue on the bustling Mumbai streets with my mum for the street hawker to serve us a simple thali with this bhaaji, crispy fried puris, shrikhand and pickle on the side was always the highlight of the day. This batata mix is (dare I say!) the soul of Mumbai city – stir-fried potatoes with garlic, green chilli and turmeric.
Thali: A Joyful Celebration of Indian Home Cooking by Maunika Gowardhan is available now.
Spicy Stir-Fried Garlic Potatoes
Ingredients
- 700 g 1 lb 9 oz floury potatoes, such as roosters, boiled and cooled
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 10-12 curry leaves
- 3 green bird’s-eye chillies
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- pinch of asafoetida
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt, to taste
- juice of ½ lemon
- chopped coriander, cilantro, to garnish
Instructions
- Peel the boiled potatoes and roughly crush them. Set aside.
- Put the garlic, cumin seeds, curry leaves and green chillies in a pestle and mortar and pound the mix to a coarse paste – the rougher the better! Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a heavy-based, non-stick saucepan or kadhai, over a medium heat. Add the garlic and spice paste along with the asafoetida and fry for a few seconds, stirring well. Reduce the heat to low and add the turmeric, sugar and crushed potatoes, mixing well.
- Season to taste, then cover and cook for 1–2 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, squeeze over the lemon juice and garnish with fresh coriander.
- Serve with puris, dal and a pickle of your choice.
Except and photo printed with permission from Thali: A Joyful Celebration of Indian Home Cooking by Maunika Gowardhan published by Hardie Grant Books February 2022.