food talk
Nothing plain about potato

A little innovation and you can transform the good old aloo into exotic fare, writes Pushpesh Pant

Who wants to eat aloo in a restaurant’? One may ask. You will be surprised by the answer. It is not only the swadeshi shuddha shakahari that rely on the faithful friend, phoren epicure too relish it in myriad forms: Rosti, hash, French fries, casing for pies, baked in jackets Lyonise and so on.

In India, we have the trinity of Dum — Kashmiri, Benarasi and Bengali then there are the dahi wale, khatte, chcharra, bhaji with pav and tarkari with puri kachori not to forget the chokha and bharwan tandoori.

In South, it provides the body for that soul stirring masala dosa or bonda/btata bada and for generations the thrifty Uttarakhandi have sustained themselves on the no frills thechua.

For special occasions, there was the aloo ke gutake tempered with Jamboo the aromatic Himalayan chives. Zeera aloo is the first choice of those who wish to play it safe always when eating out or lack the adventurous spirit.

ALOO KI KATALI

Ingredients

Potatoes (medium) 250 gm

Dhania seeds (roasted) 1tbs

Zeera (roasted) 1 tsp

Sonth (powdered dried ginger) 1tsp

Dried anardana 1 tbsp

Red chillies (shredded after roasting) two

Green chillies (chopped, optional) two

Mustard oil

(or any other preferred cooking medium) 2 tbsp

A small pinch of hing

A large sprig of fresh dhania

Salt to taste

Method

Wash the potatoes and slice into thin rounds. Heat oil in a frying pan and when smoking, add hing. Follow with other coarsely pounded spices immediately. Add potatoes, anardana, chillies, along with salt. Stir well. Lower the heat and cover to cook for about five to seven minutes. Sprinkle with a little water to avoid sticking to the bottom or scalding. Garnish with fresh dhania.

It is surprising how even supposedly accomplished chefs botch up this home recipe. They, more often than not, prepare this with pre-boiled potatoes and trust that the visible cumin tempering will somehow satisfy the ‘difficult veg’ customer.

Only once or twice in our life have we been pleasantly surprised by an innovative artiste in the kitchen who could transform the plain potato into a tantalising temptation.

Jiggs used to tickle the fastidious palate with a delectable saffron-laced Lahori aloo — more Awadhi than Punjabi with just a suggestion of satin smooth hung yogurt sauce.

His aloo Nilgiri was sheer genius — original in conception and brilliant in execution. Muhammad Farouk now at the Grand Kakatiya in Hyderabad turned out a brilliant katali sliced razor thin (or almost there) but true to his salt never failed to remind us that any delicacy sans meat was kufrane nemat, taking away some of the delight.

You can understand our excitement when we discovered the khushq aloo at Paatra — currently undergoing a kayakalp at Vasant Continental in New Delhi.

The potato roundels with skin intact were perfectly done without a trace of onions or garlic. Nor was the hing or ginger overpowering. Freshly pounded, coarsely, spices dhania, zeera, chillies roasted just to release their aroma made the katali come dramatically alive.

Amchur was thankfully eschewed. There was a teasing hint of dried anardana and we can bet our neck that the trick that worked the magic was lacing of mustard oil. A generous sprinkling of hara dhania completed our bliss. With a couple of phulka to accompany what more can ask for. Give us aloo ki katali any day. Do try out as soon as possible. This blend of ‘simple and the sublime’ is quite irresistible.

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