Food talk
Potato with a punch

Pushpesh Pant brings us the lip-smacking ccharra alu chatpata

Chharra is the Hindi word for pellets — the small round gunshots that fill up the cartridges used in double-barrelled guns favoured by duck shooters. The ‘graph’ expands as it travels felling many a bird in flight. Obviously, the miniscule size of these potatoes has inspired this name.

One recalls with great pleasure and gratitude how Granny used to prepare satvic chharra alu ki tarkari that had us kids as well as our parents smacking their lips and licking their fingers. These potatoes are not to be confused with baby potatoes that are considered a delicacy in Western cooking.

We just couldn’t resist the temptation to pickup a bagful when we spotted the long lost friends on the shelves of a food mall. The trouble is we had no clue about the traditional recipe — Grandma used to claim that it was ‘handed down’ by her mother-in-law. Frantic phone call to sister darling who specialises in no onion, no garlic stuff yielded desired results and we had a gala time recreating magic with little exertion. The tricky part is to clean the potatoes well. They must be scrubbed well while being washed but you must ensure that the skin is not scraped off. Another precaution that has to be taken is that the potatoes are not over boiled.

Ccharra alu chatpata

Ingredients

Chharra alu ½ kg
Dhaniya powder two tsp
Zeera powder one tsp
Kashmiri lal mirch one tsp
Amchur powder one tsp
Haldi powder ½ tsp
Sonth powder one tsp
Laung two
Badi elaichi one
Tej patta one
Whole red chillies two
Green chillies two
Desi ghee one tbsp
Mustard oil two tbsp
Dahi ½ cup
A pinch of kala namak
A pinch of hing
A sprig of hara dhania

Method

Heat oil in a karahi. When it reaches smoking point, reduce the heat and dissolve hing in it. Quickly add tej patta, laung and badi elaichi. As these change colour, put in the ground spices — except the saunth — mixed with 2 tsp water to avoid burning. Stir-fry for about a minute till moisture evaporates. Now put in the alu. Mix well and remove from flame. Slowly stir in the whisked dahi and replace on flame cook for a little while on low flame to avoid curdling the dahi. Then, raise heat and add a cup of boiling water. Add saunth and salt, along with kala namak. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Temper with both the chillies and garnish with hara dhania. Enjoy with puri, parantha, roti or rice.

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