I was so pleased to see new potatoes – or baby potatoes as I like to call them – in the market last week. New potatoes have “thin, wispy skins” and “a crisp waxy texture”. Although they are best suited to salads, for me new potatoes mean one thing and one thing only: this gravy.
New potatoes are typically in season in the summer, and that’s when this yoghurt-based gravy works best. It is cold, first of all, and is eaten cold, which is a blessing on hot summer days when one can barely move in the heat. It’s simple to prepare and can be whipped up without much fuss. It is yoghurt-based which means that it is cooling, and is also easily digested. And best of all – perhaps I should have mentioned this first – it is absolutely delicious. Eat it with rotis or chapathis, scooping up gravy and potatoes in bits of broken up flatbread, or eat it ladled over rice.
The weather here has been cold and drizzly and rainy, and I’ve spent a lot of time in the kitchen, pottering around, coming up with ideas for posts for this blog. I love this weather best; I love Chennai best in this weather. The monsoons have been kind this year, and we’ve received a fair amount of rain from both the monsoons. The northeast monsoon is currently putting the city through its paces and I’ve had a lot of rain-drenched days and nights, taking stock of my writing, crafting for my Etsy shop, and cooking. Long may it last.
Recipe
Ingredients:
500 gms new potatoes washed well and drained
Masala:
1/2 cup grated coconut
4 long green chillies
1″ piece fresh ginger
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
Gravy:
1/2 litre yoghurt
1/2 tspn asafoetida powder
A little water or milk to dilute the yoghurt
Salt to taste
Tempering:
2 to 3 tbspns oil
1 tspn mustard seeds
1 tspn broken urad dhal
Few curry leaves
Potatoes:
1/4 cup oil for frying
Method:
1) Combine the yoghurt, salt, and asafoetida. Add 1/4 cup water and whisk well for a couple of minutes. Set aside.
2) Grind the masala ingredients to a fine paste with a little water.
3) Mix the ground masala into the yoghurt mixture.
4) Steam the potatoes until just steamed; they should have some bite to them.
5) Heat the 1/4 cup oil in a wok and roast the potatoes until they are golden brown, and their skins are blistered. Set aside to cool completely.
6) Once cold, combine the roasted potatoes with the yoghurt mixture.
7) Heat 2 to 3 tbspns of oil and add the mustard seeds. Once they crackle and pop add the curry leaves and the broken urad dhal. Remove from heat and add to the yoghurt mixture, combining well.
8) Serve immediately.
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