Thursday, January 17, 2013

Parsi Style Aloo Curry | Potatoes in a Rich Creamy Gravy


Many years ago, my Mum purchased the Parsi food classic Jamva Chaloji by Katy Dalal. She absolutely loved the book and recommended it to me many times. I never really got the opportunity to buy it and when I wanted to, I found it unavailable. Last year however, I was lucky enough to find a copy of it at a Landmark store in Mumbai.

The book is undoubtedly a collectors piece. It belongs in the library of every serious cook, food lover, connoisseur, gourmet, well you name it. And its especially good if you eat meats, fish, and eggs or love sweets. Though we are a vegetarian home I have enjoyed this book thoroughly and have often adapted recipes from it to suit our food choices and taste. The potato recipe that follows does not belong in this book. Indeed I wonder if Parsis actually make potato curry in this way. I have adapted it from a recipe for egg curry in the book.


Ingredients:
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, chopped fine
1/2" piece ginger, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
5 curry leaves
2 tbsp canola oil
1 cup coconut milk

Grind to a Paste:
2 dry red chilies
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1/4 cup peanuts
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp dhalia (roasted gram dal)
1/2 tsp tamarind paste

To Garnish:
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Fresh lime, quartered

Method:
  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the curry leaves, then the onions. 
  2. Fry on a gentle heat until the onions turn transparent. 
  3. Add the ginger, tomato paste, and garlic powder.
  4. Next add the ground paste and fry until the oil begins to separate.
  5. Add salt to taste, the cubed potatoes along with 2 cups of water.
  6. Stir, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are just tender.
  7. Now add the coconut milk and garam masala.
  8. Adjust the salt and cook on a medium low heat for another 10 minutes.
  9. Turn off the heat and allow the curry to sit in the sauce for at least 30 minutes before enjoying.
  10. Garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime. This curry tastes best with rice.
Good to Know:
  • Home made coconut milk is not easily accessible to us at all times. For such occasions, I keep dehydrated coconut milk which I reconstitute with water for quick curries.
  • The curry has a mild flavour. To make it more spicy, increase the number of red chilies in the paste according to taste. To increase sourness, add more tamarind paste.
Vegan Recipe

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7 comments:

  1. Delicious and rich gravy with potato

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  2. I love Parsi cuisine and have been wanting to try some recipes myself. Thanks for sharing, will love to try it soon

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  3. Looks delish ...perfect with anything ...

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  4. Aloo looks completely delish.u have a good collection.Happy to follow u.

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  5. Looks delicious. Will make this asap.Thanks for visiting me.

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  6. Such a beautiful curry, full of flavours..Love with some rotis.

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