Spicy Potatoes (Rasadar Aloo)

Mrs B's Note:

This has to be just about my favourite Indian dish to make, and I make it a lot! It's also one of the few recipes that I make exactly as written! I sometimes vary the ingredients by substituting the potatoes with carrots and sweet potatoes (but then of course it's not Rasadar aloo anymore!), or by adding extra tomatoes. You may wish to use less oil, but the spice mix is perfect (and I never change it). If you've never used asafoetida before, don't be put off by the slightly strange smell; the results are worth it. This recipe comes from "The Complete Indian Cookbook", edited by Meera Budhwar and I'm posting the ingredients specified. You can easily scale the quantities up but I think this serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 1 ½ lbs small potatoes (as evenly sized as possible)
• 3 medium tomatoes (skinned and chopped)
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 pinch asafetida powder
• ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ¾ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ pint water
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves , chopped

Directions:

1. Wash the potatoes and dry them, lightly peel the skins if necessary.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the cumin seeds and asafetida and let them sizzle for a few seconds.
3. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, ground coriander, chilli, paprika and salt; fry for 30 seconds, stirring constantly (sprinkle on a little water if things start to stick to the bottom of the pan).
4. Add the potatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes, again stirring constantly.
5. Add the water, bring to the boil then lower the heat, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender (keep an eye on things in case you need to add a bit more water); now stir in the garam masala.
6. Remove from heat and serve garnished with the coriander leaves.

Reviews

[happyvalleygirl]

I make this recipe all the time. Like others have said, I was surprised at the mild flavor, given all the spices in it, but this is still quite good. It's a great way to use potatoes; I use large potatoes, because that's usually all I have, and dice them. As another reviewer pointed out, you can use leftover boiled potatoes for this, although it may cause the potatoes to not soak up as much of the delicious sauce.

[The Wallaces]

This was good, but was a lot blander than I expected given all of the great spices used. The night we made this, I probably would have given it 2 stars because it did not have much flavor, but after letting it sit for a few days, the flavor improved to a 3.5. I think less liquid would improve the flavor, I already had cut up the potatoes small, and would also suggest doing that. Thanks for posting.

[Maito]

This was a nice mildly spiced Indian potato dish. I used less oil, salt and chilli powder for our tastes. Thanks!