Potato Karacurry South Indian Style Roast Potatoes
The humble potato. Be it french fries, aloo gobi, hash browns, gnocchi, mashed potatoes or chips, potatoes have consistently given us amazing crowd pleasing dishes. Potato Karacurry is yet another one. This is a very easy recipe with very simple ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen. Potatoes, salt, chilli powder and asafoetida, that’s all! However, as any dedicated Masterchef viewer would know, it’s always the simple recipes that have the potential for disaster!
What Pan to Use for Potato Karacurry
The good thing is that you can use any pan you like for this recipe.
Cast Iron Pans can can hold high temperatures for a long time and can make your potatoes very crispy. The downside is that they can be quite heavy and a little difficult to clean.
Stainless Steel Pans can get hot very quickly and are again great for roasting potatoes. They’re also light and easy to clean. Just be sure to heat the oil up slowly and drop the potatoes in when the oil is hot. Any bits that get stuck to the pan can be scraped back into the potatoes.
Non-Stick Pans are great because you require very little oil in comparison to the other two. You won’t lose any crispy bits to the pan and since this recipe calls for slow and low heat roasting, you should be fine with a non-stick as well.
The potatoes are pressure cooked before pan roasting and this is what gives them their distinct flavour. Well, this and the ton of asafoetida you’re going to add! You don’t want to place them directly in water though, so I like to put them in a bowl and then put it in the pressure cooker.
Potato/Potato
Now that you have all your equipment sorted out, let’s move on to the potatoes. This recipe works great with regular potatoes or if you don’t mind the extra effort of peeling them, with baby potatoes. Baby potatoes are just potatoes plucked early and because of this, they’re typically sweeter and have better flavour than their larger versions. No matter the size, if you get good quality potatoes, this recipe will be a hit. There are a ton of karacurry recipes out there, most including mustard seeds, curry leaves, besan and types of dal but I’ve stripped this recipe down to a more basic version. This recipe is reminiscent of roast potatoes; cleaner but with a distinctive South Indian flavour. It goes best with South Indian curd rice, sambar rice, rasam rice and is particularly tasty when eaten piping hot straight out of the pan! Check out my recipe for Rasam here!
This recipe is in loving memory of my aunt who passed away this year. She was an extraordinary woman with many talents, one of which was making the most delicious food. If she ever found out what your favourite dish was, she would have it waiting for you the next time you went to visit her. Regrettably, I was unable to get her exact recipe before she left us. You always think you have more time with the people you love. I created this recipe a while ago and while it’s not exactly like how she used to make it, I think of her every time I make it. More than a recipe, this is an offering of love and a tribute to my wonderful aunt who will always have a special place in my heart.
Potato Karacurry
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 Large Potatoes (about 500g)
- 2-3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tsp Asafoetida
- 1½ Tsp Chilli Powder
- 1 Tsp Salt
Instructions
- Wash and clean the potatoes.
- Make a large slit down the centre of each potato but do not cut them all the way through.
- Pour some water into the bottom of a pressure cooker and place a cooker-safe bowl in the centre. Place the potatoes into the bowl and close the pressure cooker.
- Pressure cook on high until the first whistle and then bring the heat down to low and cook for 10-15 minutes more or until the potatoes are soft but not falling apart. Allow the pressure to release before opening the cooker.
- Let the potatoes cool* before cutting them into 1 inch cubes. Set aside
- Place a large non-stick pan** on medium heat and add the oil to it.
- While the oil is heating, measure out the chilli powder, asafoetida and salt and keep them ready***. Add the spices and salt to the hot oil and mix really well to distribute everything evenly.
- Add the potatoes and toss really well to make sure each piece is coated in the oil and spices.
- Roast on a medium-low flame for about 10-15 minutes until they’re crispy and delicious!
- Serve immediately and Enjoy!
