Baby Potato Roast

Roasted baby potatoes are as cute as they’re tasty. I love baby potatoes. Peeling them is a pain though as the peel is thinner than that of the normal sized potatoes. But these roasted baby potatoes are worth the effort. These roasted baby potatoes go great alongside a pulav and raita or with plain steamed rice. I sautéed the boiled and peeled baby potaoes to golden brown perfection and coated them in freshly powdered spices and finally tossed it with some fresh whisked yogurt. The result – baby potatoes that are golden brown, fragrant and delicately spiced, crunchy yet soft and tender. If you like baby potatoes, this is a must-try recipe. You won’t be disappointed.

I am sending this recipe to Blogging Marathon #33 for the theme – Fiction with Food. My story is about me and potatoes. Potatoes have been my best friends and we’ve come a long way. I am a very touchy cook, I sulk all day if my dish doesn’t turn out well or if is not well received (I am better now, I am more objective. I’ve realized that there can be people who don’t like a beautifully silky, dark chocolate mousse). My potato encounters:

o     The very first time I ever cooked something was when we had a recipe writing exercise for our English composition class in class 8 and each of us had to prepare a dish at home and write it up in a recipe format. I made Aloo Tikkis with a recipe off the back of a calendar. They came out beautifully and I was thrilled.

o     The French fries that we made for my sister’s stall at the school Christmas Sale didn’t work out that well. They turned limp and soggy because they were no longer hot but were sold out anyway.

o     In my early married days, I’d make potato stir fries, potato fry, potato podimas and potato bajji. Even now I like adding them to thokkus, mutton gravies, Mochaikottai kuzhambu or anywhere else I can.

o   The very first things that I made and that my daughter really liked eating was mashed potatoes. It was a strangely exhilarating experience. She was this tiny 8 month old but I was shit scared she’d spit it out. I wasn’t yet established as a good cook in my in-laws place (I doubt if I am even now) and kids that age are in your face literally. They either like it or they don’t. But she liked it and was I glad.

o    Potato chips, chocolates and sweets were my weakness during my pregnant days. Having puked thrice a day every day during my first trimester, I wanted to make up for lost time. I made up for it by eating a packet of potato chips every day during the rest of my pregnant days.

o     My mother’s potato fry was world famous in our family, amongst office colleagues and school friends. It’s a simple enough fry but it’s really special – potatoes are chopped into tiny pieces, seasoned well and fried to deep golden perfection - crisp potato heaven.

Thank god I did not try my luck with some other vegetable like okra or beetroot. I am sure I’d not have been as successful. 

Prep time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Baby potatoes – ½ kilo boiled till tender but not mushy, peeled
Thick fresh Yogurt – 4 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Oil – 4 tbsp

Spice powder Ingredients

Whole dry red chillies – 5
Coriander seeds/Dhania – 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds/Sombu/Saunf – 1 tsp
Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
Cloves – 2
Whole Black peppercorns – ½ tsp
Whole Jeera – ½ tsp

Method

1.      Boil potatoes till cooked through but firm. Drain the water. Let cool, peel and set aside.

2.    Dry roast the ingredients under spice powder till a nice aroma emanates. Cool slightly and then powder in a mixie. Set aside.

3.      To a non-stick pan add 4 tbsp oil and when the oil is hot drop in the boiled potatoes. Cook on medium low stirring around the potatoes till they’re golden on all sides – about 10 minutes. Add the ground spice powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Cook for another 6-8 minutes so that the potatoes are infused with the spices. Meanwhile whisk the yogurt well so that it is smooth and lump free.

4.      When the potatoes are uniformly coated with the spices, pour in the whisked yogurt and mix well. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes so that the yogurt is absorbed. Remove from heat. Serve hot with rice or pulav.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33