Cooking is a life skill – no it is not the relegated duty of the lady of the house.
It is my belief that everyone should know the basics of cooking – irrespective of gender – if they want to eat healthy, good food. As a child, even if my mother was out of town, my sister and I were never deprived of home cooked food. My father loved cooking and was an excellent cook, as you may already know from here.
I still remember, when my mother went to the US when I was 9, my father was in charge of us and everyday would be a special dinner menu. From gingerbread-man shaped puris to whole course Chinese meals, we would have different cuisines at the dinner table. Till today, whenever I smell onions and carrots sauteing in oil, it reminds me of when I would stand tippy toes at the stove and stir the ingredients together for a Chinese fried rice. And, that is what life skills are about – ensuring that no matter what situation you are in, you have the ability to cook and eat good, healthy food.
I am a home cook – I cook dinner almost every evening and not always do I experiment. Some of the simplest ingredients make up home recipes. So, after several requests from my friends and on Instagram for recipes of the food that I cook on a daily basis, I’ve decided to start talking about them. And, this series called ‘HomeCooked’ is for any person who wants to learn basic recipes for the modern Indian household.
I start with a delicious Spicy Masala Aloo bhaji I learnt from my mother-in-law. It is delicious on its own and goes beautifully with any accompaniment – I love having it with curd rice, but feel free to have it with dal and rice, or even chapatti and bread.
How to buy Potatoes
In India and Dubai, I haven’t found many varieties of potato like they have in the Western Countries. The starchier the potato, the better it is for baking or frying. However, it is the waxy potatoes or the regular medium starch ones that are perfect for Indian preparations like the recipe below. If you go to the market, make sure you speak to your grocer about which is the best potato to use for your recipe.
Choose nice, yellow, firm potatoes – they mustn’t have sprouted or be green anywhere. Green potatoes can be poisonous – so choose them with care.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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- 1/2 kg medium potatoes (peeled and cut into 1/2 cm rounds)
- 5 - 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 green chillies (minced)
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 3 - 4 tbsps oil (I know its a lot but its important to get the right texture of the potatoes)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1.5 to 2 tsps chilli powder (this dish is spicy, so adjust according to your spice quotient)
- to taste salt
- A handful coriander leaves of fresh (roughly chopped)
Ingredients
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- In a sauce pan (you can also use a wok or kadhai), put in the oil and heat.
- Once hot, put in the cumin seeds and mustard and wait till they splutter.
- Add the garlic and green chillies and saute quickly. Do not let them brown or burn.
- Now, add the sliced potatoes, haldi and salt and mix well. Take care to not break the potatoes.
- Cover for 5 minutes on a medium heat till the potatoes are almost cooked.
- Then, put in the chilli powder and adjust the seasoning. Cook without the lid till the oil leaves the sides of the pan.
- Once the potatoes crisp up a little at the bottom of the pan, turn it off and garnish with the coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with steamed rice, curd rice, dal rice or chapati.
3 Comments
I make this quite often when I’m too tired to think or experiment but sometimes add onions or capsicum to bulk it up ?
@Roxanne – thanks for the comment. Isnt it the easiest recipe ever?
Thanks for sharing how to make Spicy Masala Aloo.I often make this in my house.Could you please let us know how to make Basmati as it is very common for office lunch in dubai.Thank You will look forward for your next article