A cry for simplicity…
After all the holiday cooking and eating with rich indulgence, we craved for something simple. A humble meal of the traditional dal, rotis and a sabzi (vegetable) has been long awaited. While I am done eating exotic fancy dishes for a while, it’s still a tad bit hard for me to completely stop my escapades in the kitchen.
The past one month saw me make a variety of party and holiday dishes full of elegance and flair. As life gets back to the normal non-holiday routine, I am slowly catching up with my simple cooking methods. But somedays, I crave to go a step further!
When I first ate this dish at a dear friend’s place, I instantly knew it was going to be a regular on my menu. From the looks and taste of it, it seemed to come out from some great kitchen, cooked up with the utmost care and style. But one try at making it, and you’ll believe that simple meals can sometimes be the most gourmet!
Alu Tamatarwale
Ingredients:
- 2-3 potatoes, boiled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 1 tbsp chopped green chillies
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (hing)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
Method:
-
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add asafoetida powder, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Once they begin to sizzle, add in chopped ginger and green chillies.
-
Add chili powder, turmeric powder and tomato paste, and cook for a few minutes till the paste soften and oil starts to form on top.
-
Throw in the potatoes and sprinkle salt, and mix thoroughly to evenly coat the potatoes with the sauce.
January 5th, 2006 14:15
Meena,
I love the blog, mmm, my mouth is watering from this alu (aloo??) recipe, I need a soda now. Is this as spicy as it seems or not really?
And is there a difference between the spelling of “alu” vs “aloo”? Is it kind of like “z” vs “zed” ?? =)
January 5th, 2006 14:48
Hi Gerald!
Nice of you to drop by.
Alu and aloo is the same thing - Potatoes, just spelt in different ways!
Do try out the recipe and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Its not as spicy as it looks since the red is from the tomato paste, but just spicy enough!
January 6th, 2006 03:23
i love potatoes! this is one simple recipe. gonna try it out
January 6th, 2006 10:34
I agree with you,Meena…after all the indulgence in rich food this holiday season its nice to get back to our simple ‘ghar ka khana’…:)
January 6th, 2006 17:38
Are thai bird chillis (the little skinny green ones) the same as the chillis used in Indian cooking?
January 7th, 2006 22:55
Rokh, Sailu: Thanks guys! I do hope you like the recipe.
Gerald: Hi Gerald! They are not really the same, since I think Thai chillies are even more spiciew. So you might want to use them in moderation!
January 8th, 2006 12:32
That looks fabulous! I like taking a break from elaborate dishes.
January 9th, 2006 00:10
I LOOOOVE this site!
I do not know how to cook many things beyond the typical saalan, qeema, biryani…well u know the basics…so this is good for me.
I’ll let you know when I have any success trying one of these out.
Keep up the grand blogging!!