Patatas Bravas and Fruity Sangria

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!!

The best patatas bravas that I have ever tasted was at Ceviche  (Orlando). I miss that restaurant, I miss Orlando!

We would order a pitcher of Sangria and a huge variety of tapas with non-stop inflow of bread (man, I always ate so much bread there!). On weekends they had Flamenco dancing…it is one of my favorite restaurants for sure.

If you are planning a trip to Disney this summer, I highly recommend going to Ceviche— its located on Church Street near Orlando downtown.

There is such a dearth of international cuisine in Pondicherry (except for French)…it almost feels like all these people (residents of Pondy, including me) are missing out on such amazing food from around the globe!

All this deprivation forces me to go into my kitchen and make all the food that I miss, even though a kitchen without an air-conditioner or no ventilation in a tropical climate like ours, is like an oven/sauna/inferno. My kitchen is nowhere close to being comfortable!

I still cook, because I love it!

A while back I made patatas bravas & sangria for a party and there were these friends of ours who loved the sangria so much that they kept asking for the recipe…well, the interesting part in this whole story is that they are from Spain!! I was so excited, its like me (someone from India) asking an American to share their recipe for– I don’t know… Dal Makhani ?!?! That’s pretty awesome, don’t you think?!

So here it is, my version of Sangria 🙂

My sangria is a little on the sweeter side because I use a lot of citrus in it and I also add more sugar to the wine.

It is important to let the wine infuse with orange juice for up-to 8 hours or so, overnight is also good, and mix in the apples and orange slices somewhere around mid way.

Serving around 4 people

cooking time 1 hour

Things you will need:

For Patatas Bravas

4 big potatoes, peeled and diced

1 medium size onion, chopped

4 medium tomatoes, peeled

4 cloves garlic, roughly sliced

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs cumin powder

chipotle in adobo, as per taste

1/2 tbs sugar

2 cups water

salt

oil for frying and some more for the sauce

1 tbs eggless mayonese (see below)

Half boil the potatoes and keep aside. Make the sauce first. In a deep pan stir fry onions in some oil, add in some salt and continue to cook till they turn transparent. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add cumin and paprika, stir to mix and add tomatoes. Add water and sugar, stir. Add chipotle in adobo. Mix well and cook it covered on low till almost all the liquid is evaporated…stirring occasionally. Turn the heat off, let cool and puree in a blender. Add mayonnaise and and mix again.

Deep fry the potatoes and season with salt and pepper as soon as you take them out of the oil. Drizzle desirable amount of sauce on the potatoes and serve.

Eggless Mayonnaise

5 tbs cream

5 tbs olive oil

1 tsp dijon mustard

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp sugar

salt

Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix till it gets thick. Taste and adjust salt.

For Sangria

1/2 bottle good red wine

1/4 cup sugar

200 ml packaged orange juice

fresh juice of 2 oranges

juice of 1 lime

juice of 1 lemon

1 orange, sliced in rings

100 ml sprite

1 apple, diced (leave the skin on)

lemon and lime wedges

In a pitcher mix wine, sugar and orange juice (both packaged and fresh), lime and lemon juice. Stir till the sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate for 8 hours. After 4 hours add apples and orange slices, put it back in the refrigerator. Add sprite and some lemon and lime wedges before serving. Serve chilled.

Tip: Make some sangria ice cubes and put in the glass while serving, that way the sangria will stay cold for a longer time and will not water down.