Potato Curry

Potato Curry is a staple in any Indian house - we all have our special go to recipes which came from our mothers or aunts. This one is a simple recipe that tastes fantastic with steamed rice. It is not too spicy but still has a lot of flavor. The only masala or spices that I put in it is a paste I made with freshly roasted and ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garlic and ginger with some turmeric & red chili. This paste gives a lot of flavor to this recipe without making it very spicy, hot or pungent.

There are a few things I want to say about curry - for some reason any kind of Indian curry, outside of India involves using a premixed curry powder that comes in a bottle. Its a mix of various spices in a particular proportion that is supposed to be the base of every Indian curry dish. Yes, every Indian dish has the basic 4 or 5 spices (along with other spices) but the ratio differs with every dish.

The curry powder was probably created to make it a bit easy for the non Indian folks who got overwhelmed by the number of spices that goes into creating one dish. Its true that making Indian food demands a lot of different spices - but if you are fond of Indian food and want to make it frequently - it is so much better to stock up on 4 or 5 basic spices than to keep on adding the curry powder to all your dishes….which will make them taste all the same. I highly recommend making cumin (seeds and ground), coriander (seeds & ground), turmeric, garam masala and maybe amchoor a part of your pantry and throwing that bottle of curry powder in trash - unless you are in love with the flavor of curry powder! The freshly roasted and ground spices add so much aroma and fresh flavor to any dish..so make a trip to your nearest Indian store, grab some spices and get cooking.

serving about 3 to 4 people

cooking time 40 minutes

Things you will need

for the curry masala paste

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp grated ginger (fresh)

1 dried red chili

2 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp coriander seeds

1 small piece of cinnamon

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 or 2 tbsp water

1. Dry roast cumin, coriander and cinnamon in a pan for a few minutes or till the spices become fragrant.
2. Add all the ingredients in a blender and and grind with a little water to form a paste.

rest of the ingredients

3 large potatoes, peeled and diced into bite size pieces

2 medium onions, diced into small pieces

3 1/2 cups water

3/4 cup tomato puree

2 tbsp curry masala paste (see above for recipe)

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp vegetable oil

a few curry leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 dried red chili

1 green cardamom, lightly smashed

salt

1. In a deep, heavy bottom pan or in a wok heat oil.
2. Add onions and some salt and cook till the onions start to get transparent.
3. Add curry leaves, bay leaf, red chili & cardamom, stir for a few seconds.
4. Add the potatoes and continue to cook for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the curry masala paste and stir till the potatoes are coated with the masala evenly.
6. Add water and continue to stir.
7. Let the water come to a boil - then add tomato puree and cilantro. Stir to mix properly.
8. Cover and cook on low till the potatoes are cooked through - about 20 minutes.
9. Remove the bay leaves before serving. Serve the potato curry over steamed rice or with some naan.