Antti goes veggie! Since last Wednesday I have been eating cabbage dishes, first Greek-style cabbage rolls and yesterday caramelised cauliflower, so today it was high time for some variety on the table. Last night I was chatting with Meena, an Indian friend of mine who lives in Boston, and asked her for a light Indian recipe. Meena, like many Indians, is mostly vegetarian.
When I lived in Boston I earned a reputation as a ruthless anti-vegan (Antti eats anything with a face!), so I made Meena's job easier by saying straight away that vegetable dishes were fine too. I think the concession surprised her a little. I have been a little surprised myself at how well the lighter line has gone down these last few days.
The recipe is a fairly typical Indian vegetable dish, and other vegetables can be cooked in exactly the same way. Food varies a great deal from one part of India to another, from the mild flavours of the north to the hot ones of the south. The north also eats more wheat bread, I am told, and the south more rice. This masala of potato and pepper belongs to the northern kitchen. The word masala, as far as I understand, means a spice mixture, and in the name of a dish it says the food has been stewed in a spiced sauce. In the recipe's English name the pepper is a capsicum, as they say in India and Australia. In Boston I would have asked the shop for a bell pepper.
I went to Vii Voan, the Asian grocery in Helsinki, today and bought a bag of tandoori spice just in case, for the next Indian experiment. The technique of the masala was new to me. First mustard seeds are fried in hot oil until they start to pop, and only then do the onion and the other spices go in. Some of mine jumped right out of the pan onto the hob. I read afterwards that frying spices in oil like this is called tadka in India, and that the oil carries the flavour of the spices through the whole dish. In the picture the black seeds show as small dots on the potatoes. The potatoes are boiled separately and only go in at the end, so they keep their shape instead of falling apart into the tomato. The masala is done when the oil starts to separate from the sauce at the edges of the pan. The turmeric colours the potatoes yellow, and a helping comes to about 275 kilocalories. Nearly half of that comes from the two tablespoons of oil, so the easiest way to make the masala lighter is to use less oil. Thanks, Meena!
Recipe card
Potato Capsicum Masala
- two (275 kcal a helping)
- Potato cubes 2-3 cm
- To finish potatoes in the masala for a few minutes
- Energy 275 kcal a helping
You will need
| 1 | onion |
| 2 | tomatoes |
| 3 | potatoes |
| 2 | peppers |
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1/2 tsp | mustard seeds |
| (1/2 tsp) | (cumin seeds) |
| 1/2 tsp | turmeric |
| 1/2 tsp | garam masala |
| crushed dried or fresh chilli | |
| salt | |
| coriander leaves to garnish |
Method
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2-3 cm cubes. Boil until tender in the usual way.
- While the potatoes boil, slice the onion into thin strips and cut the peppers into good-sized pieces. Dice the tomatoes small.
- Heat the oil and fry the mustard and cumin seeds for a moment, until the mustard seeds pop. Use cumin if you like it; otherwise leave it out without a second thought.
- Add the onion and fry until the strips turn a nice brown.
- Add the salt, garam masala, turmeric and chilli to taste. Add the tomato and pepper.
- Cook over a low heat, stirring now and then. If the vegetables seem too dry, add a little water. The masala is ready when the oil separates.
- Add the potato cubes and let them simmer for a few more minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Indians eat masalas like this, as they eat almost all their food, with bread. A piece is torn off a chapati or paratha and folded into a little spoon-like cup, and that is used to eat with instead of Western cutlery.
4 comments
Yo veli
Onpa fantastiset värit tuossa ruoassa!
Olix ne kans Meenan tekemiä ne perunakrokettimaiset puikulat joita Elkki ja minä kerran saatiin Fung Wah -matkaevääksi? Muisteltiin juuri niitä vähän aikaa sitten joten jos saat reseptin pistä ihmeessä mulle.
Siivosin just jääkaapin, löytyi juguja viime kesältä ja Whole Foods-oliiveja vuodelta 2003.
Joo, kyllä ne tais olla Meenan tekemiä. Se on tuossa online, kysynkin heti reseptin ennen kuin ehtii karata kuukaudeksi lomalle Intiaan 🙂
Tää ei ole Meenan resepti, mutta kuulemma sama:
Bread Rolls
1 cup Mashed potatoes
1/4 cup Chopped onion
1 Chopped green chilli
6 Big Bread slices
1/4 tsp Red chilli
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp Garam masala
1/4 tsp Mango powder
1 tsp Dry fenugreek leaves
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil as required
Mix mashed potatoes, chopped onion, green chilli, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, mango powder, fenugreek leaves and salt. Knead to make a smooth dough.
Divide this mixture into 6 equal parts.
Soak bread slice in water and then squeeze out the water by pressing the bread slice (flat) between the palms.
Take one part of the potato mixture and put it in the centre of the bread slice and seal all its edges. Gently roll it between your palms to give it an elongated shape. Ensure that the potato mixture is completely covered with the bread slice.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan on high. Reduce the heat. Deep fry the bread rolls until golden brown.
Serve hot with chutney or chilli sauce.
Kiitos uskomattoman nopeasta vastauksesta. Ihana IT 😉