Mustard Potatoes

Don't you love the taste of raw mustard? I do. I've used it a lot in my cooking. I simply love that pungency and a little bit of a hot, spicy taste. Its delicious.

Now, if you put that and potatoes together, there can be nothing wrong with it!

Here's a lovely Bengali dish with some raw mustard, mustard seeds, mustard oil and potatoes. It's really really good. It makes a great side with rice or rotis/ chapatis.



Bengali Mustard Potatoes

(the original recipe is from a paper I've torn out of a magazine ages ago and only recently found. I have no idea which magazine this is from, so can't credit the source)

4-5 tsp Mustard Seeds
8 Potatoes, scrubbed and cut into pieces
3 Tomatoes, chopped
4 tbsp Mustard Oil
Kasundi (a special Bengali mustard paste. Its available at specialty stores) (optional), to taste.
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder, or to taste
10-12 Garlic Cloves, crushed
2 cups Water
Salt, to taste

Crush the mustard seeds in a mortar and pestle or really with any heavy object.

In a deep pan, heat the mustard oil, add the garlic cloves and stir fry until the garlic is a golden brown. Add the crushed mustard and turn the heat to low. Allow to cook for a minute or two. Keep stirring and don't allow the mustard to burn. Add the potatoes wedges. Mix thoroughly to coat.

Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, kasundi, salt and water. Cook covered on medium heat till potatoes are cooked and tender, about 25-30 minutes,

Serve warm with rice or rotis.

If you like this, you'll also like Mustard Curry and Mustard Chutney, on this blog.

Corn Soup

In continuation of the healthy soups, here's one that is a big hit with the kids, and adults and grandparents! And no one believes anything this delicious could be low fat and healthy. Go ahead and try this.

 

Corn Soup

2 corn on the cob, or about 1 1/2 cups of corn, cooked with a little salt.
1 cup Water
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 tsp Butter. (yes, only one one tsp)

Cook the corn with a little bit of salt and remove the corn from the ears. Or, if using prepacked cooked corn, forget the above step. D-uh.

Put the corn in a blender with the water and blend well. Strain through a very fine strainer. Take the remaining bits of corn which haven't blended and return to the blender with a little water and blend again. Again pass through the strainer.

Add the strained corn to a saucepan on low-medium heat. Add a little salt, pepper and the butter. Heat through but do not allow to come to a boil.

Serve hot or warm.

Other soups on this blog: Carrot Soup, Mulligatawny Soup and Mushroom Soup.