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.

Hara Bhara Kabab

I recently got a wonderful cookbook called Complete Book of Indian Cooking by Suneeta Vaswani. Its filled with 350 delicious recipes and beautiful photographs. This one was particularly good. And quite healthy too.

Hara Bhara Kabab

(Spinach and Potato Patties)

2 Russet or gold potatoes

2 cups Spinach, cooked and squeezed dry

1/4 cup Peas, cooked and coarsely mashed

1.5 tbsp Green Chillies, chopped

1 tbsp Ginger, finely chopped

3 tbsp Cilantro, chopped

2 tbsp Cornstarch

1 tbsp Chaat Masala

Salt, to taste

3 tbsp Oil

In a saucepan of boiling water, cook whole potatoes until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain, peel and mash.

In a bowl, mix together potatoes, spinach, peas, chillies, ginger, cilantro, chaat masala, cornstarch and salt, until well blended. Divide into 12 portions. Form into 2-inch round patties.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat 2 tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Add 6 patties at a time and pan fry on both sides until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with chutney or ketchup.

Cheese Balls

Hmm. Actually these should be called Potato Balls - they're made from potato and have NO CHEESE. But we've always called them cheese balls. I have no idea why!

They are ridiculously good - and filled with everything scrumptious - ghee, potatoes, salt - and then deep fried. No, they are not healthy, I won't even pretend they are. But when you are having people over for and want to serve something which people will be reaching for the entire time, this is it! Or, hey, if you've been really really good with working out and eating right all week, maybe its just time to have one or two or three...

The oil that I used got too hot, and thats why these are darker than usual, but still taste so good!

Cheese Balls

1/2 cup Ghee (Clarified Butter)
1/2 cup Water
2 tbsp Wheat Flour
4 medium Potatoes, boiled, skinned and mashed very well
Salt, to taste
Oil, for deep frying

Heat the oil on low for deep frying in a shallow, flat-bottomed pan.

In another pan, heat the ghee and water together. When it starts to boil, remove the pan from heat.

Slowly - VERY slowly - add the flour a little bit at a time, whisking furiously the whole time, so lumps don't form. After all the flour has been added, add the mashed potatoes and salt and stir/ mash to combine completely.

Make little marble-sized balls from the potato mixture.

Slowly lower 4-5 balls at a time into the oil and fry until golden brown or darker. Drain on a tissue-lined colander. Serve warm with ketchup or chutney.

So so good!

Spiced Mashed Potatoes

A huge favorite in my house, these potatoes are light, flavorful and delicious.


Potato Podimas (Spiced Mashed Potatoes)

1 pound Potatoes
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
a pinch of Asafoetida
6 Green Chillies
1 tsp Ginger, minced
1/2 tsp Urad Dal (split Black Gram)
1 tsp Channa Dal (Red Gram Dal)
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
4 Curry Leaves
2-3 dried Red Chillies
Juice of one lemon
1 tsp Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 bunch Cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Boil potatoes with turmeric and salt. Peel, mash and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. When they begin to splutter, add the urad dal, channa dal, asafeotida, turmeric, curry leaves, red chillies, ginger, lemon juice, salt and mashed potatoes. Stir to combine and cook together for a few minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

Aloo Kadhi

Kadhi is a spicy yogurt-based curry that is very popular all over northern India. It is commonly eaten with rice or roti. It is light and full of flavor.


Aloo Kadhi

4 Potatoes, boiled and coarsely mashed
3 cups Yogurt, beaten
1/2 tsp ground Coriander
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
1 Green Chilli
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
a pinch of Asafoetida
Salt, to taste

Boil and coarsely mash potatoes and add to beaten yogurt along with coriander powder, turmeric, red chilli powder, salt and green chilli.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin, asafoetida and then the above mixture. Keep stirring till it boils and thickens.

Greek Potato Salad

The weather has cooled off quite a bit for this time of the year. Thank goodness for that. We had reached 108 deg F! For the last couple of weeks, we've been having rain showers every now and then, and that has really helped.

This salad was perfect for those hot days.


Greek Potato Salad

6 medium Potatoes, diced
6 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tbsp powdered Oregano
1/2 Onion, chopped
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp Olive Oil

Boil potatoes in water until tender but not mushy. Drain and set aside.

Combine the lemon juice, oregano, onion, garlic and olive oil in a small bowl. Mix well.

Pour over the hot potatoes.

This salad is even better after the potatoes have had the chance to sit around in the dressing for a while, so might be nice to leave it to soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Baked "Fries"

This is one the simplest recipes ever. I make this very often as a side at home and everyone constantly asks me for the recipe. I have a friend who requests this every time we have her over for dinner!

It is also very versatile. Use any fresh herbs that you enjoy. Make it spicy, if you'd like. Use different kinds of oil to see how they adapt - it's totally up to you. But the concept is the same. Here, I used fresh rosemary and olive oil with a touch of crushed red pepper.


Baked "Fries"

3-4 medium Potatoes, cut into wedges or thinner for fries (I used red-skinned, but any kind works fine)
2 tsp Olive Oil (you could also try coconut oil/ sunflower oil/ truffle oil/ garlic-infused oil)
2 sprigs fresh Rosemary, chopped (or basil/ cilantro/ garlic or a combination of dried herbs)
Crushed Red Pepper, or chilli powder (optional), to taste
Salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, rosemary, crushed red pepper and salt. Place in a baking tray, as far as possible, in a single layer.

Bake for 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Halfway through, use a wooden spatula and stir the potatoes around the pan and return to the oven.

Serve warm.

Zatar Platter

Zatar is a Middle Eastern spice mix, used extensively in different dishes. The most common ones are Zatar bread, and as a dip for bread and olive oil. Its absolutely delicious. Its a mix of sumac, thyme and sesame seeds, but as with all mixes, you can add ingredients and subtract as you desire. The first three are the base though. Here's a great resource for home-made Zatar. Please read here for lots of lovely information.


It's sort of like crushed red pepper or Italian seasoning - it's one of those mixes that you can add to anything and it only enhances the flavor. By itself, its pretty mild, and so you need to add a lot to get a Zatar flavor.

I used it in three ways and made a platter.

1. Roasted Potatoes


Take a handful of new potatoes and cut them into halves or quarters (peel them if you prefer - I like the potatoes with the skin on). If you don't have new potatoes, you could also cut large potatoes into matchsticks or like french fries. Combine with a tbsp of olive oil, some salt and pepper, and 2 tbsp of Zatar. Pop them in the oven for about 45 minutes at 175 deg C. Toss them around every 10-15 minutes to avoid having to scrape them off the pan in the end!

2. Roasted Carrots with Feta Cheese


Peel and cut about 3-4 carrots into matchsticks. Toss them with olive oil, salt (don't use too much salt, since the cheese is also salty), pepper and Zatar. Put them in an oven for about 20-25 minutes at 175 deg C. Remember to toss these around too, every 10 minutes, else they stick to the pan. Once done, take them out and crumble the feta on top.


3. Cherry Tomatoes with Feta Cheese

(aren't they beautiful?)

Cut the delicious cherry tomatoes in halves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Zatar. Again, don't use too much salt. Crumble the feta on the tomatoes.


The Platter

All of them were really good. But the roasted carrots were my favorite - the saltiness of the cheese and the sweetness of the carrots was fabulous with the crunchy Zatar.


So, Siri, my fellow Marathoner, this is especially for your Middle Eastern event - I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. The AWED event series was started by another Marathoner, Dhivya.

For the Chennai folks: Nope, you don't get Zatar here. I had a friend mail it to me from Dubai! Sorry. The Feta and cherry tomatoes are from Nilgiris.

Parathas: Stuffed Rotis

Rotis/ Naans/ Chappatis/ Parathas are all north Indian in origin. Rice is the staple food of south India. That is, until a few decades ago, when people started to travel and foods/recipes and cuisines got interchanged.

Even now, south Indians can't make breads as well as north Indians (at least the majority). I know someone who lived in a family of about 12 people - and she was assigned the task of making rotis everyday and she would make almost 40 a meal!

So, anyways, all that stuff was to lead into the fact that until recently I couldn't make a roti at all. They would be hard and chewy and very disappointing. I then learnt from a friend, and now they're half-way decent. But I love my parathas!

Basic Roti Recipe


3 cups Whole wheat Flour
1 tsp Oil
1 tsp Salt
Water, as needed

Make a well in the middle of the flour. Add the oil, salt and a 1/4 cup of water. Mix together. Continue adding water (about 2 tbsp at a time), until the dough is formed and is elastic.
Cover and set aside for at least a 1/2 hour.

Take small portions and make balls (the size of a lime), then use a rolling pin to roll the ball out into circles as thin as possible. Keep aside.


Filling Option #1: Radish
1/2 kilo radish, washed, peeled and grated
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt, to taste

Squeeze the radish to remove any excess water.
Heat some oil in a saute pan. Add the garlic and toss for a minute.
Add the onion and cilantro and saute. Now add the radish and saute well until cooked. (The smell of cooking radish is truly awful - but the final result is well worth it!).
Add the turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala and salt and toss to combine.
Remove from heat and shape into small balls (the size of table tennis balls).


Filling Option #2: Potato

5 Potatoes, cooked, peeled and mashed
1 clove Garlic, crushed
1 bunch Cilantro, chopped fine
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1/4 tsp Chilli powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 tsp Turmeric
Salt, to taste

Heat some oil in a saute pan. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two. Next add the fennel, cilantro and potatoes. Continue to saute for about 5-6 minutes.
Add the chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric, salt. Cook for another 5-6 minutes.
Remove from heat and shape into small balls (the size of table tennis balls).

To make Parathas:

Place a ball of filling in the middle of the prepared rotis. Fold the dough over the filling to cover completely.


Roll it out again. Heat a tsp of oil on a hot griddle and put the paratha on. Turn over when you see dark spots appear.

Cook both sides for 3-4 minutes each and remove. Repeat with the remaining rotis and filling.





This is for Valli's Roti Mela. I know this is such a basic recipe, but this is as far as I've gotten in my roti-making ventures! I'm glad to contribute to the Mela, Valli, and looking forward to the round-up.



Recipe Marathon Update, Day 13:
Not sure if any of you are aware of Siri's seriously good sketching talents, but that's the first thing you need to check out before sitting down for this feast. You could go Indian with lots of curries - Lakshmi's Kootu, Swati's Aloo, Valli's Chicken and Divya's Black-eyed peas, with fabulously innovative brown rice patties from DK. Or you could do Italian with Raaga's Spaghetti. Whichever way you go, you have to have dessert - and we have two choices on the menu tonight - Ranji's Chocolate Chip Banana Bread or Bhags' Oats. Or maybe both?