Aloo ki Sabji – A Potato Dish from Rajasthan

Ingredients:

4 cups boiled potatoes, cubed or cut into wedges
1 cup organic yoghurt
1 tsp gram flour or corn starch
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp nigella seeds (can be replaced by bengali 5-spice or celery seeds or 1 finely chopped shallot)
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing)
2 tsp chilli powder (or rather take a finely chopped, deseeded chilli – or less, if you don’t like it hot)
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
 salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Method:

1. In a bowl, combine the yoghurt and gram flour together and whisk well. Keep aside.
2. Heat the ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, nigella seeds, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and asafoetida and stir for a few seconds.
3. Add the yoghurt and gram flour mixture, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander-cumin seed powder and continue stirring till it comes to a boil.
4. Add the potatoes and salt with 1/2 cup of water and mix well. Bring to a boil.
5. Serve hot, garnished with the coriander.

This is a very simple dish which tastes excellent served with a crisp salad of mixed leaves, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots. I usually make a dressing with is only freshly pressed orange juice (or Tropicana) with  a generous amount of freshly grated ginger, a wee bit of salt and pepper. And of course a nice naan bread!