Minty Potatoes: Aloo Pudina

Baby Potatoes marinated in a minty yogurt sauce

This is an easy recipe, one which could be spiced in several ways. In its uncooked avatar: serve the cooked potatoes without cooking the cooling yogurt marinade. This will also work as wonderful, refreshing Minty Potato Salad for summer.

I have used sour cream and buttermilk in lieu of thick yogurt, since that was available and the other was not!

This recipe goes to The Weekend Herb Blogging. Weekend Herb blogging was started by Kalyn's Kitchen, continued by Haalo, and hosted  this weekend by Honest Vanilla. I have used her technique of using various herbs in the sauce but highlighting a plant/ herb in this easy dish. These herbs like mint and coriander are widely used in the culinary geography of the Indian sub-continent.

Ingredients

1 lb/ 500 gms baby potatoes, skin on

2-3 tbsps heaped, finely chopped mint leaves

2 tbsps- fresh coriander, chopped

2 long green chillies

Optional: 2 hot green chillies [ or more according to taste]

1 tbsp chopped ginger

1 1/2 tsps cummin

2 slivers of Indian cinnamon

6 whole cloves

A piece of Bay Leaf

1/2 Cup of  sour buttermilk

3 tbsps of sour cream

[ can substitute buttermilk and sour cream with  3/4 cup of thick yogurt ]

3 tbsps oil/ ghee

Salt

Method

Grind the coriander, mint, ginger and green chillies into a fine paste with a little buttermilk

Make a marinade with this paste,  sour cream and buttermilk,

Prick the babay potatoes all over with a fork

Marinate the potatoes for 30 minutes

Heat Oil or Ghee

Add cummin seeds, cinnamon and cloves,

Add the potatoes  and the marinade

Add the piece of bay leaf ,

Cook until the sauce reduces and clings to the potatoes.

Serve with fresh mint sprigs / fried green chillies/ coriander sprigs.
Tip:  These were wonderful and easy to cook, sourced from Trader Joes. Add more water or buttermilk if the potatoes are not cooked through by the time the sauce reduces.
Alternately, one can also parboil the potatoes before marinating.