Sunday, January 23, 2011

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.

14 comments:

  1. Those cute potatoes with mint looks soo irresistible,delicious and absolutely tempting..

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  2. That looks so exotic and yummy! Great dish!

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  3. Thankyou Priya, Aruna and M D!

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  4. hi

    No reason dear....
    For this recipe cardamom was not needed
    if u want the kurma to be more flavorful definitely you can try cardamom.
    I ordered this recipe in a restaurant here in saudi arabia and somehow got that taste also:)

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  5. Delicious curry love the mint and potato combo.

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  6. I love mint and aloo...awesome combo. I have one with eggplants in it as well. The lil carb balls looks so cute!

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  7. First time here....I just loved ur blog..Loved those minted potatoes,looks totally yumm....The layered mirch bajji looks outstanding dear...will visit often now.

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  8. Thanks Preeti, chitra and Prathibha!

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  9. this looks just pretty and very new, mint flavour is refreshing!

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