Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Aloo kasa

Okay. I realize that I did promise a series of posts on Oriya cuisine but got a little side-tracked. But, it is still not too late. So I start this again and hopefully the blog will be little more diligent in this undertaking.  There was a post on a version of this dish when the blog was still minty fresh. That was more of a quick recipe done for a quick meal. This is more luscious and needs to be done the right way. And trust me, this is totally worth the effort taken. Now, Oriyas love their potatoes. They love putting them into anything and everything except sweets of course. So, you have your dalma[thick dal with pumpkin, drumsticks and potatoes], aloo posto[potatoes cooked in poppy seed paste], bharta[mashed potatoes] etc etc. Recipes will follow shortly for these dishes soon. But, onto the subject - cancel the potatoes and us Oriyas will be loss for words. And food would be so so boring.

 The trick to this recipe is the spice paste. Make it right and fry it right and half your work is done. And also because of that, you do not have to spend time making right cuts for the onions, chillies and stuff. You can just coarsely chop them and throw into the blender. It does need a little more oil than usual. But for a Sunday meal, it would be the perfect accompaniment. Aloo kasa finds itself among one of my favorite dishes. Every time I leave home, my mom or my dad would make this to be packed in a lunchbox and opened later to be eaten. It is always a reminder of home cooking and memories that come with it. So I take my time with it and make sure it reaches that taste - just the right spice and the right heat. And now it goes to you - make sure you handle with care.
  
Ingredients: Spice paste
3 medium onions
1 inch ginger
6 large cloves garlic
2 green chillies
2 medium tomatoes
Ingredients Proper:
3 medium potatoes, boiled
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp cloves
1 bay leaf
2 dried red chillies
1 cinnamon
2 green cardamon crushed
2tbsp red chili powder
1tsp turmeric powder
1tbsp coriander powder
1tbsp cumin powder
1tbsp garam masala
salt to taste
3-4 tbsp oil
Water as needed


Method:
Coarsely chop all the ingredients from the spice paste and blend into a paste.
Heat oil. When it is smoky, throw in the spice paste. It should sizzle when it hits the oil and splatter. As you fry the paste, add the cumin, cloves, bay, dried red chillies, cinnamon and the cardamom. It should take around fifteen minutes to fry on a high heat. If the paste starts the stick add a little water.
Sprinkle the paste with the red chilli, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder. Add a little bit of salt and the potatoes. Fold the paste through the potatoes. Cook for five more minutes.
Add the garam masala, adjust the salt and add quarter of a cup of water. Simmer until the masala becomes a thick sauce for the potatoes. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve piping hot. Perfect with rotis, puris, hot rice and just about anything.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment