Spicy curried potatoes

Health-0-meter: 3/5 (5 being healthiest)
Ease: 1/5 (5 being difficult)

I love potatoes. Hand me a freshly baked, salted and peppered potato and I will be your friend forever. A little S&P goes a long way, but it can get boring, which is where our good friends the spices step in!

While in Vegas, I happened to eat at an Indian restaurant and tasted something similar to this dish. It was pretty bland in my opinion, but it inspired me to make a more flavorful version. So, here it is! This is incredibly simple to prepare. It really doesn't need any culinary skill at all, which is why it's in my go-to recipe box when I'm out of ideas for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 medium or large potatoes
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds (available at any Indian grocery store)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1-2 green chillies, chopped
• 2 tsp Cumin & Coriander powder (1 tsp of each if you have the individual powders; Coriander is also known as Cilantro)
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp finely chopped Cilantro
• 1/2 tsp salt (more or less, depending on your taste)
• 2.5 tsp vegetable oil

1. Boil potatoes until fork tender. Cut into bite size pieces.

2. Place the oil in a skillet or wok and heat to high temp. Olive oil isn't the best choice of oil here as it has a low boiling point, meaning that high heat will cause it to scorch. Once the oil is hot, place the mustard and cumin seeds in the oil. The mustard seeds should sputter; once they're mostly done, add the green chillies and saute for a few seconds.

3. Add potato cubes to the oil. Gently stir potatoes so that they are all covered in the oil. Fry for 30 seconds, before gently stirring again. Once potatoes have browned on one side, add the remaining spices, except for the minced cilantro. Make sure the spices are evenly distributed; let potatoes sit for 4-5 minutes.

4. Add minced cilantro and gently stir to distribute. Let sit for 1-2 minutes. Serve warm with rice or roti/naan.

Tips & Tricks: I cook potatoes in a pressure cooker (30 minutes total cooking time, 5 - 7 minutes on high heat, with the remainder at medium heat). After the potatoes are cooked, place them in the fridge for 5 - 10 minutes. When they are a little cooler, it is easier to remove the skins without getting potato flesh all over your hands. Potatoes cooked this way keep in the fridge for up to a week.

If mustard seeds are unavailable, they can be omitted. The flavor will be slightly different, but still delicious.

Calories:

*Calculations made with 2 medium and 1 large Russet potatoes. This makes enough for three generous 1/2 cup servings.

Potatoes: 625
Canola oil: 100
Spices: 25
Total: 750 calories, one serving: 250 calories

Alu Gobi

Health-0-meter: 4/5 (5 being healthiest)
Ease: 2/5 (5 being difficult)

In Hindi, Alu means potato and Gobi means cauliflower. We Indian folk like to name our foods after what it contains. Makes it easier when planning dinner "Hey you guys want alu gobi?" versus "Would you lot care for black pudding?" See what I mean about knowing what's in your food?

Most Indian dishes begin with the trifecta of onions, garlic and ginger. This one is no different. The combined flavors give each curry their distinctive taste that makes them so yummy! The important part is to make sure that the ratio of garlic and ginger is 1:1 and that the onions are cooked thoroughly. Too much of one will overpower the other and will make the dish taste different. Uncooked onions will be noticed, trust me. I was impatient the first time I made it and it tasted really off.

On to the recipe!

You will need:

• A wok or a pan with at least 2" high sides
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 medium potato, diced (bite size pieces)
• 1/2 lb cauliflower florets (broken into individual florets)
• 5-6 baby carrots, sliced into rounds
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1.5 tsp (2 cloves) garlic, finely minced
• 1.5 tsp Ginger, finely grated
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2.5 cups of water
• Salt
• 1 tsbp of corn oil (or vegetable oil)

A note on ingredients: Everytime I've made this dish, I've used fresh veggies. I'm not sure how frozen veggies would work; I'm guessing they would need to be completely thawed and microwaved to remove any water and then added to the curry for 10-15 minutes before serving for them to take in the spices.

These spices are common in Indian cooking and can be purchased at any Indian store. Eyeballing is key in Indian cooking. If the amounts of ginger and garlic look about the same, it will work out fine. Exact measurements were provided for those incredibly anal-retentive cooks like me.

1. Measure out garam masala, turmeric, chilli powder and cumin seeds. Mince garlic and grate ginger. Finely chop onion. Keep aside.

2. Heat oil in wok/frying pan. Add garlic and ginger and stir rapidly for 20 - 30 seconds. They should NOT turn brown, that means the garlic is burnt and it will impart a bitter taste to the curry.
3. At this point, add the onions. Here's the tricky part. The oil might not seem like it will be enough to cook the onions, however do NOT add any extra oil or your curry will taste oily. Make sure the onions are mixed well enough that the garlic and ginger and oil are evenly distributed. Keep the heat to a medium-high and stir every 2-3 minutes until the onion looks caramelized. Like so:

See how the volume has decreased (water loss) and more importantly, see how they're shiny in the second pic? That's the oil re-appearing! It's a good indication that the onions are done. When they look like the pic above (right), turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the spices - garam masala, cumin seeds, turmeric and chilli powder. Mix until all the onions are coated with them. Keep stirring for another 2-3 minutes. The spices need the heat of the pan to release their flavor and to get into the onions.

5. Add the tomato and the tomato paste. If stirring is difficult, add about 1/2 cup of water to help stir the mixture. If the onions are well cooked, then adding the water and stirring should result in a paste.

6. Add the vegetables and make sure they are well coated with the paste. Stir for 1 minute.

7. Add water to cover all the veggies (see pic below). At this point, add the salt. Potatoes can absorb a lot of salt, so add a little more than necessary. Leave on medium low for 30 - 40 minutes without a lid to cook. Stir every 5 minutes or so until vegetables are tender and liquid has reduced to half the original volume.

Enjoy! Til the next dish...