Sookhe aloo- Samosa Potato Filling

Raise your hand if you love samosas!!  (Me ME me mE Me!!!!!)

The required spices.

 I can't seem to get enough of the damn things, but making them is a bit labor intensive (not to mention deep frying things scares the bejeesus out of me.)

The solution?





Eating the filling by itself!!!

I love the whole spices in this dish!

 Scandalous, I know.  But seriously, so un-f*#@ing-believably good.  I like to eat mine with a poached egg mixed in.  It makes me feel better about eating just potatoes for a meal, and it makes the potatoes all the more velvety and filling.  My recipe is adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's classic book "An Invitation to Indian Cooking."  I changed it because I was short a few spices so I switched them for others, and the thought of using 10 tablespoons of vegetable oil to cook potatoes in seemed absolutely criminal.  All in all my recipe may not be as authentic, but it is incredibly delicious and tastes like a good samosa from an Indian restaurant.

The best part of this recipe?  If you boil the potatoes ahead of time it takes about 15-20 minutes to make. This my friends is dangerous, eater's discretion is advised!

Greenhorn Gourmande's Sookhe aloo

Ingredients

4-5 medium yellow potatoes, boiled until tender and cooled

3 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp whole fennel seeds

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 tsp whole black mustard seeds

12 whole fenugreek seeds

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp madras curry powder

1.5 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

1.  Dice the potatoes into 1/2 in cubes, you don't need to be super precise because you are going to be  mashing them a little anyway.  Also, you can remove the skins at this point, but I prefer to keep them on for ease and nutrition.  

2.  In a large frying pan heat up the oil over medium heat.  Once hot add the fennel, cumin, mustard, and fenugreek seeds.  Stir gently and cook until mustard seeds start to pop, about 10-20 seconds.  Next add the red pepper flakes and stir, allowing to cook until their color has deepened, about another 10-20 seconds.

3.  Carefully add the potatoes and stir to coat with the oil.  Next add the turmeric, curry powder, and salt.  Stir to combine.  Now comes the slightly labor intensive part.  The potatoes will brown and crisp on the bottom, so frequently stir/scrape the bottom of the pan and mash the potatoes apart a bit, making sure that the potatoes don't burn.  (I imagine you wouldn't have to do this part if you used the recommended amount of oil.)  Be patient, the browned crisp bits are essential to making these potatoes excellent.

4.  After about 15minutes of stirring and scraping your potatoes should be in pretty small chunks, and  fairly browned.  Finish by stirring in the lemon juice.  Enjoy plain, topped with an egg, or stuffed into a samosa.

This recipe is based on one of my favorite cookbook recipes.  If you'd like to see lots of other awesome cook book recipes check out mom's crazy cooking: this week's cravings!