Monday, October 25, 2010

Recipe : Aloo Bhartha (Indian Mashed Potatoes)

Aloo Bhartha is a dish that is often prepared in my inlaws house as a side dish with rotis when the women have come home and need to serve up a fresh meal quickly.

It is also a side dish eaten on train journeys and picnics, as you just carry boiled potatoes with you, some salt and chilli powder and some mustard oil and mash them all together, just before its time to chow down.

When I make it at home, I like to incorporate a few fresh ingredients too.

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes
2 green chillies chopped
4-5 sprigs of fresh corriander chopped
1 tsp mustard oil or to taste (it has to be mustard oil, no other oil can give this dish its flavour)
salt to taste
Chilli powder to taste
Amchur or sumac to taste (optional)

Method:
Boil the potatoes and skin them.
When they are cool enough to handle, mash them by hand (not with a potato masher) so you still have a few lumps left.
Mix in all the other ingredients. Taste as you add your mustard oil. It comes in different strengths and if it gets too powerful, the taste will irritate at the back of your throat.
Serve with rotis. The picture above shows aloo bhartha served with methi theplas.

Options:
If you are finishing it immediately, then you can also add fresh chopped onion.
But if you add onion, it will not keep for too long, even if refrigerated,

Leftovers:
The leftover bhartha can be used as stuffing for aloo parathas (Indian stuffed breads) or to make potato toast.


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