Aloo Banarasi

“Banarasi Aloo” – This name struck a chord with me instantly. My mental eye started conjuring up images of the rising sun in the old gangetic town, the clay-kissed narrow lanes, the banarasi ‘ekka’ (horsecart), the saffron-clad priests sitting on the river banks enabling people to complete their rituals, the absolutely gorgeous banaras silk saris…. and many more things. I had to drag my thoughts and tie it down to the recipe on hand.

Lately I have been getting a little bored of the same old curries and was wanting to make something new. That is exactly when I found this lovely yet very easy recipe from Chef in You. I checked the list of ingredients and luckily had most of them handy. I jumped straight away to action - peeled and chopped the potatoes and quickly added them to the pot of boiling water. I started the tadka on the other burner. As the saunf and jeera were spluttering, an absolutely irresistible aroma filled the whole kitchen and I realized this recipe is one killer!

I made a few changes to the recipe, but strived my best to retain its originality. This curry is an absolutely great party dish. No one eating this curry would dream that it gets done in twenty minutes. The cream in the curry creates such a tasty thick sauce around the potatoes that anyone would go for the second and third helpings easily. Now lets go over to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Potatoes (med): 4 – 5 Nos
Tomatoes (small): 2 Nos
Saunf: 1 tsp
Jeera: 1 tsp
Tamarind paste: 1 tsp
Chilli powder: ½ tsp (or to taste)
Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp
Garam masala: 1 tsp
Kasuri methi: 1 tsp
Heavy cream: ½ cup
Water: 1 cup
Cardamom pods: 3 – 4 Nos
Salt: to taste

Method:

Grind the tomato and elaichi together. Do not add water.
Peel and chop potatoes into one centimeter chunks.
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and then lower the flame. Cook till the potatoes are cooked, yet firm and would retain shape when tossed around for about ten minutes. In a kadai, add tadka of saunf and jeera.
Add the tomato paste, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala and salt and sauté till the tomato leaves the raw smell. The tomato paste will become a thick mass now.
Now add the potatoes and toss it till the potatoes gets a good coating of the tomato paste. Cook for 2 –3 minutes.
Add the kasuri methi and toss for about 5 minutes.
Add the cream and water and cook till the sauce reaches the right consistency.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

This curry is my contribution to 'Tried and Tasted' where the featured blog for the month is DK's Chef in You. This event is hosted by this month by Priya, an event taken over by Lakshmi from Zlamushka . One helping of this curry also goes to 'Anyone can cook Series 5' hosted by Ayesha.