Punjabi potato curry

Lisa

New favourite potato dish! Devoured twice in one week, three times if you count leftovers for lunch.  Recipe by the wonderful Meera Sodha from her book Fresh India.  The quantity of spices is a little conservative – it’s safe to dial them up a notch.

You can treat this curry as a simple meal, with a plain green vegetable on the side, or do a thali:  a tarka dhal and some roasted spiced cauliflower florets would be perfect, plus rice or parathas.

Ingredients

  • 80g unsalted cashews
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1kg potatoes
  • 4 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 3cm ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Method

  1. Soak the cashews in 100ml of boiling water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, crush the fennel seeds as finely as you can with a pestle and mortar.
  2. Wash and scrub the potatoes – no need to peel. Cut them into chunks of the same size. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a lidded frying pan and fry the potatoes for around 8 mins, until they brown a bit, stirring every now and again. Remove the potatoes to a plate.
  3. Transfer the cashews along with their soaking liquid to a blender and pulse to a fine paste.
  4. Put the rest of the oil into the frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, fry the onion for 10 mins, or until soft and golden. Add the garlic and ginger, cook for 2 mins, then add the tomatoes. Cook for around 5-8 mins, until the sauce thickens and reduces.
  5. Then add the crushed fennel seeds, garam masala, chilli powder and salt. Stir to mix, then add the cashew paste. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add around 300ml of water and stir.
  6. Put the potatoes back in the pan, cover with the lid. Cook on a low heat for a further 10-15 mins, until really tender the whole way through. You can check by sliding a knife through: if there’s no resistance, they’re done.