Dish of Potato Poriyal
(click to enlarge)

Potato Masala Poryial


India, Chettinad   -   Chinna Urulai Kizhangu Masala Poriyal
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 1-1/2 #
***
50 min
Yes		 Brightly Spicy Potatoes, served as a warm or cold appetizer, or as a warm side to Sambar, Kootu, or the like. Poryial is a fairly dry vegetable stir fry.

1-1/2
4
3/4
4
-------
2
4
12
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2
1
1/2
-------
3
#
oz
in
cl
---
t
t

---
t
T
t
---
T
Potatoes, tiny (1)  
Onions
Ginger
Garlic
-- Tempering
Mustard Seed (2)
Urad Dal (3)
Curry Leaves (4)
-- Spicing
Turmeric
Chili Powder (5)
Salt
-------
Oil
DO AHEAD   -   (30 min 5 min work)
  1. Boil POTATOES until just done. Drain.
PREP   -   (20 min)
  1. Chop ONION fine.
  2. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Slice GINGER very thin. Cut slices into threads and cut threads very fine. Mix.
  3. Remove Curry Leaves from stems and mix all Tempering items.
  4. Mix all Spicing items.
RUN   -   (25 min)
  1. In a wok, heat Oil. Stir in Tempering mix. Careful, Curry Leaves will snap and spit for a few seconds. When Mustard Seeds are popping and Urad Dal has taken on just a little color, stir in Onions and fry stirring until light golden.
  2. Stir in Garlic Mix for 30 seconds, then Spicing mix.
  3. Stir in Potatoes until well coated.
  4. Add a little water as required to lift spices from pan and coat potatoes.
NOTES:

  1. Potatoes, Tiny:

      The pattern recipe called for tiny "New Potatoes", Then calls for them to be peeled after cooking. Real "New Potatoes" have paper thin skins and are never peeled. They aren't much available here in Southern California, anyway. The really tiny potatoes we get here have tough skins, so I used some white potatoes with thinner skins that are a little larger, up to 1-3/8 inches diameter. I have also used somewhat larger Red Potatoes cut into quarters. Red potatoes have thinner skins than white. I see no reason this recipe couldn't be made with larger White Rose potatoes, peeled and cut into about 3/4 inch cubes.

  2. Mustard Seeds:

      This is the Indian temperature gage. Black Mustard Seeds are always used. If you have only Yellow, they will work but pop more violently and at a slightly lower temperature.

  3. Urad Dal:

      This is peeled and split Urad Beans. They are widely used in Indian cuisines, so easily available in markets serving a significant Indian community. For details see our Urad Beans page.

  4. Curry Leaves:

      These fresh leaves are necessary for the true flavor of southern India, and are now reasonably available in Indian and Southeast Asian markets, at least here in California. Dried ones aren't of much use (unless you force dried them yourself within a couple weeks). If you don't have them you will have to leave them out - there is no acceptable substitute. For details see our Curry Leaves page.

  5. Chili Powder:

      The pattern recipe called for 2 Tablespoons of mild chili powder made from Goondu Milagai chilies, only available around Chettinad. I used half their amount of Aleppo Hot, which is a good stand-in for Indian Kashmiri powder, and found the resulting heat just right - but the chili adverse may wish to cut it down a bit. For details see our Indian Chilis page.

  6. Comments:

      The pattern recipe is from a famous restaurant in Chettinad. Restaurant recipes are often a bit "difficult", because they reflect the unique environment of the restaurant (kitchen staff, etc.), not a home kitchen. I have restepped this recipe to be more in keeping with other Indian recipes.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch tt=to taste ar=as required
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