Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal is a gastronomy writer and “Chief Foodie” at A Perfect Bite Cook Studio – India’s premier state of the art ‘home kitchen’ style cooking studio. It is a dream kitchen designed by a home cook for other home cooks who fantasise about cooking up deliciousness.
Curry Leaf Potato Wedges
Ingredients
For the curry leaf seasoning salt
1 cup curry leaves, washed and air dried
5-6 dry red chillies
½ cup toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp rock salt
For the potato wedges
1 kg potatoes, cooked in salted water and cooled
3 tbsp sesame oil
6-8 cloves garlic crushed
1 tbsp Amchur
Preparation
To Make the Seasoning Salt
Toast the curry leaves in a dry pan till the leaves curl up, turn olive green and become brittle and aromatic. Transfer them to a bowl to let them cool.
Now, toast the chillies until they darken in colour slightly and release their aroma.
Next, in a mortar and pestle (or blender) place the rock salt and the chillies and pound or grind them to a coarse powder.
Finally, add the curry leaves and pound again for a while. Stir in the sesame seeds and transfer the resulting mixture to an airtight container. Use as required.
To Make Potato Wedges
Preheat your oven to 200 °C/400 °F/Gas mark 6.
Cut the cooked potatoes into large wedges and place in a large mixing bowl. Reserve.
In a smaller bowl combine the seasoning salt garlic and Amchur. In a small pan heat sesame oil and pour over the mixture. Pour the resulting paste over the potato wedges and toss well.
Tip the potatoes onto a baking tray. Place in the oven and bake (about 30 minutes) until reddish goldenbrown, crisp outside and cooked inside. Serve hot from the oven.
The Magic of Curry Leaves:
Curry leaves are usually the first ingredient added to a tadka. The aroma of the leaves spluttering in hot oil fills Indian homes every time a dal is tempered. I love recipes that allow for the consumption of more curry leaves because they are rich in iron. They are also light on the body: 100 g of curry leaves have only 110 calories. Home remedies and Ayurveda also attribute to them a lot of medicinal values. They are a rich source of micro nutrients, antioxidants and carotene.
Volume 2 Issue 4
