Classic Homestyle Crispy Potato Fry, a side dish for any meal!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: aloo fry, potato fry, urulaikizhangu
Servings: 4
Author: Mullai Madavan
Equipment
Iron Kadai / Stir Fry Pan
Ingredients
Saute & Roast
2largePotato cubed, roughly 2 cups
2smallSambar onion / Pearl onion / Shallot finely chopped
1/4teaspoonTurmeric powder
1/2teaspoonRed Chili powder
1teaspoonCoriander powder
3/4teaspoonSalt or to taste
Temper
3tablespoonOil
1/2teaspoonMustard seeds
1/2teaspoonCumin seeds
1/2teaspoonSplit black gram
1/4teaspoonAsafoetida
5leavesCurry leaves
Instructions
Cube them into 1/2 inch pieces and soak them in cold water while you work on the tempering.
Heat oil in the pan and temper with mustard seeds, split black gram, cumin seeds, curry leaves. Add in the finely chopped onions along with asafoetida powder. Saute them until the onions cooks a bit. (Adding sambar onion is optional, gives a slight sweet crunch and also binds the masala to the potatoes)
Now drain all the water from the potatoes and add it the onion mixture.
Fry them in hot oil until the outer layer of potatoes becomes lightly firm and crisp. (No water added to cook the potatoes, you cook them in the hot oil)
Now reduce the flame to low, cover the pan with a lid and cook the potatoes in oil for 6-7 minutes. (Small cubes gets cooked fast, adjust time depending on how big the pieces are)
Once done, the potatoes gets cooked fully. Now add in turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Give it a quick stir over medium flame.
Keep sauteing over low medium flame for few minutes until the masala coats all over the cooked potatoes. Do not apply too much pressure while sauteing as it might mash the patato pieces. Just gently saute over low flame until they brown all over and get crisp. Switch off!
Serve it along any rice dish as a side dish. They pair well with simple sambar, rasam or curd rice. My favorite combo for lunch is tomato rice with potato fry!
Notes
Adding sambar onion adds in a touch of flavor to the potatoes and also helps the masala stick better.
Normal potato fry is steam cooked with little sprinkle of water and in this recipe the potatoes are cooked directly in hot oil.
This is a simple version potato fry, you may upgrade the taste by adding garam masala powder or sambar powder. I’ve added 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, add extra, if you prefer it spicy.
Try to cube the potatoes into tiny cubes that way they cook faster and look cute too.