Bengali Pot-Roasted Potatoes

Our traditional family recipe for these potatoes, or Hing Diye Alur Dom, used to add thick yogurt to the mix, instead of the tomatoes. My vegan recipes are created with care, so, I added two tomatoes. By the time the dish cooked down, I was pleased with the results, no unnecessary redness here.

BENGALI POT-ROASTED POTATOES [VEGAN]

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 3 dried red chilis
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek (methi) seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 3 pounds of small white skinned round potatoes
• 1/4 cup oil (such as canola)
• 3/4 teaspoon asafetida
• 2 to 3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh finely grated ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder or paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
• 3 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala (preferably the Bengali variety)
• 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)

PREPARATION

1. Place the spices for the spice base in a spice grinder and grind until nice and smooth and set aside.
2. In a large pot add a lot of water and boil the potatoes for about 5 minutes, please note the objective here is to par-boil them, not cook them through as that would be a disaster.
3. Cool and peel the potatoes and set aside to dry.
4. Heat the oil and very hot,and add in the asafetida and bay leaves followed fairly quickly by the grated ginger.
5. Saute the ginger for 2 minutes and add in the turmeric, paprika and the cayenne pepper.
6. Add in the peeled potatoes with the prepared spice mixture carefully and mix will, the mixture should coat the potatoes uniformly. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Add in the tomatoes sugar, salt and cook for about 15 minutes on low heat, until the mixture is soft and well coated. Add in about 3/4 cup water and continue cooking the mixtures on low heat for another 25 minutes. This will allow the flavors to develop and the mixture to cook through.
8. Eventually you should have soft golden yellow potatoes coated with flecks of a dark spicy mixture.
9. Sprinkle with the garam masala and the chopped cilantro if using and serve hot.

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/traditional-bengali-pot-roasted-potatoes/?utm_source=Green+Monster+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=ed5f9e86a4-NEWSLETTER_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbf62ddf34-ed5f9e86a4-106919241