Cooking notes

• This aromatic recipe is prepared in the Chettinad style of cooking, which uses freshly roasted and ground spices. You need just a handful of ingredients, all of which are hopefully lying around in the kitchen, and the preparation takes less than 15 minutes.

• Chettinad aloo is called for on days when you need a flavour explosion in your mouth. The boiled potatoes are perfumed and coated with the spices to bring together this simple vegetarian roast dish.

• Makes 2-4 servings.

Ingredients

For the ground spices:

• 6 dry red chillies

• 3 tbsp split black gram (urad dal)

• 5-6 black peppercorns

For the cooking:

• 250 gm potatoes (2-3 medium sized ones)

• 3 tbsp cooking oil

• ½ tsp mustard seeds

• 10-15 curry leaves

• 1-2 medium onions

• Salt, to taste

Method

1. Boil and peel the potatoes. Be careful not to over-boil them – we need them firm and soft, rather than mushy. Keep aside.

2. Once the potatoes cool, pierce them gently with a fork to prepare them for absorbing the spices later. Chop into cubes.

3. To make the ground spices, in a pan, put the red chillies, split black gram, and peppercorns. Dry roast until the dal gives off a fragrant aroma and turns light brown. After it cools, grind this mix to a powder. Your spice mix is ready!

4. Note – This recipe yields enough spice mix (masala) to be used 2-3 times and it can be stored in a dry, airtight container. Each time, you can use about 2-3 tsp of the powder, depending on how strong you like the flavour.

5. Heat the oil. You can use the same non-stick pan you may have used earlier. Add in the mustard seeds and curry leaves, and let them splutter for 10-20 seconds.

6. Then add in the onions, and saute till the onions are light brown.

7. Add the potatoes. Mix well and add just a little bit of salt.

8. Then add as much of the ground powder as you want (2-3 tsp). Mix it well, ensuring that the potatoes are fully coated in the spice mix.

9. Cover and cook on low heat for 2-3 mins to allow the potatoes to absorb the spices. Turn off the gas and keep the pan covered for 5 more minutes.

10. Enjoy hot with chapati, rice or on its own!