My husband is Indian, and as such likes really strong flavors. My daughter seems to have inherited his taste-buds–strong, assertive and clean flavors with a hit of acid is what wins awards at my dinner table. I love making roasted potatoes, but sometimes for these two, olive oil, salt and pepper doesn’t cut it. Thankfully, I found an amazing roast potato recipe that only takes about 5 extra minutes of time. — It’s adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, American Masala by Suvir Saran. It calls for curry leaves, which you can find fresh in many specialty stores. I usually use dried which are available at Kalustyans and Fairway. You can also just leave them out and the dish will still be delicious. The original recipe also calls for 6 dried red chiles, which I leave out for kid friendliness–feel free to add them in if you like.
Roasted Indian Spiced Potatoes
(Adapted from American Masala by Suvir Saran)
Serves 8
%uFFFD cup extra-virgin olive oil OR canola oil
3 pounds baby red potatoes, rinsed and halved (I have also used regular potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces, but I think any kind of potatoes would work here)
20 fresh or dried curry leaves (optional)
6 dried red chiles (very optional)
1 %uFFFD teaspoons cumin seeds
A 1 –inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon kosher salt
%uFFFD cup chopped fresh cilantro
%uFFFD cup shopped fresh mint
Juice of %uFFFD lime or lemon
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a large baking dish with some oil, add the potatoes and set aside.
2. Heat the oil with the curry leaves (if using), chiles (if using) and cumin seeds in a large skillet for about %uFFFD minutes.
3. Add the ginger and garlic and cook another minute
4. Add turmeric and salt and cook for another minute.
5. Pour spices and oil over the potatoes and stir until evenly coated.
6. Bake the potatoes until tender and browned, about 25-40 mins (I like my potatoes crispy, so I’m more on the 40-45 min schedule). Give the pan a shake or a stir every 10-15 minutes.
7. Remove the baking dish from the oven and stir in the cilantro, mint and lime or lemon juice.
