It’s that time of the year again, when even foodies love to fast. Thanks to the nine-day festival of navratri, which brings with it, a variety of “fast” foods to choose from, the key component in most recipes being potato. While only a handful of options come to mind when you talk about potatoes, experts suggest innovative ways to make the best use of the humble potato.
Giving the traditional aloo subzi, a healthy spin, chef Amit Rana, chef tourant The Imperial, says since fried food increases the heat in our body, baked or roasted food is a better option. “Instead of ghee, use extra virgin olive oil, add peanut powder or fresh lemon juice in the end, which will give an extra flavour to the final dish. Try baking the potatoes raw in the oven with only a sparingly drops of olive oil and when it’s cooked, then just add the special navratra (rock) salt and lemon juice as when it is done and enjoy it,” he says.
You can also try the roasted khus khus recipe with potatoes. Vibha Nathani, a housewife tells us, that the recipe takes a maximum of an hour to prepare and gives potatoes a twist. “Just grind roasted Khus khus with green chillies and a little water to a fine paste. Now heat one tablespoon oil. Shallow fry the potatoes till they are slightly brown.
Add another spoon of oil in the same pan. Mix whole dry red chillies and turmeric powder and fry. Now mix khus khus paste and fry again on low heat up for five minutes till the oil leaves the side of the pan. Add fried potatoes and mix well. Add water and salt. Stir, cover and keep on low heat up for 15 minutes till the potatoes become soft,” she tells us.
You can also try your hands at organic potatoes, twist them around by using semolina flour and fresh figs.
Nishant Choubey, executive sous chef, Dusit Bird Hotels shares, “Cover each potato with a silver foil and bake them for an hour at 180 degrees or until tender. Let potatoes cool, then cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh, discarding the skin. Mash flesh in a ricer. Mix in kuttu flour, semolina flour and sea salt, and gradually knead in flour until it forms a dough that is not too sticky and then You must divide dough into four pieces, and roll into 1/2-inch-diameter logs. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Using your thumb, roll each piece across the floured tines of a fork to make ridges on one side and an indentation on the other. (The gnocchi can be placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerated until ready to cook.) Bring a large pot of water to a boil, return to a boil, and cook gnocchi (a few at a time), until they float to the surface, three to four minutes.”
And then you can remove into a bowl with a slotted spoon, and coat with olive oil. “Take the gnocchi on a deep plate (preferably) and garnish with wedges of fresh figs or any other fresh fruit,” concludes the chef.