Potato Curry Recipe
If you ask a Bengali what their favorite breakfast items are, you will hear about different items you can have with Paratha or ruti. That is our staple, and absolutely delicious, breakfast menu, a kind of curry or fry with parata.
We have different sorts of items for breakfast with parata, ranging from sweets like Suji (semolina) to a simple omelet to delicious curries. If a Bengali says their favorite breakfast is parata and omlet, they really need to spice up their taste buds with some curries.
I say that because we have amazing curries for breakfast. And today’s potato curry or aloor torkari is one of them. Going back to the question I started with, if you really do ask a handful of Bengali that question, you will surely hear about alur torkari or potato curry.
Potato curry is a quick and easy vegetarian curry recipe that’s ready in under half an hour. And it is absolutely delicious. I have been talking about breakfast so far because that’s when I prefer to have potato curry, but you can have it for lunch or dinner.
Potato curry or alur torkari is a versatile dish. You can have it with luchi or paratha, as I already mentioned. It also pairs really well with plain rice, even as a side with daal or lentil soup.
Many people have potato curry during their weight loss journey. So can I eat potato curry during weight loss? Yes you can in moderation, but it is not the best way. This potato curry recipe especially has pretty high calorie numbers. So I would not recommend this recipe if you want it for losing weight.
But I just said people have potato curry for weight loss, so why wouldn’t i recommend it? Because Bangladeshi people eat potato curry or alur torkari with ruti for losing weight. Here the potato curry is not the main factor, it’s people skipping plain rice for ruti. You can have the ruti with anything that is low on carbs and calorie, it won’t matter.
Now before going into the recipe, let me tell you something about making the perfect potato curry. The key is not to overcook the potatoes. You want them soft enough to absorb all the spices, but firm enough that they don’t turn into mashed potatoes in the curry!
I learned this the hard way. My first few attempts at making aloor torkari, I would overcook the potatoes and end up with something closer to a thick potato soup.
Another thing, do not skip the whole spices. Yes, you can use just powder spices and call it a day. But trust me, tempering with whole cumin seeds and bay leaves makes all the difference. That aroma when the spices hit the hot oil? That is what makes a proper Bengali potato curry.
This recipe is perfect for beginners too. Even if you have never made a curry before, you can pull this off easily.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs of white potatoes peeled and diced into 1 cm cubes
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 14 oz or 400 gram can full fat coconut milk
- ½ cup vegetable stock
- 1 cup baby garden peas
Instructions
- In a large frypan, add the oil and saute onions over a medium high heat until soft 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring for a further minute.
- Add the tomato paste and spices and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Stir through the stock and coconut milk and turn heat down to low.
- Add potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Stir through the peas and simmer a further 5 minutes.
- Serve with rice or on it’s own.
Notes
- Add a teaspoon chilli flakes it you like it spicy
- You can also stir through a can of chickpeas instead of green peas
