recipe: aloo phujia

Aloo Phujia is an Indian-esque potato dish, but isn't really curry-esque which is good for people like me who hate curry (tumeric is evil). The potatoes really mellow out all the spices and it tastes Indian without being overly powerful. This again was adapted from an allrecipes.com. Serve with basmati rice if desired, or if you are totally a culinary rebel, you can use instant long-grained white rice (it is what we had)!


Aloo Phujia
Serves 4 - 6

1 onion, chopped
2 tbs vegetable oil
3 Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes (1/4")
5 roma tomatoes or 2 regular tomatoes, diced
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp cayenne peper
3/4 tsp tumeric
1/3 tsp cumin
1 cup frozen peas

1. Brown onion in oil over medium heat in medium saute pan.
2. Stir in all the seasonings (tumeric, pepper, salt, cumin).
3. Add the potatoes and cook on medium for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
4. Add tomatoes, cover pan and cook until potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Stir only a few times because the steam is really what gets the potatoes to soften up nicely. During the last two mintues, throw in the frozen peas.


I imagine you could add pretty much any vegetable to this, like carrots, or leave out the peas if you don't like them. Also, if you like a more saucy, curry like dish, diced canned tomatoes with some of the juice would probably achieve that for you. According to allrecipe.com reviews, it tastes better the next day, but I really didn't notice a difference!