Our local vegetable vendor is stocking some rather uninspiring and tired looking vegetables these days and coming up with good ideas in the kitchen is getting just a little tougher. So we line up the usual suspects on the kitchen counter and dig deep for an idea.

Looking at the basket of potatoes, we muse over their versatility - fries, mashed potato, aloo ki sabzi, and a boat load of things that could be done to them. We’ve even met someone who says they can make an aloo ki sabzi 50 different ways. So we decide to treat them with some respect and pair them with a sudden whim to experiment and our favorite spice mix.

What we end up with is a speedy dish of earthy and fragrant potatoes, much tastier than the sum of its parts.

Panch Phoron Potato

Ingredients

4-5 Potatoes, medium sized
2 Onions, finely sliced
1 inch Ginger, ground into a paste
4-5 large cloves of Garlic, ground into a paste
2 Green Chilis, split
4 tbps Mustard oil
2 tsp Panch Phoron
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red Chili powder
1/4 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Lime juice
Salt to taste

Directions

Boil the potatoes and when they’ve softened a little, peel and cube them.

Roast the Panch Phoron on a tawa and coarsely grind it in a mortar and pestle or very briefly in a spice grinder.

In a hot Kadhai, add the mustard oil and when it’s hot, add the split green chilis. Add the onions and let them cook for 2 mins. Add the ginger and garlic paste and fry till the onions turn translucent. Add the coarsely ground Panch Phoron and cook till the onion garlic and ginger mix starts to release oil. Add the potatoes and stir to coat them. Add the spice powders and salt and cook for 5-6 minutes, till the potatoes are cooked through. Add the lime juice before serving.