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Potato and Pea Curry

This is a Delhi/Uttar Pradesh–style dish. I like to use very small, waxy potatoes, each cut in half. If they are larger, you will just have to dice them. The potatoes hold together best if you boil them whole and let them cool at room temperature before you peel and cut them. We generally serve this curry with Indian flatbreads or with the puffed-up pooris. Pickles and chutneys are served alongside. This combination is very popular in North India for breakfast. Sips of hot milky tea ease the spicy potatoes down nicely.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1/8 teaspoon ground asafetida
1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 pound small red potatoes, boiled, cooled, peeled, and halved (if potatoes are larger, aim for 1-inch dice)
2 cups peas, fresh or frozen and defrosted
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4–1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more if you prefer
1 tablespoon ground coriander

Preparation

  1. Pour the oil into a large, preferably nonstick sauté pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the asafetida and cumin seeds. Ten seconds later, add the potatoes. Stir and fry until the potatoes have browned lightly. Now put in the peas, 3 tablespoons of the yogurt, the ginger, salt, and cayenne. Stir and cook until the yogurt has been absorbed. Add another 3 tablespoons yogurt and the coriander. Stir and cook until the yogurt is absorbed again. Add the remaining yogurt. Stir and cook for a minute. If you are using frozen peas, the dish is done. If you are using fresh peas, add 3 tablespoons water, cover, turn heat to low, and cook very gently for 6–8 minutes or until the peas are tender.

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Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the full book from Amazon.
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