Kelangu curry/pirattal (Potato curry)

Potato is the king of vegetarian food. Isn't it a delicacy for all the vegetarians out there! I know of several Indian cuisines that have a wide spread of vegetarian recipes, whereas in others it’s always potato, paneer, mushroom and gobi (cauliflower). Lankan cuisines are no different. Veg options are almost always limited to potato, soya meat/meal maker, chickpeas, long beans and yam to name a few. Almost every occasion will have a potato curry for the vegetarian bunch. I’m so amazed at how versatile potatoes can be – from hashbrowns and French fries to poori masala and subzi, it is an ingredient that is the most adaptable.

This recipe is a default go-to recipe for almost all mains. This is a potato curry simmered in spices and tangy tamarind and rightfully finished off with coconut milk or cream. It’s a match for rice, idiyappam, puttu, rotis and bread.

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Ingredients

Oil – 4 tbsps

Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Onion – thinly sliced – 2 medium size

Tomato - finely chopped – 2 medium

Potato - cubbed – 4

Garlic – thinly sliced 7 to 8 cloves

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Tumeric – half ts

*Curry powder – 2 tbsps

*Tamarind – juice from a lemon sized ball of tamarind

Water – 1 cup

Salt – As per taste

Coconut milk – 1 cup medium thick

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Method

1. Place a Kadai and heat oil.

2. Splatter mustard and fenugreek seeds (same order). When it begins to splatter add in the potato cubes and fry them on low flame until they start begin to brown on the edges. It doesn’t have to be fully cooked at this stage.

3. Next add in the onions, curry leaves and sliced garlic and stir occasionally until the onions become translucent. Now add in the finely chopped tomatoes and cook them till they turn mushy. You can also alternatively blend tomatoes and add them as it shortens the cooking time and also doesn’t leave the chunky tomato bits in the curry.

4. Once cooked, add in the curry powder, salt, turmeric. Give it a good stir and add the tamarind juice and water. Stir well and cook with lid on, medium flame for about 8 to 10 mins or until potatoes are cooked well. Refrain from stirring continuously.

5. This will be a thick curry at this stage. Add coconut milk and adjust the water content as per the thickness you desire. Leave as is if you like a thick curry. Serve hot!

*Curry powder – Generally, in Srilankan cuisine curry powder is a mix of all basic spices like coriander seeds, chilly etc. An equivalent would be Kulambu milagai podi that is easily available in India. You can also use a combination of chilly powder and coriander powder (1:2 ratio).

**Tamarind paste or juice – you can either use a lemon sized ball of tamarind soaked in luke warm water, squashed and filtered. Use your fingers to roughly sieve the juice.