Celebrate Holi with Maunika Gowardhan's Spicy Potato Snacks
Embrace the vibrant festival of Holi, which heralds the arrival of spring and is celebrated with a burst of colours, by indulging in sumptuous and addictive snacks. Maunika Gowardhan, a renowned cook and food writer, shares two delightful recipes that highlight the humble potato as the backbone of Indian cooking. These dishes, perfect for any time of day, include a street-food favourite from Mumbai and a traditional chaat, both bursting with flavours and textures.
Bombay Chilli Cheese Toastie: A Street-Food Classic
This delicious toastie is a versatile street-food staple that can be enjoyed throughout the week. It features a filling of crushed boiled potatoes mixed with chaat masala, black pepper, and black salt, combined with finely chopped green peppers and red onion. The key to perfection lies in the ratio of potato filling to bread to avoid overfilling, and buttering both sides of the bread ensures a crisp, golden-brown finish when fried. A good melting cheese, such as Jarlsberg, adds richness.
Preparation takes 15 minutes, with cooking requiring 20 minutes, serving four people. Ingredients include 300g boiled potatoes, 1 tsp chaat masala, a pinch of ground black pepper, ¼ tsp black salt, 150g green pepper, 100g red onion, 8 slices of white bread, softened butter, and 250g Jarlsberg cheese. For the green chutney, blend 200g mint leaves, 100g coriander leaves, juice of half a lemon, 1-2 green bird's-eye chillies, 30g red onion, a piece of fresh ginger, ½ tsp caster sugar, and salt to taste with a splash of water.
To assemble, spread chutney on two bread slices and potato filling on two others, topping with cheese before sandwiching together. Butter the outsides and fry in a nonstick pan for two minutes per side until crisp. Serve warm with extra chutney or tomato ketchup.
Bharwa Mirchi Pakode Ki Chaat: Spiced Potato-Stuffed Chillies
This dish involves stuffing mild green chillies with a spiced potato mixture, battering them, and deep-frying until crisp. Small mild chillies, such as anaheim, are ideal for stuffing, but care must be taken not to overfill to prevent splitting during frying. The recipe serves four as a snack, with preparation taking 15 minutes, chilling for at least 20 minutes, and cooking for 30 minutes.
Ingredients include 8 mild green chillies, oil for deep-frying, 350g boiled potatoes, ½ tsp carom seeds, 2 tsp mint chutney, 1 green bird's-eye chilli, ginger, kashmiri chilli powder, and salt for the filling. The batter consists of 100g chickpea flour, 3 tbsp semolina, ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, and salt. Two chutneys accompany the dish: a tamarind chutney made from tamarind paste, caster sugar, ginger, kashmiri chilli powder, cumin seeds, and salt, and a mint and coriander chutney with cashew nuts, coriander, mint, ginger, chilli, sugar, lime juice, and salt.
After making the chutneys, slit the chillies, remove seeds, and stuff with the potato mixture before chilling. Dip in the batter and deep-fry for about five minutes until golden. Serve warm topped with chutneys, yoghurt, chaat masala, and fresh coriander.
Maunika Gowardhan's latest book, Curry: Recipes from Indian Home Kitchens, published by Quadrille, offers more culinary inspiration. These Holi snacks showcase the versatility of potatoes in Indian cuisine, from curries to snacks, making them a festive treat for all.
