Tandoori Aloo (Indian Potato Wedges)

Tandoori Aloo

Something unusual must have been happening in my kitchen, otherwise I wouldn’t be left with a full packet of potatoes unopened. It is one vegetable that gets consumed quite easily. As we do not get many vegetables that are ideal for Indian meal, many times we need to default to potatoes. Not that it is not enjoyable but I usually prefer to have another veggie in addition to potato. Reason is that as good as it may be, it is not one of the five a day vegetables because it falls into the starchy vegetable category which is still important. Anyway, sometime back I tried what was called Tandoori Aloo and I adapted a recipe from a website, I think it was Natco’s website. It turned out to be a disaster and I had to throw away one of my favourite dishes. I ended up wasting ingredients, potatoes and a nice terracotta dish – shame! I wanted to give it a shot again but I did not quite remember what my earlier recipe was. This time I made up something on the go and it is possible that I have been baking a wee bit these days and that might have helped me in this recipe. It turned out to be great and my husband said he has not tasted anything like it before (in a good way!). I think this is a nice recipe for the western palette as well aas it could replace the potato wedges and be a nice change. Here is how I did it…

3 big potatoes, cut into finger sized pieces (long and not too thin, just like French fries)
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon chilly powder
1 teaspoon sambar powder (optional)
1 tablespoon besan (chickpea flour)
2 tablespoon yogurt
1 teaspoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) or any other dried herb
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, crushed lightly
Turmeric powder
1 tablespoon oil
Salt as required

Mix all ingredients adding oil at the end and mix again.

Marinade it until the oven preheats to 200degC. Prepare a baking tray and grease it so the potatoes do not stick. I used an Aluminium foil and little oil. Bake for 15 minutes, mix so all sides get evenly cooked and bake for further 15 minutes.

Serve!