Carrot and potato fry

I love this dish because it is colouful, flavourful and very tasty. My mom makes this side dish more often with pappu. They together make a wonderful combination. I will be eagerly waiting to eat not only this dish but the by-product of this dish which sticks to the bottom of the pan . Golden and crispy remains of potato, hmm.... they tasted very good. I will be angry with my mom if she says that the dish didn't stick to the bottom . But now with the use of non-stick pan such simple joys are lost. Nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan and even if it does rarely, I become panicked beacuse I have to fight with the vessel  to make it clean and I have to also worry about the non-stick coating. For sure sophistication kills the simple joys in human life .

This shallow fry of potato and carrot is very unique in the way it is prepared. This recipe needs coriander leaves, green chillies, garlic and ginger for its preparation and I have never found any other potato and carrot fry recipe with these ingredients. One of my favourite recipe from my mom, it goes very well with rice and chappathi. Very simple to make and here comes the preparation :

Ingredients :

Potato- 3 nos

Carrot- 3 nos 

Onion- 1 no (big variety)

Green chillies- 5 nos

Coriander leaves- handful

Garlic- 3 pods

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Mustard, jeera and urid dhal- 1 tspn each

Turmeric- a pinch

Asafoetida- a pinch

Oil for shallow frying (some 4 tbspns)

Method :

Cut potatoes and carrots as shown in the picture. Cut onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and coriander leaves into small pieces. Heat a pan (non-stick!!!). Add oil and when it is hot enough do the tempering with mustard, jeera and urid dhal. Add urid dhal first in oil and when it changes colour add mustard and jeera seeds. Let them splutter. Then add nicely minced onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies, coriander leaves, a pinch of turmeric and asafoetida. Saute them till the onions turn translucent. Then add the cut potato and carrot pieces. Fry them until they are cooked. Add salt to taste. Serve with hot rice and dhal. The smell of coriander, ginger and garlic along with potato and carrot makes this dish really superb!!!

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Use coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, green chillies and onion. Do not miss anything. Never use chilli powder. Make sure to use only green chillies for this recipe. Add coriander leaves when sauting onion. Do not add at the end as we always do. Adding coriander leaves in the beginning imparts a nice aroma. Mince ginger, garllic, coriander leaves and green chillies as small as possible. The most important thing is, do not add water when preparing. this dish. If there is an absolute necessary just sprinkle water. If you add water sometimes the potato becomes messy. They become overcooked. It spoils the taste of this recipe. Ofcourse you need good variety potatoes which do not become overcooked in a few minutes. Try not to use a non-stick pan and try using a sticky pan hehe. Even if you do not like to clean the mess, your children like me, will enjoy the golden, crispy potato remains sticking to the bottom of the pan . Try it and Happy cooking!!!