I love potato dishes. Any kind. They are versatile and comforting, and they rank as one of the must-have food items I cannot live without. The others are eggs, rice, sambal and tea. What are yours? 🙂
So far, I have shared the following potato dishes:
-Begedils (Potato Patties)
– Panfried Rosemary Potatoes
– Cheese, Onion & Potato Pie
– Potato and Cheese Frittata
– Garlicky Oven Wedges
Today, I’m adding one more to the list, and I am quite certain you will love it as much as I do.
Spicy Tamarind Potatoes! Seriously addictive and extremely delish. I usually pair them with a veggie dish whenever I crave a light, meatless meal.
They may look unexciting, but these are potato cubes perfumed by the mingled flavours of shallots, garlic and chilli till they are crisp on the edges. And just before serving, doused with a cocktail of tamarind water, palm sugar and kecap manis. Spicy, sweet, tangy. Sounds good already? 😉 (Read on for the recipe if you don’t have some of these ingredients).
Oh, come to think of it, if you like the tamarind gravy I shared inSon-in-law Eggs, you will like this. You reading this, Dave? 😉
Recipe
(ermm … improvised after watching, talking and learning from so many people)
– 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized cubes
– 1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
– 3 cloves shallots, sliced thinly
– 1 chilli, de-seeded (if you like it spicy, don’t de-seed)
For the sauce (mix all these up)
– 1 tbsp tamarind pulp (aka Assam), mixed with 3tbsp water
* Strain the mixture to remove the seeds. If you don’t have tamarind pulp, use 2tbsp lemon or lime juice.
– 2 tbspkecap manis (aka Indonesian soy sauce)
* You can substitute with thick, dark soy.
– 1 knob palm sugar (aka gula melaka or jaggery)
* You can substitute this with 1 tbsp regular sugar if you don’t have this.
The idea is to concoct a sauce that is sweet and tangy. Do note that this dish has very little sauce – just enough to coat the potato cubes. Taste test as you go. If you like it sweeter, add more sugar. If you like it more tangy, add more tamarind (lemon juice). Common sense, yeah?
1. In a skillet, panfry potato cubes in oil till they are half cooked.
2. Add in garlic, shallots and chilli and continue frying till the shallots have softened and the potato cubes have crisp edges. Make sure your flame is not too big.
3. Just before dishing them out, pour in the tamarind mixture and stirfry to coat all the potato cubes evenly. Allow the gravy to bubble and thicken slightly. Taste test – you may like to add some salt. Sprinkle finely chopped spring onions (the green part) for some colour, if you like.
4. Serve immediately.
