Celebrate Holi with Maunika Gowardhan's Spicy Potato Snack Recipes
As the vibrant festival of Holi approaches, marking the arrival of spring and colors, food enthusiasts can indulge in sumptuous and addictive snacks crafted by renowned cook and food writer Maunika Gowardhan. Her latest offerings include a classic street-food favorite from Mumbai and a traditional chaat dish, both centered around the humble potato, which she describes as the backbone of Indian cooking.
Bombay Chilli Cheese Toastie: A Street-Food Delight
This delicious toastie is a versatile street-food classic that can be enjoyed any day of the week. Each stall in Mumbai offers its own unique blend of vegetables, cheese, and spices, but Gowardhan emphasizes key techniques for perfection. The ratio of potato filling to bread is crucial 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, is essential for the ideal texture.
Preparation and Cooking: The recipe requires 15 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes of cooking, serving four people. Ingredients include 300g of boiled potatoes, chaat masala, black pepper, black salt, green peppers, red onion, white bread, butter, and Jarlsberg cheese. A homemade green chutney made from mint, coriander, lemon juice, green chilli, red onion, ginger, sugar, and salt adds a fresh, spicy kick.
Cooking Instructions: Start by blending the chutney ingredients into a thick paste. Mix the crushed potatoes with spices, peppers, and onion. Assemble the sandwiches by buttering bread, spreading chutney and potato filling, adding cheese, and sealing. Fry in a nonstick pan until crisp and golden on both sides. Serve warm with extra chutney or tomato ketchup.
Bharwa Mirchi Pakode Ki Chaat: Spiced Potato-Stuffed Chillies
This dish features mild green chillies stuffed with a spiced potato mixture, battered, and fried until crisp. Gowardhan recommends using small, mild chillies like anaheim and avoiding overfilling to prevent splitting during frying. The accompanying tamarind and mint chutneys should be adjusted for taste, as tamarind paste can vary in tanginess.
Preparation and Cooking: With 15 minutes of prep, 20+ minutes of chilling, and 30 minutes of cooking, this snack serves four. Ingredients include mild green chillies, boiled potatoes, carom seeds, mint chutney, green chilli, ginger, Kashmiri chilli powder, salt, chickpea flour, semolina, baking powder, turmeric, and oil for frying. The chutneys require tamarind paste, sugar, spices, cashew nuts, coriander, mint, lime, and yoghurt for serving.
Cooking Instructions: First, prepare the tamarind and mint chutneys by blending ingredients to desired consistency. Slit the chillies, remove seeds, and stuff with the potato mixture. Chill to firm up. Make a batter from chickpea flour, semolina, baking powder, turmeric, and water. Dip the stuffed chillies in batter and deep-fry until golden. Serve warm topped with chutneys, yoghurt, chaat masala, and fresh coriander.
Maunika Gowardhan, author of Curry: Recipes from Indian Home Kitchens, showcases how these snacks can be enjoyed at any time of day, celebrating Holi with flavors that are both traditional and innovative. The recipes highlight the versatility of potatoes in Indian cuisine, from curries to snacks, making them a staple for festive occasions.
