A few weeks ago, when we ordered take-out from a local Indian restaurant, I decided to tread outside my usual comfort zone and order something I hadn’t tried before. I ended up with Aloo Jeera and loved it. A potato dish with an assortment of Indian spices, it was simple, but packed a flavorful punch.
Tonight, I didn’t have much of an appetite and the leftovers in the fridge needed to be attacked one last time. I heated up leftovers for The Husband and Nicholas and set about to find a recipe for Aloo Jeera that I could make at home, using ingredients I already had on hand. Some websites referred to it as Aloo Jeera, as the restaurant did, and some called it Aloo Zeera. To make it even more confusing, the version I ended up going with was called Zeera Aloo. Go figure.
The guys weren’t interested in it; no matter, more for me. Delicious, and a definite make again … and a heck of a lot cheaper than ordering it in the restaurant, although I’m going to order it one more time just to compare the two. I think their version was a little wetter, so I want to see if they added onions or something else I might be missing so I have it perfect. I topped it with a little bit of sour cream. I didn’t have chutney on hand, but that would have been perfect atop the sour cream. Enjoy!
Zeera Aloo (New Potatoes with Cumin)
Recipe couresy of Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick & Easy Indian Cooking
Serving Size : 4
2 lbs new potatoes, cleaned, cooked until tender — then peel
salt
2 1/2 tbsps vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds (I used ground cumin)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp chili powder
3 tbsps coriander leaves — chopped (I used seeds instead)
Put oil in large frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in cumin seeds. Let seeds sizzle for a few seconds. Now put in potatoes. Turn heat down to medium. Brown potatoes lightly on all sides. Turn heat to low and ad 3/4 teaspoon salt and ground cumin, garam masala and chili powder. Cook, stirring for a minute. Add coriander leaves and mix before serving.
YUM. My mouth is officially watering. Send some up my way!
In your picture, it appears you used mustard seed (little black seeds), not cumin seeds (long brown pods). Zeera/Jeera means cumin in Hindi, but let us know if it also included mustard seeds.
Sarah – so good, even as leftovers today. :)
Anon – good eyes. Yes, I added mustard seeds (yellow and brown). I did include the cumin, but used ground, trying to save a trip to the store. :) Delicious nonetheless. Thanks for the Zeera/Jeera definition – love the recipe.
I personaly like Aloo Gobi best because of the cauliflower but Anything with potatoes will fit just as well in my vegetarian diet. I am a carb fiend. Hungry at almost 2 AM and no leftovers of anything but stewed tomatoes–dang.
Cate, growing up in Cape Town which has a strong indian influence on their local cuisine, I love jeera. Your alloo jeera sounds fab, and I just thought you might like to check out Annes Food (sorry it wont let me link) for her quick chutney recipe which is great.