This is one of my favorite Indian dishes (fried potatoes in a lot of spices) that you can get at most roadside restaurants and stalls in New Delhi and will almost never let you down (what happens later to your gastrointestinal tract is another story). Traditionally, this is made by deep frying the potatoes in a vat of vegetable oil. However, in order to make it a bit cardiovascular friendly, I used extra virgin olive oil instead of regular vegetable oil and boiled the potatoes first so as to not have to let them sit in oil for too long. The recipe requires chaat masala which can be found at any Indian grocery store or a place that sells Asian spices. This is a pretty handy spice to have around as you can use it to make a lot of different Indian dishes (I’ll post a few more recipes that will use this spice in the near future) or goes great with raw fruits like mangoes and guavas.

Serves 2-3 (cooking time approx. 20 minutes):

Boil 2-3 large russet potatoes in water with a pinch of salt. As the potatoes are cooking, pour about 1/8″ of extra virgin olive oil (just a small layer enough to cook the potatoes one surface at a time) in a 12″ skillet and put on medium heat. Remove the potatoes before they are completely cooked, about 8-10 minutes (you don’t want them to be mushy when you add them to the skillet) and cut them up into 1/4″ cubes.

Once the skillet starts to smoke, toss in half a teaspoon of whole cumin seeds (this provide a strong cumin flavor to the oil that can’t be accomplished by cumin powder). Add half the potatoes into the skillet (carefully as hot oil tends to splatter), along with a teaspoon of chaat masala and a teaspoon of cumin powder. You can also had a pinch of red pepper powder to give it an extra kick. Let the potatoes cook in the skillet with the medley of spices. Once the potatoes start to brown, remove them from the skillet and place in a serving dish. Repeat the same with the second batch. Add salt to taste and garnish with some chopped cilantro.