Potatoes are the most versatile food you can find in your kitchen. There is no dearth of meals or snacks you can prepare with this ever-so-pervasive vegetable. Curries, parathas, salads, chaats and sandwiches - the list of meals that include potatoes is endless. Owing to its delightful taste, potatoes complement almost all other foods well. Most dishes are made with boiled potatoes as they are lighter, contain less starch and taste mushier. Our all-time favourite aloo ka paratha is made with mashed potatoes, which are pre-boiled. The only hitch with boiling potatoes is that it is a time-consuming process. A lot of people struggle while boiling potatoes as they don't know the right technique. Boiling potatoes on stove in a pressure cooker or in a vessel takes anything between 20 minutes to half an hour. So, it's only wise to keep enough margin for prep time and boil potatoes ahead of cooking.
But obviously, there are times that hurl upon us a serious time crunch. Those dreadful times when guests come over unexpectedly or kids demand aloo patty burger with no scope of patience; and there are no boiled potatoes! Instead of ditching the idea of making a quick chaat, paratha or burger, use smarter ways to boil potatoes quickly.
(Also Read: 5 Healthy Potato Recipes)
Boil potatoes faster with these tips
Here Are Some Tips To Help You Boil Your Potatoes Faster:
1. Wash potatoes and keep them in a microwave-safe container. Pour some water till the bottom of the vessel is full. Cover with the container lid or plastic wrap and microwave for 2-3 minutes, depending on the quantity. You'll get the same boiled potatoes like you get with cooking on stove, only in lesser time.
2. Whichever way you choose to boil your potatoes, if you prick them all over with a fork without peeling them, they will boil faster.
3. If it's decided that you'll be using cubed potatoes, then peel and cut the raw potatoes and then boil the cubes instead of whole unpeeled potatoes. You'll be amazed to find out how fast they boil.
4. If you don't have a microwave, or just don't want to use it, here's a great trick to boil potatoes faster. Place potatoes in a vessel and boil water in a different vessel. Once the water is boiled, pour it on the potatoes and keep the vessel with the potatoes and water on stove for further cooking. Potatoes soaked in already hot water will boil faster. This can be done for whole potatoes or peeled and cubed potatoes.
(Also Read: 14 Incredible Benefits Of Eating Potatoes)
Next time you are out of boiled potatoes and also strapped of time, use these smart hacks to boil potatoes in half the time or even less!