Aloo fry, jeera aloo or tawa aloo - all these potato dishes are the simplest and the most common Indian dishes that highlight potatoes, and only potatoes, as the star of the dish. Of course, there are spices to add flavour but it is the potatoes that snatch the credit every single time. Its exclusive flavour and texture doesn't need support from other foods and ingredients, not even onions and tomatoes. But, if the potatoes and not crispy enough, the merit of the whole dish comes crashing down.
Crispy roasted potatoes spiced up with common spices is a regular affair in Indian households, but there may be some of you who are not able to attain the desired crispiness no matter how hard you try. To help you out, here are some easy tips and tricks to get the perfect 'karare' aloo' that we all love.
(Also Read: How To Get Perfectly Crispy, Fluffy Pooris Every Single Time)
Crispy potatoes is one of the most common dishes in Indian cuisine.
5 Tips For Perfect Roasted Potatoes
1. Dip In Water
Potatoes are high on starch content, which can make them turn mushy when cooked. To avoid it, you can peel and dip the whole potatoes in water with some salt and refrigerate overnight or for about an hour before cooking. Make sure to wipe the potatoes dry after draining water; you don't want moisture from water to play the next culprit.
2. Cut The Same Size
It is very important to chop the potato pieces in similar size and shape. Sauteeing uneven potatoes of different size can lead to bigger pieces getting crisp first and if you keep waiting for the rest to come up to the same level, the already-cooked potatoes can get burnt.
3. Use Enough Oil
Use a generous amount of oil in your pan so that all the potato cubes cook evenly at the same time. Oil also helps in making potatoes crispy.
4. Want Healthy Potatoes? Use This Tip
In case you are using boiled potatoes with starch already removed and don't want too much oil in your potato dish, you can still get crispy potatoes with this genius trick. Once, your boiled potatoes are cooked through on medium flame, turn up the heat and let the potatoes cook further on high flame for a couple of minutes without closing the lid of the pan. You'll see you potatoes finally turning crispy in the end.
5. Keep Spice Powders For Later
Always, we repeat, always add spice powders like red chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder etc. towards the end after the potatoes are almost cooked. This helps the potatoes crisp up first, which can be difficult to work if the pan is already smeared with masalas.
So, here you have - useful and effective cooking tips to make the with the ideal crisp and crunch in your beloved potatoes.