The other night, my friend Alana came over to make dinner. We had decided to raid my fridge since I have so many vegetables from the CSA and the farmer’s market that I needed to finish before leaving on vacation to CA this week. We had limited time because we had tickets to go see a musical parody of the Golden Girls (I know you are all jealous!). We were having a jolly time pre-partying by watching copious amounts of Golden Girls episodes on my DVR, but before we knew it, it was almost time to go and we had not made a thing. I think that Golden Girls is probably my #1 reason for being late to places – the episodes are like quicksand!
Anyway, we somehow managed to get ourselves away from GG and each ended up making a dish. I made this potato curry that I will share and Alana made a squash curry that was oh so yummy. We were running so late that we just put some of each of the curries into tortillas with some yogurt and shared halfies in the taxi. All in all, I think it took us under an hour to make both and we made the show too so I can tell you this recipe is quick and tastes really good.
I love Middle Eastern food and when possible try to mix it with Indian recipes as I feel the two cuisines complement each other nicely. For this recipe, I have added some tahini paste and lime for a different variation on a typical North Indian curry. Tahini is ground up sesame seeds and I learned that it is very good for you because it is one of the most calcium rich foods. I try to incorporate it whenever possible because it adds a nice nutty flavor and smooth texture to a lot of dishes.
Potato Curry with Kale, Green Pepper and Tahini
Ingredients:
1 medium size red potato boiled and chopped into small cubes
1/2 medium onion fine chop
1 small green pepper cut into medium size pieces
6 stalks of kale leaves chopped (stems removed)
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 teaspoons coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
good pinch of crushed red chili peppers
1-2 teaspoons salt depending on your taste
1 tablespoon tahini paste
juice of 1/2 lime
cilantro for garnishing
Method:
Boil the potato in salted water until cooked but not mushy. (You can start chopping and cooking the other veggies while the potato boils to save time.) Drain and pour cold water over the potato to stop it from cooking further. Chop the potato with the skins on. (Oddly, potato skins contain a lot of iron and protein, so no more peeling potatoes you!)
In a large pan under medium heat, put 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, put in the cumin seed, asafoetida and mustard seed. Shake the pan a bit so the seeds mingle. Once they start to brown and crackle, put in the chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder, garam masala and mix the spices together so that they are all coated with oil. After a few seconds when the spices become fragrant, add the onions. Once the onions start to turn a golden brown, put in the ginger and garlic paste. Mix well and cook for a few seconds and then add in the kale and green pepper. (If vegetables stick at any time, just add a few drops of water)
Once the kale starts to get a nice bright green color and a bit wilty, make a spot in the middle of the pan and pour in 1 tablespoon of oil with a pinch of crushed red chili pepper. When warm, throw in the potato pieces. Fry a bit and then mix everything up with the salt. Put in the tahini paste and combine well with the vegetables. Cook for a few minutes and turn off the heat. Pour the lime juice on and stir it all up. Garnish with cilantro.
I ate this in a whole wheat tortilla with a little bit of yogurt.
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I discovered your blog from Bitten on NYTimes, and I am super impressed! My parents are also from Karnataka so a lot of your recipes are very familiar from my childhood. I also love that you’re open to experimenting with other flavors added to Indian food. I tried this recipe and loved it! And I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
I’ve been making your recipes nearly every week–thank you for helping create culinary adventures for me and mine! I really *love* this potato kale wrap. I’m making it tonight, and I’m going to add the carrots I just harvested from my tiny organic garden here in San Francisco. So–thanks again! -Kenda