Have you ever just been like…OMG, what can I easily and quickly cook today that will alleviate my intense hunger pains?! Admit it, it’s happened to you. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, SANA knows. Alas, never fear for I am here to help you! My help comes in the form of recipe wisdom. This recipe will change your life, FOREVER. At least that is my hope, my desire, my wish. I guess we shall see if it comes true. Hmm…I suppose I should tell you what’s going on and what this magical prescription is. Well my fellow foodies, today’s life-changing post is about none other than Aloo ka Salan. I know, I know what your thinking what is this “Aloo” you speak of and don’t even get me started on the “Salan” part. Well to translate Aloo = potato and salan = curry. Capiche? I think we’re good here. If I didn’t already convey it to you, Aloo ka Salan is an incredibly simple, fast, and delicious recipe that is legitimately made by throwing a bunch of things in a pot and letting them simmer for a bit. It’s literally the epitome of your childhood image of cooking. Isn’t it great? Well let’s get to it then!
Ingredients:
- 3-4 medium sized potatoes (peeled)
- 1 tspn red chili powder
- 1/2 tspn coriander powder
- 2 tspn cumin powder
- pinch of turmeric powder
- 1 tspn garlic paste
- 1 1/2 tspn salt
- 1 large tomato
- 1 anaheim or couple of small green chili peppers
- cilantro
- 3-4 hard boiled eggs (optional)
Directions:
So you want to start off with some potatoes. I know, shocker. Peel the potatoes then dice them up. You don’t want the pieces so small that they just fall apart, but not too big, either, making them take forever to cook. Here is a small demo of how I tend to cut my potatoes.
It’s pretty simple. Cut the peeled potato in half, then take one half and cut it in half, lengthwise, and take on of those halves and cut it into half and then cut those two eighths, by now, (If I’m not mistaken…I’m a genius…unless I’m wrong) into four or five slices, depending on the size of your potato. After you’ve cut all of your potatoes to the appropriate size using my ingenious technique (totally original, by the way), put them in the desired vessel of cooking. I would suggest something large enough to allow all the potatoes in with a good 3-4 inches of space to the top. Anything smaller? NO. Anything larger is okay. Then, fill the pot with enough water to just cover the potatoes.
Next, put in all the dry spices, salt and garlic paste (or finely minced garlic cloves). When it comes to the spiciness level it’s really up to you. If you don’t want to add as much as I did feel free to decrease the quantity. It’s the same with salt. You really just put in as much as you want. However, I would suggest starting off with a small amount of salt, letting the potatoes cook through and then tasting for salt because you can always add more, but you can NEVER take any salt out. Yeah, I know, things just got real. Well, moving right along. After adding all the spices and stuff, you should be left with something like this.
Very nice! So put this on high heat, just until it starts to bubble furiously (which means it’s boiling- it should just take a few minutes), then put it on medium for the remainder of the cooking process. Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Lastly dice and put in the peppers and tomatoes (which I did not have, at the moment, but I advise you to) and let it simmer on low for another 10-ish minutes. You don’t want to do it too long, otherwise the potatoes will fall apart, which is okay because it will still taste good, but for the sake of aesthetics I implore you not to oversimmer (I know that’s not a word).
This is me adding the peppers (and sadly, no tomatoes 🙁 ). Fascinating, I know. So, anyways, after all that simmering and mixing, you’ll end up with this.
The salan will have thickened nicely, due to the starches in the potato and the simmering will have allowed some of the water to reduce, leaving you with some fine Aloo ka Salan or as one might say in English, Potato Curry. You can garnish with cilantro and eat this with some roti, naan, or white rice. Or if you’re really desperate you can eat it straight up, I won’t judge.
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TLDR Version:
Ingredients:
- 3-4 medium sized potatoes (peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 1 tspn red chili powder
- 1/2 tspn coriander powder
- 2 tspn cumin powder
- pinch of turmeric powder
- 1 tspn garlic paste
- 1 1/2 tspn salt
- 1 large tomato
- 1 anaheim or couple of small green chili peppers
- cilantro
- 3-4 hard boiled eggs (optional)
Directions:
- Place the potatoes into a pot, add just enough water to submerge the potatoes.
- Add the salt, garlic paste, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and turmeric powder. Mix it until the spices are uniform throughout.
- Let it boil for 15-20 minutes on Medium heat or until potatoes are tender. Mix it afterwards.
- Dice the tomato and cut the peppers, then add them to the pot. Let it simmer down without the cover for another 15 minutes on low heat. Be sure to mix every once in awhile to prevent anything sticking to the bottom. You want the tomatoes and peppers to cook down.
- After the salan(curry) thickens and boils down a little, you can add 2-3 hard boiled eggs cut lengthwise into it. It’s up to you.
- Lastly, add a handful of fresh cilantro on top to garnish and Enjoy!