The humble potato is a highly versatile veggie that works equally well with rice and rotis. All that’s needed is the idea to make a dry sabzi or a gravy. I decided to try an interesting combination of potatoes and peanuts in a mildly spicy gravy which goes perfectly with rice.

Recipe for Potato and Peanut Khara Kootu / Potato and Peanut in Spicy Tamarind Gravy

Serves : 2-3
Ingredients :

• 4 medium-sized potatoes, cut into crescents
• 2 tbsp peanuts / groundnuts
• Tamarind, a small marble size
• 1 tsp crushed ginger
• 2 tbsp freshly / frozen grated coconut
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp Bengal gram dal
• 3 dried red chillies
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
• Asafoetida to taste
• 1 tsp oil
• Curry leaves [optional]
• Salt to taste

• Soak peanuts in hot water and keep them aside till they swell [around 30 mins]. Drain and set aside.
• Soak tamarind in warm water and extract the juice.
• Peel and chop the potatoes into crescents.
• Peel and crush the ginger.
• For the spice paste: Heat a drop of oil in a pan and roast coriander seeds, Bengal gram dal, fenugreek seeds and red chillies together till they start changing colour. Then add cumin seeds and roast till it gives a pleasant aroma. Finally add asafoetida and roast for a few seconds. Switch off the flame. Let this mixture cool for about 15 minutes. Finally, grind these roasted ingredients into a smooth powder in a mixer. Then add the grated coconut along with a little water to this spice mixture and grind once again for around 5 seconds.
• Now heat oil in a vessel, add cumin and mustard seeds and let them splutter.
• Add the potatoes and peanuts, along with the extracted tamarind juice to the vessel. Add turmeric, salt and crushed ginger at this stage. Cover the vegetables and let them cook in low flame for around 10 minutes.
• When the vegetables become tender, add the ground spice paste and cook for another 5 minutes. Potatoes take a bit of time to cook – keep monitoring and stirring. Add water if needed.
• Garnish with curry leaves and serve hot along with rice or rotis and roasted / fried papad.

Tips :

• Monitor the water level in the gravy while cooking. Add water and manage the heat to get the consistency of your choice.
• Adjust the chilli and coconut levels to your taste. You can make this dish richer or spicier depending on the ratio of these ingredients.