Recipe: Vidhya's Alu Ke Gutkae

Pitru Paksha or Shraddh, a special 16-day period on the Hindu calendar, is when folks pay homage to their ancestors, after which Navratri begins. During this lunar phase, food must not contain onions or garlic and and no fish, eggs or meat is eaten.

Vidhya Pant's simple preparation of an alu tadka is a good item to add to your menu at this time. It is made without onions or garlic, but is yet rather tasty It's also a sabzi to fry up if you have no veggies at home.

Alu ke Gutkae is a go-to, quick recipe when you run out of vegetables and are pressed for time. What's more, it's so simple, even beginners can't mess it up.

Pair it as a side with dal and rice, or with rotis, puris, parathas, or even serve as an appetiser.

Vidhya serves up unpretentious but utterly delicious Uttarakhandi food in her home. She hails from Ramnagar, but has lived in several parts of India -- Shillong, Lucknow, Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurugram.&

Alu Ke Gutkae

Serves: 2 to 3

Ingredients

• 4 medium-sized boiled potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes
• ½ tsp jeera or cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp hing or asafoetida
• 1 tbsp finely chopped green dhaniya or coriander or cilantro
• ½-inch piece ginger, peeled, ground to paste or grated
• ½ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
• ½ tsp dhaniya or coriander powder
• 1 green chilly, slit, or a dried red chilly, optional
• Salt to taste, about ½ tsp
• 1 tbsp mustard oil

Method  

• Heat the mustard oil in a kadhai or a saucepan over medium heat.
  Add the jeera and let it splutter.
  Then add the hing, slit green chilly or red chilly and fry for a few seconds; don't let it burn.
  Add the potato, ground ginger and mix well.
  Add the salt, turmeric, coriander powder and mix thoroughly and continue to cook over high heat.
  Sprinkle in the chopped coriander.
  Lower the heat and fry for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
  Serve hot with puri, paratha or dal-rice.

Vidhya lives in Dehradun. You can find more of her recipes over here.

• REDIFF FOOD