Normally I wouldn’t turn to a general vegetable cookbook for an Indian potato recipe, but this one, “Plenty”, from UK chef and newspaper columnist Yotam Ottolenghi has it all. More important, however, is what it doesn’t have:
No bought pre-ground spice blends or pastes! The whole spices even get roasted before being ground with the others, and the ingredient list is suitably long, but not intimidating, since most come straight from the cupboard. So if you’ve got a decent spice collection you’ll be just fine.
But who has fenugreek seeds and curry leaves kicking around? Me, that’s who. Anyone else? No, seriously, anyone else? If so, I want to meet you. We should make food together. If you’re male and single you should make food for me.
The recipe says this should make “heaps and heaps”, but that depends what you call a serving and what you call a heap. Yotam Ottolenghi and I perhaps differ on this point. The only really strange ingredient is the cider vinegar, which is not exactly Indian, so feel free to use lemon or tamarind for a slightly less sweet but just as tongue-tingling effect. And I suppose the sweet potatoes are actually not that common in Indian cooking, or the paprika. They definitely work, though. This is definitely another great recipe from this book.
Two-Potato Vindaloo
Ingredients:
8 cardamom pods
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon (grind it yourself for a richer, sweeter flavour)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
12 shallots, chopped (about 10 oz if you’re the type of person with a kitchen scale. Onions and shallots don’t usually make a huge difference – a few extra or a few less should be fine – but there’s only so much spice coating to go around)
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek
25 curry leaves (fresh is best but even I with my huge spice collection don’t have fresh ones. Apparently they keep well frozen, but if you lack for freezer space you’re SOL)
2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1 fresh red chile peeled and roughly chopped (remove the membrane and seeds if you don’t like heat but you do like flavour)
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped (either blanch the tomatoes for 30 seconds to a minute and then rinse under cold water and peel off the skins easily, or just take a vegetable peeler to the raw vegetables. I think you’re supposed to keep the juice, since it doesn’t say to sieve it. Often the juice is kind of acidic and a bit bitter, but I think the recipe is already pretty sweet, so it’s okay)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 3/4 cups water (or use broth. Actually, I’d say use broth. I kind of found the dish bland…well, at least the regular potatoes…so a bit of extra flavour helps)
1 tbsp sugar (I’m not sure if this is necessary. It depends on your cider vinegar. Mine is very sweet already)
salt (maybe 3/4 tsp – 1 tsp, but less or even none if you use broth instead of water)
2 1/2 cups peeled waxy potatoes, cut into a 1″ dice (that means peel the potatoes and then measure them before dicing them, apparently. I’m not sure if that’s what the recipe intends, but that’s how it’s written)
2 small red bell peppers, cut into a 1″ dice (okay, this seems a bit ridiculous. Why “small” red bell peppers? Why not 1 large one? Why not two large ones? Does he mean European bell peppers, that are smaller than the kind we usually find in North America? Whether you use two large peppers two small peppers, or one small or large pepper is really not going to make a huge difference)
2 1/2 cups peeled sweet potatoes, cut into a 1″ dice. (See waxy tater measuring rule above)
Mint or cilantro leaves for garnish. I also think parsley is fine. Basically anything green with some flavour. Or sprouted fenugreek or whatever you have. Cilantro is always my favourite, though. Call me a traditionalist.
Directions:
This kind of takes awhile, but it’s worth it. It ends up being a very elaborate and flavourful kind of potato salad. The kind you wish your grandmother made instead of a heavy mayo-based version. Or maybe that’s just me.
Cardamom seeds, coriander and cumin go in a small frying pan over medium heat. They don’t need any oil. Heat and shake the pan occasionally for about 2-3 minutes, or until the seeds start to pop. Mine didn’t pop so much, so I just went with my personal rule of “until aromatic and slightly browned”. Don’t burn them. That’s the key.
Then grind them lightly in a mortar and pestle, just until you can take the shells off the cardamom pods (a few gently prods is enough). Then get a bit more into it and grind finer along with the cloves. Then pour into a small bowl along with the turmeric, paprika, and cinnamon, and stir. You can also whiz this up in a food processor but you’ve got to get the coriander out of their shells first. The flat side of a knife works well for that. Just gently press down with the bottom of your hand on top of the knife to release.
Now you need everything else pre-chopped, measured, and at hand. Mise-en-place and all. Lets be chef-y about this. It’ll make your life easier and your stomach happier when nothing is burnt.
Heat the oil in a very large frying pan or a saucepan. when hot, add the mustard seeds, fenugreek and the shallots, and fry for about 8 minutes on medium-low heat. I don’t know why medium-low. It seems awfully low and there’s enough oil there, so if you like your shallots a little crisper, feel free to keep the heat up on medium. The shallots should be brown.
Then add the spice mix you just made along with the curry leaves, ginger, and chile. Be careful because this can burn. So now’s a good time to turn down the heat if you had it up on medium. Stir and cook for about 3 more minutes before adding the tomatoes, cider vinegar, water or broth, sugar (optional) and salt (optional if you used broth).
Let the mixture come to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat, and let simmer for about 20 minutes to marry the flavours.
Now toss in the potatoes and bell peppers (not the sweet potatoes yet). Cook another 20 minutes (or 15 if your potatoes cook quickly. You don’t want mush potatoes), then add the sweet potatoes. If you accidentally added the sweet potatoes at the same time as the other potatoes, it’ll be okay. They’ll just be extra soft and you’ll maybe want to reduce the cooking time a little.
Now the recipe says to make sure the potatoes are immersed in the cooking liquid and let them cook for another 40 minutes! 40 minutes! Potato soup! I mean, I understand the benefits of slow-cooking things, but the heat on a stove is going to be rough on this dish. So have the heat very low (as low as possible to keep it at a very mild simmer), make sure there’s enough water in the pot, and only cook the potatoes until they’re tender enough to eat. And if they were already tender enough to eat, just cook them until you’re okay with how thick the sauce is. And keep the cover off for this entire step if the potatoes are done and you’re just trying to reduce the amount of liquid and thicken the sauce.
Garnish with the cilantro and serve with rice, says Ottolenghi (rice? That’s a lot of carbs in one meal. Maybe try to balance it out with something a little less starchy…). And probably some kind of protein. Dal is super. Any lentil dish, though, would be great. Or do as I did and serve it with blackened mackerel, tri-colour beet salad, and steamed swiss chard. Or some kind of vegetable, plus another vegetable, plus fish or chicken. 
If someone made me this dish, I would probably die of shock and happiness. Fortunately, the upside of low expectations and my own occasional ability to cook is that I can make this for myself and be pretty content.
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