Aalu Torkari & Luchi
Woke up last Sunday morning craving something hot & spicy for lunch....and the one meal that kept popping-up in my mind's eye was this - Aalu Torkari.
This simple preparation has now become one among my list of comfort foods that never fails to warm the cockles of my heart. A plate of piping hot potato curry and puris transports me back to a pavement in the Bhavanipore area of Kolkata, where I had savoured my first taste of this hearty meal.
A couple of years ago, I was visiting Kolkata with a friend and, as has been my practice whenever I travel, I began my day early enough to catch the city opening its eyes to a new day. You learn a lot about a place when it's just about getting out of bed all sleepy eyed and tousle-haired....just before it stretches and pastes on a smile for the world to see.
A group of rickshaw-wallas were standing at a chaier dokan at the street corner, sipping steaming hot tea served in little clay pots. A few others were standing around a thelagari from behind which arose the aroma of something that got my mouth watering. Sharing space with some rickshaw-wallas seated on the pavement, I feasted on my very first plate of Aalu Torkari. Absolutely finger-licking good! The vendor was dishing out hot lucchis faster than we could eat them. He was also quite generous in ladling second helpings to the rickshaw-wallas who were in a hurry to begin their work day, ferrying people from one corner of the city to the other.
I licked my platter clean, ordered another serving and, having finished every last morsel off my plate, paid for my meal and left with my belly and heart completely satisfied.
Since then, I have made various attempts to replicate the meal in my own kitchen back home. Last Sunday, I achieved a victory of sorts. So, without much further ado, here is my version of the humble, yet hearty Aalu Torkari.
INGREDIENTS
4 medium/large potatoes, boiled and roughly chopped.
2 tbsp mustard oil
2 dried red chillies
a pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp. panch phoron
*(equal parts of fenugrek seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds & fennel seeds)
1/2" ginger, 2 cloves of garlic & 2 green chillies, ground to paste
1/2 tsp. spice mix
*(equal parts of cumin, coriander, turmeric, red chillie, aamchur and garam masala powders)
1/4 tsp. sugar
salt to taste
3/4 cup of boiled white peas.
1 tsp kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
water
METHOD
Heat mustard oil till the colour lightens a bit. Add the dried red chillies, asafoetida and panch phoron. When it crackles, add the chillie-ginger-garlic paste and stir lightly for a few seconds. Next, toss in the powdered spices and saute for a few seconds before adding in the boiled potatoes. Add the salt and sugar. Stir well and cook for a minute or two. Add about 1.5 cups of water (more, if you want a thinner consistency) and allow it to simmer gently for a while before adding in the kasuri methi.
-- Just for good measure I added in a green chillie, slit in half, just a minute before taking the dish off the stove-top --
Fried myself some fresh, puffy luchis (pooris) & lunch was served!
Note: The proportions for the panch phoron and spice mix are what I found most suitable in course of my experiments with this dish (and others). You could, however, find a more authentic measure for them or even buy some pre-mixed at your neighbourhood grocery store.
So nostalgic
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