Aaloo Achari - on public demand!

So this happened a week ago when Divu was continuously trying out new stuff and happened to try Achari Aaloo as well. They turned out so good the first time that we decided to make it for the next potluck. And this time, I gave her a hand. ;) They tend to become a hit with everyone and people have been asking for its recipe since long. So here it is, on public demand! :)

Ingredients:

• Potatoes (medium-sized, boiled, and cut into wedges - around 1 inch Size ) - 4-5
• Medium-sized Red onions (ground) - 4-5
• Ginger paste - 1 TSP
• Garlic paste - 1 TSP
• Salt, turmeric powder (haldi), red chilly powder, cumin seeds (jeera), mustard seeds (sarson), onion seeds (kalaounji) - all to taste
• Whole red dry chilies - 3-4
• Cooking oil

Keep these two aside as extras for the end :-)

• Sugar (1 TSP)
• Vinegar (1/3 cup)

Procedure:

1. Deep fry the potato wedges in oil till they are golden and keep them aside.
2. Heat one TSP oil in a wok, add onion paste to it, and saute it till it turns brown.
3. Make sure that you stir the paste constantly to avoid overcooking it. We need a light brown color - no dark shades. :) In less moisture, the onions should not take more than 3-4 mins to get the right color, but if the moisture is high, they might take 2 extra mins.
4. Add garlic and ginger paste to it and saute for some more time - around 3-4 mins.
5. Add salt, red chilly powder, turmeric, and then stir for a min ; at this point, the hot mixture should start releasing its fragrance and you can smell the taste :-) "Make sure you don't have runny nose at this time or you would miss some real good fragrances. ;-) "
6. Add the fried potatoes now.
7. Mix the potatoes well with the mixture and add a cup of water to it. We don't want to make the potatoes float and nor do we want them to be dry. So add water appropriately.
8. Let the mixture cook on low flame for 3-4 minutes.
9. Heat 1 TSP of oil in another pan.
10. Add whole red chillies, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and onion seeds to it.
11. We did not have whole red chillies so we used chilly flakes. :)
12. When the seeds begin to crackle and the chillies turn dark, pour this mixture on the top of the potatoes.
13. Achari Aaloo is ready steady go!

I had earlier asked you to keep Vinegar and Sugar aside; here is why. The above recipe will give you salty Achari Aaloo. If you intend to make it a little sweet to maskofy your "woh" do this:


After step 6-7 (adding water and stirring), mix sugar and vinegar in a separate bowl and add it to the mixture. Stir it for 1-2 mins and then do the remaining steps.

Aaloo Achari would go best with garma-garam pooris, butter naan, and my personal favzz Plain Lachhaa Paranthaazzzz....yummmyyy mummmyy.


Best of Luck and Enjoyzzz!