Have you ever heard the song, “Jab tak rahega samosa mein aloo, tera rahunga oh meri shalu!”?
No better way to confess your true love for the lady than swearing over bites of fried goodness, clearly.
The humble potato is like a blank canvas, and anyone can turn Van Gogh by coming at it with varied techniques. Bake it, fry it, poach it, stuff it – it wears every role with equal flair and is a major hit with vegetarians and meat eaters like. (Now, how many culinary items can you say that of?)
It’s come a long way from just being a side dish, but if you are true spud lover, then you need to go a little off-the-mark to prove it.
Here are some recipes which give the aloo a super makeover!
Mashed Potato Cheddar Waffles
Method:
1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Melt the bittersweet chocolate in a cup or small bowl in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds, until smooth. Warm mashed potatoes in microwave until room temperature (or cool freshly mashed potatoes).
2. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at at time and mix mashed potatoes and melted chocolate. Keep pouring milk regularly and then empty batter into baking pans.
3. Bake in the preheated for about 25-30 minutes.
Potato Pizza
Method:
1. Boil potatoes in salt water, peel and mash. Let it cool.
2. Blanch broccoli florets for 2 minutes and set aside.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, potato and herbs. Add milk to form dough. Knead into a ball.
4. Place on a greased baking sheet. Put into the oven 225°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7 to bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pizza base and lower the temperature of the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
5. Spread the tomato puree over the surface – then scatter the broccoli and ham. Finally, add the cheese – then bake in the oven for a further 8-10 minutes.
Baby Shepherd’s Pie
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Prepare the potatoes and mash. Cook potatoes in boiling water and scoop out the centre. Use the filling with milk and butter to create a mash.
Filling:
1. Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the olive oil in a large fry pan over medium high heat.
2. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 2 minutes until softened.
3. Add minced beef and cook, breaking up the mince as you go, until nicely browned and cooked – about 3 minutes.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to simmer and continue to stir until the sauce is thick and glossy – around 2 minutes.
Assemble Potatoes:
Fill each potato with filling and pipe the mash on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes and serve hot.
Potato Chocolate Cake
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Melt the bittersweet chocolate in a cup or small bowl in the microwave. Use fresh mashed potatoes.
3. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Mix the eggs one at a time along with potatoes and melted chocolate. Pour in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing until just incorporated.
4. Pour into pans, and bake for 25-30 minutes.
(A massive EDM junkie and a Jedi Padewan, Radhika believes in taking life by the fork and knife every day. She has been a media woman for the last 10 years with a huge passion for video technology. While working in content management is her day avatar, nothing gets her foodie side going like a good spicy misal pav!)
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