Sliced Aloo, Chokha Style

Sliced aloo “chokha style” is a spin on Bihar’s aloo chokha, with the potatoes sliced instead of mashed. The trick to making this recipe is in boiling the potatoes just right: neither so soft that they give way when pressed, nor so firm that they need extended sautéing post-boiling to make them bite-friendly.

You Need:

[For 3-4 servings]

• Potatoes – 300 grams
• Green chili – 2 (adjust to taste)
• Garlic – 4 cloves (~1 teaspoon when chopped)
• Onion – 1 medium
• Tomatoes – 1 medium
• Dry red chili (Kashmiri or Byadagi) – 1 large [buy here]
• Salt – to taste
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon [buy here]
• Mustard oil – 1/2 tablespoon [buy here]

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In the picture above (clockwise from left): boiled potatoes, microwaved tomatoes, green chili, dry red chili, garlic, onion.

How To Make Sliced Aloo Chokha Style:

1. Boil the potatoes

Boil the potatoes till tender enough for slicing with gentle knife pressure. The time this would take depends on the style and thickness of the boiling pan and the size of the potatoes.

If using an Indian-style pressure cooker, here’s how to do it:

Place the potatoes in the cooker. Pour in a cup of water and lock the lid. Heat the cooker on high till you hear the first whistle. Set the heat to low. For medium-sized potatoes, cook for another 5 minutes and switch off the heat. Let the pressure of the cooker release naturally, then open the cooker, pick out the boiled potatoes and set them aside to cool.

When the potatoes have cooled enough to handle, peel them.

2. Chop and slice

Crush the garlic. Slit the onions into strips.

Chop green chilies into bits.

Slice the potatoes into thin disks.

3. Microwave the tomato

Chop the tomato into small cubes. Microwave on high for two minutes. Let it stand for another five minutes, then mash (coarsely done is fine).

4. Char the dry red chili

Heat a few drops of mustard oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, set heat to low and tip in the dry red chili. Keep a watchful eye and turn the chili over as soon as the side facing down turns a darker shade.

Let the other side fry and crisp up too, then pick the charred chili out of the oil and keep it aside to cool.

5. Put it all together

In the same pan, pour in the rest of the mustard oil and heat till smoky. Add half a teaspoon of cumin seeds and let them splutter.

Add the sliced onions, chopped garlic and green chilies to the pan. Fry on medium heat, moving them around regularly, till golden.

Now add the potato slices, microwaved tomatoes, charred red chili crushed to bits, and a sprinkling of salt to taste.

Mix together taking care not to break the potato slices. Cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

That’s it! Sliced aloo chokha style is ready.

Serve on the side with rice/chapatis, dal and another vegetable curry. (I missed clicking a pic of the meal plate – will come back to this post later and upload a pic when I make this again.)

Updated – meal plate below: lauki kofta, panchmel dal, aloo sliced chokha, chapatis.

Notes:

Try more chokha recipes:

Also check out these offbeat potato recipes: