BIR-style Bombay Aloo

Ingredients:

500g baby potatoes
4 tbsp vegetable oil or vegetable ghee
1 tsp panch phoron
3 Indian bay leaves
3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 ½ medium onions, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced
3 green chillies, sliced
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp (heaped) tsp coriander seeds
1 heaped tsp madras curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp (heaped) butter
A handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), to garnish

Method:

Bring a pan of lightly-salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes, cover and boil for 15 minutes until just tender.

In the meantime, place a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil or ghee and when hot add the panch pharon and Indian bay leaves. Fry for 40 seconds then stir in the onion, bell pepper and green chillies. Fry briskly for a minute then add 1 tsp salt. Continue frying for 8 minutes, until the onions have just begun to colour. Now stir in the ginger-garlic paste then fry for 2 minutes more.

Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, cumin and chilli. Stir to form a paste then add in the chopped tomatoes and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes then check on the potatoes to see if they are tender. If they’re ready turn off the heat.

Continue cooking the sauce for around 2 minutes more then drain the potatoes and add to the sauce. Stir well to coat in the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes more.

For even more flavour add a tbsp of butter (omit if making this vegan) and stir gently to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with a handful of chopped coriander and serve.