Most people love the humble potato. Despite it being a vegetable that is starchy and filled with carbohydrates, prepared the right way, this vegetable is very nutritious. It is high in fiber, low in sodium, cholesterol free, has a good amount of vitamin C, B6 and high in many other nutrients, including a small amount of protein.
This humble, cheap vegetable gets a bad reputation, however this reputation is based on how you cook and eat a potato. Making french fries and deep fried chips from potatoes is bloody tasty, but can be high in fat and calories. Indulging in eating french fries, potato chips and other deep fried potato snacks can be enjoyed now and again.
You don’t have to stop eating potatoes, what is better, is to learn to cook this vegetable in an appropriate way that is beneficial to your health and well being. Eating it just boiled and mashed with a tiny bit of salt and butter, is really tasty. However, I think potatoes are the tastiest when eaten with spices and seasoning – the way Indians cook and eat potatoes. There isn’t a single potato dish made in the Indian Sub-Content that is not delicious, this is mainly due to the inclusion of various spices when cooking this fat free, low cholesterol vegetable. Of course, a few of these Indian dishes cooked with potatoes are deep fried, nevertheless, there are way more potato dishes that are not deep fried and are healthy to consume regularly.
Because potatoes are a starchy vegetable that are broken down in the large intestine, it can produce gas for many people. To avoid this problem, adding spices such as cumin, fresh ginger and turmeric help with eliminating this problem.
This recipe I share with you below, is a traditional south Indian way of eating mashed potato. I use the Ayurvedic method of tempering spices and adding it to the potatoes, to help in digestion and avoid bloating and gas. This dish is almost never eaten on its own, but stuffed into rice savoury crepes called Dosas or stuffed into a south Indian snack or street food called called Aloo bonda.
I guarantee you will love this masala mashed potato recipe and probably never go back to eating regular mashed potatoes 🙂 !
Masala Mashed Potata
Ingredients
- 6 Medium Potatoes
Masala For Potatoes
- 2 inch ginger root (you can use previously frozen ginger, it is much easier to grate with the skin on, it grates like parmesan cheese)
- 2 tbsp oil ( I use avocado oil, you can also use butter)
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 handful fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tsp sea salt (or as per your taste)
Instructions
- Wash, peel and boil your potatoes. You can leave the skin on the potatoes if you like. I most often do so, as there are lots of nutrients in the skin. Just make sure you wash you potatoes well.
- Once potatoes are soft (not mushy), strain, and mash by hand. Keep aside
Masala Preparation
- To a small seasoning pot, add oil, once oil is hot, turn down the heat and add in your cumin seeds, cover and cook on low till cumin seeds are browned about 30 seconds.
- Add turmeric powder and grated ginger, cook for another minute or so, stiring
- Take the seasoning off the heat and pour this hot seasoning over your mashed potatoes. Season with salt and fresh coriander leaves.
- This is a delicious side dish that goes so well with savoury crepes, such as Dosas or stuffed into patties, samosas or eaten just as is with a green salad perhaps.