Batatyachi Bhaji | Aloo dry sabji
Batatyachi Bhaji is a delicious potato dish cooked with green chilis, onion, ginger, and lots of Indian spices. It's not too saucy, more like a dry sabji. It is then served along with poori, roti or chapati or even simple varan bhat (dal-rice).
Ingredients
For Boiling potatoes:
- 4 medium-sized potatoes
- water
For making batatyachi bhaji:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 4-5 curry leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon hing asafoetida
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 green chilies slit lengthwise
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- Salt to taste
For garnish:
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- Fresh coriander leaves
Instructions
Prepping potatoes:
- Start by washing the potatoes well under running water.
- Next, boil the potatoes until they are fully cooked and tender enough to be pierced easily with a fork or knife. You have the option to cook the potatoes using a stovetop either in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or pressure cooker, or an Instant Pot.
- Once the potatoes are cooked and either warm or cooled down, peel them and chop them into pieces.
Making Batatyachi Bhaji:
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Let them splutter.
- Next, add hing and green chilies and let them cook for 30 seconds.
- Once done, its time to add chopped onions. Saute on medium to high heat till they are soft.
- Add ginger garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes till the raw smell goes away.
- Sprinkle turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and salt. Mix well to combine everything together.
- Now, add the boiled and cubed potatoes and give it a good mix.
- Add half of the chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
- Next, cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium to low heat. This will help the flavors to infuse the potatoes.
Garnish and serve:
- Once done, switch off the gas and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and lime juice.
- Serve the batatyachi bhaji along with poori, roti or simple dal chawal.
Notes
**Serving suggestions**
- Batatyachi Bhaji pairs wonderfully with steamed rice or Indian breads like chapati or roti. You can also enjoy it as a side dish alongside your favorite Indian curry. For a complete meal, serve with a side of dal (lentil curry) and a cooling cucumber raita.
- This Batatyachi Bhaji can also be served with dosa and sambar to make a complete South Indian meal.
- It can also be mashed and stuffed in dough to make aloo paratha. Similarly, you can also stuff it in a puff pastry sheet to make an excellent tea- time snack-Aloo Puff.
- Another serving idea is to make a Bombay Masala Sandwich for breakfast or as a afternoon tea-snack. Just stuff it in between 2 slices of sandwich bread along with onion, tomatoes and mint chutney and toast it on the pan with butter.
- To cook the potatoes faster poke holes in the potatoes before dropping them for boiling.
- To give it a nutty flavor, you can add 1 teaspoon of urad dal along with mustard seeds and let them brown. This gives a nice South Indian touch to the dish.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat before serving.
- If you're thinking of preparing this bhaji ahead of time, it's a good idea to boil and peel the potatoes first. Once boiled, let them cool down before peeling. Then, store them in an airtight container.
- Whenever you're ready to cook, simply take out the potatoes and chop them as needed. This way, you'll have prepped potatoes ready to go whenever you want to whip up a batch of delicious bhaji.