Aloo Chokha - Spicy Mashed Potatoes Indian Style

Aloo Chokha - Spicy Mashed Potatoes

You can look up a good Aloo Chokha recipe on the internet fairly easily. It is Indian style spicy mashed potatoes.  My version, inspired by Sanjeev Kapoor in his How to Cook Indian cookbook, is below.  I cook this for my family, and at first my children were 'disturbed' at the different color of the mashed potatoes.  They were dubious... to say the least, but one taste and they realized how good they were.

INGREDIENTS

6 small potatoes, boiled and mashed.
2 tablespoons of mustard oil or vegetable oil*
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds (crushed)
2 dried red chilies, stemmed and crushed
3 medium red onions, chopped fairly fine
3-4 green chilies, stemmed, seeded, and chopped. (Use Serrano for heat or Anaheim for mild flavor)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed, or 2 tablespoons of minced garlic from a jar
1 teaspoon amchur powder (dried mango powder)
1 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop, boil, and mash the potatoes.  Set aside.
2. In a large pot, heat the oil.  When smoking, add the crushed coriander seeds and crushed dried red chilies. Cook for just a 10-15 seconds, 
3. Add the onions, green chopped chilies, ground coriander, ground roasted cumin and saute until the onions are golden brown (3-8 minutes depending on your pan and heat.)
4. Add the garlic and stir.
5. Add the mashed potatoes and mix well.
6. Add the amchur powder and salt and mix well.
7. Serve hot!

*I don't use mustard oil very often.  It adds a specific flavor to the food, but it's hard to get so I just use vegetable oil.  If you do get mustard oil, make sure you get the oil specifically for cooking, and get it 'refined' instead of filtered.