Easy, Fast, Make Ahead, Take Away, Vegan Potato Salad. Sookhe Aloo.

   When I was a kid growing up in San Francisco there wasn't a party, a cookout, or a picnic that didn't involve a trip to Herman's Delicatessen on Geary Blvd. for some of their self proclaimed "World Famous Potato Salad!"  If you grew up in San Francisco as I did, your family likely turned up at Herman's at one time or another. The place was famous. I am a 5th generation San Franciscan, and so my family had been patronizing Herman's since forever. Herman's was my first introduction to the world of exotic cheeses. My grandparents took me there at the age of five and I was hooked. Now Herman's is long gone; the beautiful tile work in the doorway now leads one into The Gap. There are no exotic cheeses at the Gap, and certainly no World Famous Potato Salad.

   Herman's potato salad recipe can be found online here for those who remember and miss it. I don't think I ever really ate potato salad again once Herman's was gone. For one thing nothing compared, and for another I spent many years eating a vegan diet and all the dairy involved was out the window. However, once I started cooking Indian food 25 years ago, my love for potato salad was satisfied. It turns out Herman's wasn't the only place with a killer potato salad recipe. Indian cuisine features a whole array of them, a great many of them vegan. I was back in business.

   A couple of weeks ago I made my return to cooking and entertaining and one of the dishes I served was one of my favorite Indian potato salads, Sookhe Aloo. This is a spicy potato salad that is easily made ahead. One of a number of Indian potato salad recipes that I make, this one can be served warm or at room temperature which makes it a great dish to take to potlucks, or any sort of cookout. I particularly love make ahead dishes as it makes the preparation of a multi-dish Indian feast a whole lot easier, less to do on the day of the event!  Since 4th of July is coming up fast I'm passing this traditional recipe along, I'll be serving it, you might want to also.

Indian Potato Salad (serves 6)

Here's What You Need:
3 Tbs coconut or other vegetable oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/3 tsp cumin seed
1/3 tsp ground turmeric
1 Tbs serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
2 cups of finely chopped onion
5 cups of boiled and peeled potatoes (use only new red  or white potatoes. No Yukon Gold or Russets as the texture will be wrong)
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili or cayenne (optional)
1/2 Tbs fresh lemon juice.

Here's What To Do:
Put a large pot of salted water on the stove, and bring it to a boil.
When the water boils add the unpeeled whole potatoes to it and cook them until they are fork tender.
Drain the potatoes and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process.
When the potatoes are thoroughly cooled peel them.

Slice them...

...and cube them.

When you have 5 cups of cubed cooked potatoes, set them aside.

Chop and mince the onions.

Chop the chili and set it aside.

 In a skillet or kadhai heat the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot add in the mustard seeds.

Once they start to sizzle and pop stir in the turmeric...

...Serrano chili and onion.

Stir fry the onions until they are translucent, then add in your potatoes.

Fry the potatoes for about 2 minutes, until they start to brown a bit.

Then add the garam masala, sugar salt and Kashmiri chili or cayenne (if you're using it).

Turn down the heat a bit, and put a lid on things. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
Take off the lid and add in the lemon juice.

Take the pan off the heat and stir everything together until it's well mixed.
Just before serving, get some cilantro. I got to use some of the stuff from my own garden.

Chop up a handful, and sprinkle it over the potato salad.

Serve it up!

   There it is, very tasty and fresh with a slight kick from the chili. This can easily be doubled if you're feeding a crowd. It's vegan and gluten free.  I've served this for years whenever I'm looking for an easy crowd pleaser, especially for people who are new to Indian food since it can served with anything from burgers and dogs, to a traditional Indian meal. It ain't Herman's, but it's damn good! Coming up next. Fire roasting an eggplant for a tasty side dish. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Blankity Blank Heirlooms

Heirlooms used to be the stuff that arrived in a cardboard box after great aunt Gertrude kicked the bucket. Things that were passed down . The odd chair, a string of pearls, the family silver, usually not potatoes....or any other vegetable for that matter. Until things started to change. Many years ago many vegetables roamed the earth. Different shapes, different colors, different sizes and then all of a sudden...they were gone all was silence and there was just...the big brown lump we know today as The Potato.
Once upon a time there were lots of potatoes and they all had great names...the Adora, The Agria, The All Blue, The Atlantic, The Austrian Crescent,The Bintje, The Dakota, The Carola Rose, The Desiree, The Inca Gold, The Irish Cobbler,The Ozette, The Purple Majesty,. you get the drift. It all started when Alan and I downloaded the documentary The Botany of Desire. I highly recommend it, especially the segment on potatoes and how we went from all these exciting varieties to just one or two or three. Living in the country I'm exposed to a great variety of vegetables and half the fun of cooking them is getting to know them. Up close and personal. By name.
Last week there was a special table at the Sonoma Market and on it was a hand lettered sign from a local grower Blankity Blank Produce. The table was piled with potatoes and they all had names. The German Butterball, The Red Chieftain, The Princess La Ratte. I was hooked.
I scooped up the German Butterballs, which are in the picture above, and also the Princess La Batte which is a fingerling variety. I would have had a picture of them too, but I ate them and the camera did not have a fast enough lens for that.
I couldn't wait to serve the German Butterballs. Indian cuisine offers a lot of potato dishes from one end of the subcontinent to the other, and one of my favorite is made with new potatoes but I figured it would work just as well with the German Butterballs.
I took my 6 German Butterballs. I washed but didn't peel them. I sliced and diced them. I took a one inch piece of ginger chopped it and placed it in the blender with 3 Tbs of water and 1/2 tsp of turmeric.
Here's what to do next.
1.) In a deep skillet or Karhai heat 2 Tbs of vegetable oil.
When it's hot, toss in
2.) 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds
stir fry it for a beat and when it starts to turn color add in
3.) the ginger paste
Cook it for one minute then put in
4.) 1 green chili seeded and thinly sliced
Stir fry it for about 30 seconds and then
5.) Add in the potatoes. Fry them for abouit 5 minutes and keep them moving in the pan. No sticking!
After about 5 minutes addd in
6.) 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Turn the heat down and continue to cook the potatoes stirring them and keeping them moving for another 5 minutes. Now toss in
7.) 1 1/4 tsp of salt
8.) 1 tsp of garam masala
9.) 1 Tbs of ground coriander
10.) 2 Tbs of lemon juice and about
11.) 3 Tbs of water.
Stir it all up and lower the heat, keep the potatoes cooking for another 25 minutes or so till it's done. Stir them every 10 minutes or so.
These potatoes are sort of an Indian version of home fries and very popular at our house whether or not I'm serving an entire Indian meal. Supporting local growers and their experiments with heirloom vegetables is a great idea, and an even better one if you have the ability to do so, is grow your own. They're easily ordered online from places such as Ronnigers Potato Farms. After all, what better way to do home fries, than homegrown?