Kumbakonam Style Potato Fry

In today’s blog, I will share an awesome Potato Fry recipe from my dear maternal Grandma.  My grandparents lived in Kumbakonam (a temple town in Tamilnadu) and when I was young, my brother and I always looked forward to visiting them during summer and staying there for a month or two. My mom has 5 sisters and a brother and a few cousins too and most of them live in Kumbakonam. We looked forward to those visits so much that many times my brother and I would be getting dreams that it was summer and we were visiting Kumbakonam only to wake up and realize it was only spring and we were still in Thanjavur (our home town). My grand parents and all my uncles/ aunts took care of us with so much love and affection during those visits. During our stay in Kumbakonam, we would be giving orders what we wanted (food, snacks, dresses, toys) and we got them all!

How many of you have been to Kumbakonam? Do you know how Kumbakonam town got its name? You can split Kumbakonam into two words – Kumbam (vase, or kalasam) + Konam (angle). As I told you earlier, Kumbakonam is a temple town, and almost every street has a temple. Typically temples have “kumbam” (or kalasam) which looks like an inverted pot at the top of the temple tower. So the saying is, wherever you stand in Kumbakonam and look around, you will see a “Kumbam” in every “Konam” (a temple in every angle of view!).

Now, let us start talking about the recipe – Kumbakonam Style Potato Fry. Typically, my grandma would boil the potatoes along with toor dal in firewood stoves. She would then prepare this tasty potato fry with hand ground masalas. What a heavenly feeling to enjoy this dish along with the sambar.

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Kumbakonam Style Potato Fry

Prized recipe passed along from my maternal grandma.  Finger licking potato fry with the perfect blend of masalas and spices, Kumbakonam style.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Kumbakonam, Potato, Potato Fry

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Senthil Sadasivam

Ingredients

• 1 lb Potato boiled, peeled, cubed
• 1/2 tbsp Chili powder
• 1/4 tbsp Coriander powder
• 1 tbsp Turmeric powder
• 3 tbsp Coconut paste
• Salt to taste

For tadka

• 1/2 tbsp Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tbsp Urad dal
• 2 sprig Curry leaves
• 1 pinch Hing
• 1 Onion chopped
• 1/2 tbsp Ginger chopped
• 5 cloves Garlic chopped
• 2 Green chilies chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 2 tbsp Oil

Instructions

1. Boil potatoes until they turn soft.  Peel and cube them.

2. In a wide pan, heat oil, and when it is hot, add mustard seeds and when it splutters, add urad dal and fry for few seconds until it turns brown.  Add curry leaves and hing and fry for few seconds.  Quickly add chopped onion and green chilies and fry till the onion browns a bit.  Add chopped garlic and ginger and fry till the raw smell goes off (you can also use ginger/ garlic paste instead of chopped).  Finally add chopped tomato and fry till it gets soft.

3. Add the spice powders (chili, coriander, turmeric), coconut paste, salt, half cup water and give a good stir and boil for about 4 mins.

4. Add the boiled potato cubes into the masala and gently mix the contents and roast the potatoes till they turn golden brown (for about 10 mins or so) turning them every now and then.

5. Enjoy with hot rice and sambar, dal or with rasam, yogurt or variety rice.