AJWANI ALOO: POTATOES WITH CAROM SEEDS

AJWANI ALOO: POTATOES WITH CAROM SEEDS

I am sure you know that Ajwain, which is what we normally call Carom Seeds in India, has many health benefits. Ajwain is the name in Hindi, in Marathi it is called Onva, Oma in Kannada, and Omum in Tamil.

I have used ajwain in many Punjabi dishes but was delighted to come across this different dish
called "Ajwani Aloo" demonstrated by Chef Harpal S. Sokhi in this video on YouTube. You will find many interesting dishes on his Facebook page.

As promised by Chef Harpal, this dry dish, Ajwani Aloo, turned out to be a treat. I loved the fragrance of ajwain from what I would call a simple to make healthy treat. Apart from using oil instead of ghee, I followed the recipe as given by Chef Harpal.

Ingredients:

• Boiled Potatoes, 4, cut into quarters
• Ghee, 1 tbsp ( if you want you can use oil instead) 
• Dried red chillies, 4, broken
• Asafoetida (Hing) , 1/4 tsp
• Ajwain, (Carom seeds), 1 tsp
• Ginger, 1 " piece, chopped fine
• Dried mango powder (Amchur), 2 tsp
• Fresh coriander, 1 tbsp
• Salt, to taste

Method:

Cook the potatoes, cool and peel them. Cut into quarters. Keep aside.
Heat up a non-stick kadai and add 1 tbsp of ghee/oil 

While the ghee melts, add the broken dried red chillies

Saute the red chillies

Add the asafoetida and the ajwain

Add the boiled potatoes and stir well

Cook the potatoes on a low flame till they turn a light brown

Add the chopped ginger and cook till the ginger turns brown

Add salt, to taste
Sprinkle the dry mango powder and stir the contents of the tawa till they are mixed well

Add the fresh chopped coriander

Stir well and serve hot