Ingredients:
- Potatoes, 500g – or scale appropriately. I’d recommend smaller salad potatoes rather than starchy varieties, as they hold up better in the recipe
- turmeric – 0.5 to 1 teaspoon
- chilli powder – 0.5 to 1 teaspoon
- cumin seeds – 0.5 to 1 teaspoon
- star anise – 1 – 2 pieces
- cassia bark – 1 piece, thumb-sized or so
- fennel seeds – 2 teaspoons
- coriander powder – optional, 0.5 to 1 teaspoon
- whole red dried chillies – 2-3 pieces
- ghee and butter
Method:
- cook the potatoes, I typically steam them, but last time, when being a bit tight on stovetop space, I wrapped each in aluminium foil and baked them for 40 minutes at 180C, and the results were even better
- halve the potatoes
- heat about a tablespoon of ghee in a thick-bottomed pan and place the halved potatoes cut side down on low to medium flame; ensure each touches the surface for them to brown and caramelise
- add all spices in between potatoes except fennel, as it burns more readily
- fry the potatoes until golden brown, moving around occasionally, adding fennel halfway through
- If working with more potatoes, you can move them about to the edges of the pan and add more in batches
- to finish off, for a richer taste, you can add butter towards the end and letting it brown just slightly