Poori Masala Recipe | South Indian Potato Masala

Who on earth wouldn’t love hot hot Puris with potato masala?? We at home totally enjoyed this classic combination because I’m making this after ages!! Poori Masala Recipe is a very simple recipe that uses very few ingredients but the magic this combo weaves is sheer ecstasy.

I am an ardent fan of potatoes and I just love anything made with this spud. They are so versatile that you can just make anything or add them in anything and they just kind of uplift the flavour of the dish. It wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that there are perhaps as many versions of Poori Masala Recipe as there are Indian cooks. Although the puri, or the puffy deep-fried bread, remains more or less the same, the vegetable component, varies drastically. It’s mostly made with potatoes but everyone puts their own delicious spin, be it gravy, dry, mild, spicy, tangy with lemon, or with the aroma of curry leaves.

This simple vegan curry of potato is also called Potato Bhaji or Aloo Bhaaji or Poori Masala or Potato masala. Today I’m going to share a South Indian style Poori Masala Recipe, which is one of the most simple, easy to follow recipe, but it is also one of the best tasting dish that goes well with Poori. I’ve posted a detailed tutorial on how to make puffy puris, click on the link to learn more.

HOW TO MAKE POORI MASALA

Poori Masala Recipe is quite popular across india. you would not miss this dish in any restaurant’s breakfast menu. Those who have traveled in Indian railways would have definitely noticed or even experienced poori bhaji served on railway station platform. How can I forget the potato bhaji from the train journeys of my childhood. So, for us children, eating on the station was a treat and a bit of an adventure!! Pooris and potato bhaji was one of what I like to think of as “station foods” in those days….not to forget idli and dosa.

Mustard seeds, ginger, chillies and curry leaves are cornerstone ingredients in South Indian cuisine, which boasts fresh flavours very different from the spice-dense curries common to other parts of India. This Potato masala recipe is mildly spiced with hints of ginger, curry leaves and the final touch with coriander leaves takes it to another level. In short, it is mildly spiced yet delicious and flavourful. Also there is a magic in the potato masala served along with those neatly puffed up pooris.

Instead of adding whole curry leaves, and then discarding them as some people do (including me), you can also finely chop them and sauté them along with the onions because they complement the potatoes in each bite. And I also mash my potatoes a little towards the end because that way they are perfect to scoop up with the pooris.

OTHER OPTIONS TO SERVE POTATO MASALA

You can easily skip the deep-fry and serve potato masala with store-bought whole grain tortilla wraps. This easy breakfast will have you cooking and enjoying this heavenly treat in no time. Though this is great for breakfast, I’m absolutely not a morning person and I cannot handle heavy food in the morning. So are my children!! So I prefer to have it for brunch or for dinner.

Leftover masala can be used as a stuffing inside the samosa or as the breakfast sandwiches. You can also smear this potato masala on dosas and serve as masala dosa. I love to eat this poori masala with dosa, paratha or  roti. I am hungry now so would just indulge on some leftover potato masala and toasted bread.

Here it is, a Poori Masala Recipe to brighten up any day– however boring– to make it a little more special. Enjoy this tummy warming comfort food!

Step by Step Process to follow for

Poori Masala Recipe:

Click HERE to directly go to the video!! But, I advice you to go through detailed recipe for tips!!

• Grab all the ingredients to chop!!
• Finely slice onions lengthwise and slit green chillies.
• Chop ginger into big chunks so that they can be removed later or you can finely grate it. Either ways the ginger flavour is infused into the curry. If you have picky eaters like I have at home, cut into big chunks.

• Peel potatoes and roughly cube them.
• Add the cubed potatoes into a bowl with water so that they do not turn brown.

• Heat a pressure pan with oil over medium heat. Season with mustard seeds and channa dal (bengal gram).
• When the mustard seeds splutter and the lentils turn light brown, add in chopped onions, green chilies, ginger and curry leaves.

• Sauté till the onions turn translucent.
• Add turmeric powder and give it a nice stir.

• Drain potato pieces from water, add to the onions and mix well.
• Add water and required salt. The amount of water depends on what consistency you would like the curry to be. Add enough water to cover the potato pieces.

• Cover the pressure cooker and cook for about 2 whistles. Turn off the heat.
• Open the lid of the pressure cooker once the pressure subsides.
• Turn on the heat again to give it a boil and gently mash a few potato pieces. Give it a nice stir till you get the required consistency. (check notes in the recipe card for another variation)
• Finally garnish with coriander and serve with hot fluffy pooris.

Print Recipe

Poori Masala Recipe | South Indian Potato Masala

Poori Masala Recipe is a versatile wholesome breakfast dish, where potatoes cooked with onions, mildly spiced with hints of ginger, curry leaves and fresh coriander leaves.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 3

Author: Padma

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Oil
• 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 2 Tablespoons Channa dal/Bengal gram
• 2 to 3 large Onions thinly sliced
• 5 to 8 Green chilies slit lengthwise
• 1 inch Ginger roughly chopped or finely grated
• 1 to 2 sprigs of Curry leaves
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 3 large potatoes peeled, roughly chopped into cubes & added into a bowl with water
• 1 to ½ cups water or as required
• Salt to taste
• Generous amounts of finely chopped fresh coriander

Instructions

• Heat a pressure pan with oil over medium heat.
• Season with mustard seeds and channa dal.
• When the mustard seeds splutter and the lentils turn light brown, add in chopped onions, green chilies, ginger and curry leaves.
• Sauté till the onions turn translucent.
• Add turmeric powder and give it a nice stir.
• Drain and add in the roughly cubed potatoes and mix well.
• Add water and required salt. Add enough water to cover the potato pieces.
• Cover the pressure cooker and cook for about 2 whistles. Turn off the heat.
• Open the lid of the pressure cooker once the pressure subsides.
• Turn on the heat again to give it a boil and gently mash a few potato pieces. Give it a nice stir till you get the required consistency.
• Finally garnish with coriander and serve with hot puffy puris, paratha, roti or dosa.

Recipe Video

Notes

• I like to use almost equal quantities of potatoes and onions or even sometimes more onions. You can reduce the quantity of onions to suit your taste.
• Adjust green chillies to suit your spice levels.
• Do not brown the onions, sauté till it turns translucent.
• You can also boil potatoes first and then make the poori masala in a pan.
• I always add a lot of ginger to the poori masala which not only tastes great but also helps with digestion.
• Another variation to this dish is to add gram flour diluted in water at the end, which makes it more creamy giving a great texture and tastes different too. But for this you have to add more water to get a runny consistency. Instead you can also mash few pieces of boiled potatoes and add it to the gravy to thicken it. Some people also use rice flour or even maida to thicken but I do not prefer them. Check the Bombay Chutney Recipe!

You can also try Puri with other combinations like:

• Paneer butter masala
• Chole masala
• Aloo baingan
• Kohlrabi kurma
• Tomato Onion gravy
• Chicken curry
• Chicken fry
• Butter chicken
• Chicken korma
• Mutton curry

Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!

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Happy Cooking 

Cheers!!

Padma.