Potato masala/ aloo masala for dosa
Aah if you love potato masala as much as I do, then this recipe is so for you. As a child I enjoyed only fried forms of potato & I did not relish this much. My dad loved this form of potato. Well he loved any form of potato but I think after the standard potato curry loaded with oil, this was his next favourite. He could thulp potato masala for dosa, poori, chapathi & even just like that alongside some coffee :). Man, I so wish I had started cooking extensively or shown this much interest towards food when he was around. He would have been mighty happy & proud and I could’ve also blogged some of my most favorite dishes that my dad. Till this date, no one does ennai kathrikkai (stuffed brinjal curry) the way he did. No one has ever made a bhindi/ ladies finger soup for me and while I remember the tastes I do not think I am ever gonna be able to bring those tastes actually alive. It is true that only a true foodie can enjoy cooking so much and of course vice-versa should apply as well :). Ok, enough of my dad for the day and a little bit more about the actual recipe in store.
Now before I moved into this household, potato masala was always the same recipe for me irrespective of whether it was stuffed into a dosa or had with chapathi/ poori. It tasted different based on who cooked it but the ingredients pretty much remained the same – ginger, garlic, onion, potatoes, the usual tempering ingredients. However, mil kinda introduced me to this array of subtle yet significant taste differences in this potato masala based on what its consumed with. So in the last many years of my living, the potato masala that was made as a stuffing for dosa tastes different to the potato masala that we consume with poori. I love love both and hence need to need to document both :). Interestingly, both of mil’s potato masala versions have a lot of garlic and very very little ginger. Interesting because in my own recipe which I learnt from appa and amma has ginger as a key component and mostly no garlic at all. Some day, I shall also blog amma’s version of this cos that’s also awesome! Same same but different :). And to ensure I actually did capture mil’s version intact without adding my own twists & tastes to it, I noted her version step by step, tested it out without her anywhere in the kitchen & I am very pleased with the outcome :D. I should actually be doing this for every single recipe I blog of amma’s & mil’s :).
- 2 medium sized potatoes (boiled)
- 1 big onion
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 no green chillies
- 1 big pod garlic
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1.5 tsp vegetable oil/ ghee
- 1 no green chilli
- 1 small piece ginger
- 2 pods garlic
- 1 tbsp coconut
- 2 tbsp grated coconut
- 2 tsp pottu kadalai/ roasted gram dal
- 1 small dried red chilli
- a pinch rock salt
- a pinch asafoetida
- 1/8 cup water
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Grind all ingredients under the 'To grind' section by adding 3-4 tbsp water. Set it aside.
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Peel the skin off the boiled potatoes, mash them & set them aside. Slit green chillies & chop garlic & onion into thin long slices.
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In a kadai/ pan, heat some oil. Add mustard seeds.
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Once it starts to splutter, add slit green chillies, garlic & turmeric powder.
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Once the garlic starts to brown, throw in the onions & let it brown.
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Once the onion browns, throw in the mashed potatoes, 1/4 cup water & add some salt.
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Along with this, add the ground mixture & mix everything well. Check and adjust salt.
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Add a bit more water if you find the mixture a little too dry. What you are looking for is a smooth pasteish texture (once you turn off the flame the masala will harden a bit).
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Once you have the desired consistency, turn off the heat. Your masala for stuffing is ready.
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Grind all ingredients under 'chutney spread' section.
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You all know this drill. Make you dosa just your usual way.
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Once your dosa is done (keep the dosa soft), spread a bit of your chutney and some potato masala on the more white side of the dosa.
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Fold the dosa into a semi circle & press the ends. Serve hot alongside some chutney/ sambhar and maybe even more masala :).
Place all ingredients in the ‘to grind’ section. 
Grind to a smooth paste adding 3-4 tbsp water. 
Peel the skin of boiled potatoes. 
Mash them & set it aside. 
In a kadai/ pan, heat some oil. Add mustard seeds. Let it splutter. 
Then add green chillies, garlic, turmeric powder. Saute till garlic starts to brown. 
Then add the onion. Saute till they brown. 
Satl the onions at this stage. 
Then throw in the mashed potatoes and a little bit more salt. 
Add 1/4 cup water and mix everything together. 
Then add ground masala. 
Mix well. Check & adjust salt and water here (pasteish consistency). 
Turn off heat. 
If you want to smear some chutney inside your dosa, gather all ingredients in the ‘chutney spread’ section. 
Grind adding 1/8 cup water. 
Make regular dosas just the way you would. 
Flipping both sides. 
Smear the chutney first on the more white side of the dosa & then place the masala stuffing. 
Fold the dosa & seal the ends. 
Serve hot alongside chutney/ sambhar or even more masala 🙂
