Fries will always dominate my comfort food world. It can be potato, sweet potato, zucchini, rutabaga, parsnips, you name it  I will eat them. The one I really crave for in winter is the masala carrot fries.
Carrots have this incredible natural sweetness that caramelises beautifully when you hit them with high heat. By tossing them mix of  spices you transform this bright orange root vegetable into a highly addictive snack. This dish is naturally gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and packed with fibre and whatever carrots can offer.  It strikes that perfect, magical balance between sweet, smoky, savory, and tangy. I bet you cant keep your hands off them.

Ingredients for carrot fries

Carrots: The colour of the carrots chosen to make this masala fries does not matter. you can have purple, yellow or orange carrots though orange is the most popular colour available. Choose firm and thick carrots which are fairly straight. This makes it easy to cut even batons.  

Oil: though we are not deep frying the oil helps to coat and create the crispy roasted top for the carrot fries. Any neutral oil is good enough like sunflower oil, vegetable oil or avocado oil. If using coconut oil or sesame oil, it will add the fragrance to the fries. 
Spices and seasoning: Salt and pepper remains the key seasoning for these fries. The spices that upgrade it to masala fries is cumin powder, chaat masala and the kashmiri chilli powder. Cumin powder adds a smoky flavour, the chaat masala a zing and peppiness and the kashmiri chilli powder a mild spice level. Kashmiri chilli powder is similar to paprika with a tiny bit more spiciness. If you prefer a bit more spice you can use chilli or cayanne powder. 

Lets make carrot fries

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Prep the carrots : wash and pat dried the carrots Peel your carrots and trim the tops. Cut 1cm-thick sticks. Try to keep them all roughly the same size so they cook at the exact same rate.

Pat your carrot sticks thoroughly dry with a paper towel after cutting add them into a large mixing bowl.

Spicing the carrots: sprinkle a mix of salt, cumin, paprika and chaat masala on the carrots sticks  Drizzle with oil and give them a good toss.

Spread Out and Bake:  Spread the carrots out onto your prepared baking tray. Leave a bit of breathing room between each stick. If they are piled on top of each other, they will steam instead of roast. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, giving them a good flip halfway through the cooking time to ensure they get evenly golden and crisp on all sides. Be gentle with them at this point.
Once done the carrots turn crisp and glossy.
Remove on to a serving dish and enjoy with a dip.

Can carrot fries get crispy like potatoes ?

If you’ve ever tried baking carrots before, you know they tend to go a bit soft and limp. That is because carrots are packed with water and lack the natural starch of a potato. To beat the sogginess in the oven, use these two methods as nonnegotiable
The Paper Towel Pat-Down: Getting the carrot sticks completely dry before adding oil stops them from steaming in their own juices.
The Starch Dusting: A tiny sprinkle of cornflour  or rice flour acts like an invisible shield. It absorbs moisture and creates a crisp, micro-textured crust as it bakes. Ensure that you toss the spices in with the cornflour before dusting so it coats evenly.

Can carrot fries be made in the airfryer?

Oh yes, follow the steps of prepping and spicing. Then spread the carrots with enough gaps between them. These fries turn out more crispy. 

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The carrot fries are undoubtedly one of our favorite fries. We love this with a cooling dip like Cacik, hope you do too. 

These masala carrot fries have been on our blog from Oct 2018. Funnily enough I hardly looked back at it till recently when it popped up on my socials as a memory. Coincidentally it was carrots special on Sunday Funday, so both together, It was time for this update. Hope you like it and please leave your comments below of how it turned out for you.

Here are some of the other carrot recipes from fellow bloggers.

• Carrot Cake Muffins from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Carrot Pudding from Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking
• Carrot Roulade from Sneha’s Recipe
• Grilled Carrots from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Nomato Soup – a Faux Tomato Soup with Carrots from A Messy Kitchen
• Roasted Carrots with Burrata from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Spicy Carrot Ginger Dressing from Food Lust People Love

We have added a few links to our blogs and afiiliates in this post. Hope you will like some of our suggestions. When you click on these links and use it to but these it will generate us a small commission revenue. This keeps our blog going, hope you can support that.

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It is hilarious to look at vegetable that looks like alien made and know that it will finds its way to your heart. This creamy kholrabi pasta does absolute justice to kholrabis and pastsa alike. Before we fire up the stovetop, let us look at our star ingredient. The name “kohlrabi” comes from the German words for cabbage (kohl) and turnip (rübe). It is a cruciferous vegetable that is crunchy to start with and turns sweet and sodt upon cooking.Despite its root-like appearance, it is the “bulb” we eat is a swollen stem that grows just above the soil. We have used kholrabi to make a few different recipes
Knolkhol poriyal : an indian style stirfry with coconut and spices
Kholrabi schitnzel burger:an easy burger made with crispy kholrabi scnitzel and creamy corn dip
Cuvumber and kholrabi: a crunchy, shareable light salad with kholrabi and cucumber.
Now, lets head on to make this creamy delicious pasta

Lets make kholrabi pasta

This pasta relies on a basic white sauce that carries the creaminess. However, it is the sweet bites of kholrabi that makes it absolutely a repeated ask.
Prep the kholrabi : Peeling away the tough, fibrous outer skin of the kohlrabi to reveal the pale green flesh inside. Now chop into slices the khilrabi and then julianne it.
Aromatics: The instant change in the air when cold butter hits a hot skillet, followed closely by the intoxicating, earthy perfume of minced garlic and fresh thyme leaves sizzling together.The Deglazing: The dramatic hiss of dry white wine hitting the pan, lifting the deeply golden, caramelised bits of onion from the bottom of the skillet and filling your kitchen with a rich, bistro-like aroma.

Stay connected

As the you linger around that dinner table , making conversations, ensure you tuck in all that compluments you get about this recipe. When you do, share in the comments below, some of them.
This pasta was tested and made not just beacuse of kholrabi in the vegetavle basket but also because i have joined a this lovely group who focus on celebrating alphabet based cooking. Here are some of the entries youmay like to see.

•  Baby Kale Salad with Steak and Citrus Vinaigrette
•  Brown Sugar and Ketchup Pork Chops
•  Easy Chicken Kapama
•  Individual No Bake Key Lime Pies
•  Kabocha Methi Garlic Rolls
•  Kachhe Kele Ke Kofte
•  Kahlua and Cream: Brown Cow Cocktail
•  Kielbasa Pasta Medley (Sicilian Medley)
•  Kondakadalai Sundal / Chickpeas Sundal
• Spicy Cheddar Krispies Crackers

Before you leave, we have added links to our own site and to the affliates we work with. Yes, we earn a small revenue which is generated when you buy a product through this link. Hope these are useful to you. However, please use your judgement while you purchase items.

It is hilarious to look at vegetable that looks like alien made and know that it will finds its way to your heart. This creamy kholrabi pasta does absolute justice to kholrabis and pastsa alike. Before we fire up the stovetop, let us look at our star ingredient. The name “kohlrabi” comes from the German words for cabbage (kohl) and turnip (rübe). It is a cruciferous vegetable that is crunchy to start with and turns sweet and sodt upon cooking.Despite its root-like appearance, it is the “bulb” we eat is a swollen stem that grows just above the soil. We have used kholrabi to make a few different recipes
Knolkhol poriyal : an indian style stirfry with coconut and spices
Kholrabi schitnzel burger:an easy burger made with crispy kholrabi scnitzel and creamy corn dip
Cuvumber and kholrabi: a crunchy, shareable light salad with kholrabi and cucumber.
Now lets head on to make this creamy delicious pasta
Ingredients to make this pasta
Kholrabi
Pasta
For the sauce: the sauce is a basic white sauce.
Lets make kholrabi pasta
This pasta relies on a basic white sauce that carries the creaminess. However, it is the sweet bites of kholrabi that makes it absolutely a repeated ask.
Prep the kjolrabi : Peeling away the tough, fibrous outer skin of the kohlrabi to reveal the pale green flesh inside. Now chop into slices the khilrabi and then julianne it.
Aromatics: The instant change in the air when cold butter hits a hot skillet, followed closely by the intoxicating, earthy perfume of minced garlic and fresh thyme leaves sizzling together.The Deglazing: The dramatic hiss of dry white wine hitting the pan, lifting the deeply golden, caramelised bits of onion from the bottom of the skillet and filling your kitchen with a rich, bistro-like aroma.
Stay connected
As the you linger around that dinner table , making conversations, ensure you tuck in all that compluments you get about this recipe. When you do, share in the comments below, some of them.
This pasta was tested and made not just beacuse of kholrabi in the vegetavle basket but also because i have joined a this lovely group who focus on celebrating alphabet based cooking. Here are some of the entries you should not miss.

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Baby Kale Salad with Steak and Citrus Vinaigrette
• Blogghetti: Brown Sugar and Ketchup Pork Chops
• Food Lust People Love: Easy Chicken Kapama
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Individual No Bake Key Lime Pies
• Magical Ingredients: Kabocha Methi Garlic Rolls
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Kachhe Kele Ke Kofte
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Kahlua and Cream: Brown Cow Cocktail
• A Messy Kitchen: Kielbasa Pasta Medley (Sicilian Medley)
• Mildly Indian: Kohlrabi Pasta
• Sneha’s Recipe: Kondakadalai Sundal / Chickpeas Sundal
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice:Spicy Cheddar Krispies Crackers

Before you leave, we have added links to our own site and to the affliates we work with. Yes, we earn a small revenue which is generated when you buy a product through this link. Hope theae are useful to you. However, please use your judgement while you purchase items.

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Hope you like this recipe and will try it.

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Setting this up for a bbq

grilled pineapple with cinnamon and jaggery.

What is a thogayal?

Which part of the rind to use for this thogayal?

Ingredients for the thogayal

What can you hide in this chutney?

Serving the thogayal

Meal prep and storage

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What more can we do with this masala?

Try these on the sadhya menu

Have it with…

The revisit

The images in this post were so prehistoric. Upon revisiting this post this is the first thing I wanted to change. As a self-learned photographer, it has always been a trial and error for me. learning about light and the effects on photography makes me cringe when I see the image before. So as a part of Foodies redoing old post 25, I am replacing the images for slightly better ones here. Hope you like this lighter image.

To save this recipe for later pin it here

Party time 2018

• Camembert or Gruyere and Chardonnay
• Mascarpone and dessert wines
• Aged cheddar and Malbec
• Gorgonzola and Port wine
• Feta or Gruyere and Pinot Noir
• Parmesan cheese and Prosecco

Thinai arisi

Thinai arisi

This recipe can be prepared using,  white rice,  brown rice, kodo millet (varagu  arisi) or Barnyard millet (kuthiravalli) or little millet (saamai  arisi) too. So go on with this beautiful traditional age old recipe and enjoy.

Try out this spicy, tangy gravy to give that unique touch to your South Indian thali. The tangy sundried mango curry is one that fires up a dead tastebud to life. Here is the vegan, nut-free, nightshade-free, coconut free recipe for you to try. 
Mums and daughters always have some special shares. Mine happens to be the kozhambu made with sundried mango vattal. This was our kind of meal when dad was travelling or did not want lunch for the weekends. Though the meal was simple, I loved it. The lip-smacking tangy curry with steamed rice and crispy vadams and vattals. That is all I needed to tell her she is the world’s greatest mum! She has always been.
Today’s share is her recipe for this unique maanga vattal kozhambu.

What is a vattal kozhambu?

The curry or kozhambu made with sundried vegetables or berries is called vattal kozhambu. Spiced with a spice mix similar to sambhar powder, this curry is a slow cook recipe. With tamarind as the curry base, the tempered spices and the dried veggies cook down imbibing the flavours.

How is this maanga vattal kozhambu different from the rest?

Ideally, this vattal kozhambu is what we call a parippu potta vattalkozhambu, where cooked lentils are added. This thickens the gravy, and reduces the heavy oil use compared to traditional vattal kozhambu formulas. Other than that, the mango vattal you make makes a huge difference. Since mango vattal is sour already, no tamarind pulp is added. The complexity of flavour comes from balancing the intense sourness from the spicy masala base.

The best combinations with this manga kozhambu.

Since the curry is spicy and tangy you want to pair the maanga vattal kozhambu with less spicy sides. Typical South Indian combinations are this maanga kozhambu with steamed rice or fluffy cooked millets. On the sides, a  salad like kosambari, warm mezhukkuperattis or kootu curry pairs deliciously with this. The maanga vattal kozhambu is an excellent side to idlies and set dosa.
The details of this recipe are in the recipe card below. 

Collaborations

The recipe for this sundried mango kozhambu was published in Dec 2017. During those days I had no idea why I should write about how to pair it or include the details of the ingredients. Thanks to Foodies redoing old posts, here I am updating the content with better information. The image and the recipe remain the same. 

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If you are a tofu lover or a beginner, you will actually start liking these wraps for a couple of reasons

• They dont feel so tofuy so its fairly easy for you to adapt into them.
• These wraps come together in under 20 minutes and don’t need any marination.
• They pack in a good balance of protein, carbohydrates and veggies.

If these sound good to you, lets get you started.

With the approach of autumn,  the sunrise is slowly getting later and later, we have started to slowly wake up late. This means it is then a mad scramble to get things done and all of us out of the door on a weekday. So having something that will roll quickly into a nutritious meal is welcomed. There are a couple of wraps that I know my kids will surely grab as they run out of the door. These are also the ones that my teens never had a reason for missing out on the eating. These are

the Paneer khati rolls,

Black bean and salsa wrap

Pumpkin wraps

and this tricolour tofu wrap

There is another reason why these are sure to be taken without the excuse of “Oh ! I forgot my lunchbox”. These are so much smaller when packed, so bags are less clumsy. Whatever the reason, these do get taken, eaten and are a fully balanced meal. So what is here not to love it.

Here are the details.

Ingredients to make this tricolour wrap

Before you start making wraps, you need to keep in mind that wraps are only as interesting as the flavor of the filling. So lets keep this one interesting.

Wrap:Based on the time you have you can make a roti like flat bread or use a store bought wrap. I use Helgas or Mission wraps as these are the closest to me. 

Tofu: You need firm tofu or extra firm tofu for this recipe. This ensure it will crisp up well and hold shape. If you have firm tofu and are planning your meal ahead, use a tofu press to ensure you get a perfect tofu. once this is sliced, salted and roasted these stay good for lunch. To make the tofu crispy, you need  few ingredients cornflour, breadcrumbs and salt. These three ingrdients coat the tofu to make it crunchy.

Veggie: I have used shredded carrots and baby spinach to make this recipe as this is what I often have at hand ready to go. If you prefer, you can add shredded cabbage, colored capsicum, cherry tomato, celery or avocado. You can use a bagged salad or a coleslaw mix as well to make the wrap. This is a pretty good shredder to use for carrots and cabbage.

Sauce: This is probably the simplest sauce you would have made without any compromise on flavors. It takes only two ingredients – a good quality chilli oil and thickened cream. Once you adjust the salt levels, I will put this on anything from toast to pasta. The sauce is useful as it will not run by afternoon and not make your wrap go limp. 

Equipment to make wraps

Honestly, if you have a great frying pan, you are set to make this recipe. I have this frying pan and love it to fry tofu, it does not stick much as well. I use these pre-cut parchment to wrap the rolls for lunch.

Lets make lunch perfect tofu wrap 

Stay connected

Hope you will like to make this wrap and the crispy tofu. We love taking this on our lunch, surprisingly this makes it to our camps too. When you make this recipe do share your thoughts and what you liked about it.This recipe was posted as a part of Sunday Funday’s theme cottage cheese, tofu and paneer hosted by Mayuri. Here are the other entries, each delightful in its own manner so don’t miss to check them out 

Corn Paneer Parathas from Mayuri’s Jikoni

Cottage Cheese Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Cottage Cheese Wraps from Making Miracles

Cheese Paneer Tikka Open Sandwich in Air Fryer on Sourdough from Cook with Renu

Firecracker Tofu Broccolini Stir-Fry from Food Lust People Love

Homemade Paneer Recipe Ideas from Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking

Paneer Tomato Rice With Leftover Rice For One from Sneha’s Recipe

Pasta with Green Beans and Ricotta from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Potato, Cottage Cheese, & Caramelized Onion Pierogi from Amy’s Cooking Adventures

Retro Cottage Cheese Jello Salad from A Messy Kitchen

We have added some links that we think will come useful for you. These are highlighted in blue. Please use your choice to click on these links as the lead to external sites.

Dont skip lunch, and always éat for your body. Stay connected

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Fresh Brussels sprout from the farmers market

Brussels sprouts| what are they?

How to prep some Brussels sprouts?

• The loose outer leaves and excess stem are clipped away and these easily burn while roasted leaving an unpleasant taste.
• Soak the sprouts in water for about 5 minutes, wash them and set them to drain.
• Pat dry and the sprouts are ready for use.

How do these roasted Brussels sprout taste?

Ingredients for this maple roasted Brussels sprout.

What more to add to these maple roasted Brussels sprout?

Nuts – walnuts or pecans chopped or broken bits of nuts after roasting the Brussels sprouts add so much crunch and nutrition. The subtle sweetness of maple works with the nuts really well.
Sweet potato – The soft roasted sweet potato is by far the best add on roots vegetable to this roast. I love the colours of the two together as it just screams autumn for me.

Furthermore, you can add carrots, parsnips, cauliflower too to make this a huge bowl of roast. If you pass the bowl to me, I will still pick out all the brussels sprouts before I choose the others.

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We hope you will love to share with us your thoughts about our Brussels sprouts recipes and post. Do leave your comments for us to improve and also notes on the ones you love.  Take a moment to visit our youtube channel. Leaving you with our Facebook page  (click here) and Instagram (click here ) so you can take a peek. Don’t forget to follow us as we update these to the best of our efforts. Subscribe, share, like and evermore come back.

Collaborations

 Being a unique ingredient Brussels sprouts seemed the best fit to bring to my audience and I am re introducing it theough the Sunday funday group.. Though not so common in India, I am sure my global friends will like to try this recipe.

Stay safe and see you at the next post.

Learn 10 easy ways to feature the cabbage head in your home menu more widely  more often. These easy to achieve recipes will help you elevate the cabbage from just the basic coleslaw.  

The underrated cabbage seems to have shot into limelight. This probably is triggered by the article in Vogue promoting it to be the vegetable for 2026 and it is high time these leafy vegetables get some real use. It certainly is versatile and incredibly easy to use in most cuisines.

Familiarize yourself with the Cabbage varieties

The big head of cabbage does actually comes in a few different types, providing a bit of textural and pigment variation.

The common white cabbage: this is the most versatile of all cabbages. They are perfect for all sorts of recipes, mellow and crispy and sit well in salads too. Put these on the grill or tandoor to chargrill.

The red (or purple) cabbage: these are very similar to the white cabbage. It is the colour that attracts the eye. The red cabbage is usually seen in salads and as pickles. However they are equally good when stirfried or braised too.

Savoy (crinkled) cabbage: what is interesting about this variety is the crinkly texture of the leaves. These are great to filled and rolled to make skinny enchiladas!

Wombok: This slightly sweet Chinese cabbage or Wombok is perfect for Asian dressings and stirfries. They are super tasty as kimchi and pickled cabbages. For Indian recipes, I love using wombok for poriyal and kootus as it curls up well, providing a good textural feel.

Bokchoy:Though not typically considered a part of cabbage bokchoy falls under the cabbage family.Most Asian recipes do call for he green leafy bokchoy. They are more green and tender. The flavour is brilliant in Asian style soups and stirfry.

The love-hate relationship with cabbage

You certainly would have come across a bit of a love-hate relationship with cabbage.Some people love it and some are averse. Knowing the science behind it will ensure you know the reason for your dislike.

Cabbages are a part of the cruciferous vegetable family. They are naturally rich in sulfur compounds like glucosinolates.
When cabbages are cut or cooked they release these compounds as volatile sulfur gases. This is the weird fishy smell you may encounter. This may be the reason some people dislike the cabbage. 
There are ways of mitigating this as well when you are cooking. Scroll down to ensure you see the tips to ensure your cabbage experience is better.

Reasons to love the cabbage

Though there is dislike for cabbages among some, there are several more wonderful (and delicious) reasons to love it!

• Cabbages are low calorie vegetable. It is also nutrient dense. That makes it perfect to add volume to your meals.
• It carries high levels of fibre that ensure fullness and avoids constipation.
• Cabbages are good source of vitamins C and K . Both fresh and cooked cabbage are rich in them!
• Cabbages are diabetic-friendly as they are leafy vegetable, meaning they are low in sugar content.
• It has a good amount of folate as well.
• As for taste, they have a mild sweetness and are crisp to bite when fresh. When sauteed or grilled , they retain the sweetness.

Tips to cook the cabbage right

The sulfur smell that comes from cabbages can be reduced by following these.

• Use lemon juice: when you add lemon or vinegar to the shredded cabbage it greatly reduces the smell that develops. You can also add an acidic agent to the cooking water instead.
• Using an open pan: To saute or stirfry use an open pan and dong cover, and cook. This ensure the volatile compounds can escape.
• Quick cooking: Instead of slow boiling, always resort to quick boiling methods when using in soups. Slow cooking any of the cruciferous vegetables releases the sulfur compound, causing the smell.

Lets get some cabbage on the fork!

Cabbage recipe range from appetizers to mains. Apart from ease of cooking, cabbages are super versatile in absorbing the flavour and blending in with the flavours of the recipe. Here are some fabulous ones you should absolutely try.
Each of the recipe links are highlighted in blue. Clicking on them will lead you to the exact recipe. Lets start with some appetizers and dips

Cabbage pakoda: You cannot miss the crunch of this appetizer style recipe, perfect for entertaining. You can shred it or cut into cubes to make the pakoda. The chickpea batter with the spices makes it a delicious appetizer.

Tomato and cabbage salad: Now if you are on a summer plan or eating a bit healthier today, you have got to try this lean, fibre-rich recipe. The crunch of this salad with the acidity from tomatoes makes it a fantastic summer lunch.

Pickled red cabbage:This instant tangy pickled cabbage is a great addtion to home made burger, rolls or crunch wraps. We love to add a small bol of this to a meditteranean inspired grazing board as it pairs really well with the dips.

Now lets incorporate these into some mains that you can use much easier. 

Coconut cabbage soup: Carry the cabbage into winter with a comforting bowl of creamy coconut milk cabbage soup. This is a light soup that can be enriched by adding grains or cooked beans.

Paratha with cabbage: Bring in the comfort of cabbage in the form of a stuffed paratha. Made with maize flour, this is a brilliant flat bread recipe to serve with a simple dip or some Indian pickle.

Red cabbage pachadi: This low calorie red cabbage chutney pairs well with rice,flat breads and as a spread for a sandwich. 

Tandoori cabbage: This unique variation helps to ensure a good amount of flavour in the cabbage. It will definitely change any cabbage hater’s mind.

Shredded cabbage pasta: Ensure you have a hearty pasta with cabbage that lends itself well to Italian flavours. This shortcut pasta recipe does not use tomatoes.

Cabbage and spinach muthiyas: Muthiyas are steamed and stir fried snack from the Gujarathi cuisine. This variation ensures it is easy to adapt new variations.

Cabbage puli sadam: Put a twist on the classic puli saadam by adding shredded cabbage while stirfrying, giving it plenty of filling volume and fibre. Since cabbage takes up the spices and flavours well, this South Indian twist is a well-loved recipe.
Cabbage thoran: While going through cabbage recipes, you cannot ignore the  sadhya style cabbage thoran! This Kerala classic stirfry is one of the best warm salads.

Though you have a predominately Indian recipe collection here with cabbages, there is so much more you can do with these cabbages. You can make cabbage rolls,  add them to your momo filling, make coleslaw, chargrill them and so forth.

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There are a couple of different bloggers who have  put forth their best cabbage recipes for you to try, so do checkout the links and their blogs through the links above.
We have used affiliate links to help your cooking successful on this blog. This in turn helps us earn a small income to keep this blog going. Hope you will find these link useful, but use them at your discretion. While you are here, here re two products that I find very useful.

Hair growth serum

In shower moisturizer

Dream lengths hair mask

When you try out these recipe please do let us know which one you liked the best in the discussion below.
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While trying to explore the diversity of cuisines across India, one root vegetable that gets so well used is the potato. May it be jeera aloo, urulakizhanagu stew, potato podimas or aloo dum biryani, you will find potato running its own show here. This pattern extends to all the Indian cuisine styles and the one that caught my attention recently was the Manipuri spicy alu kangmet.

What is alu kangmet?

Though the name sounds so complicated this is one of the simplest of the Manipuri cuisine. Basically it a spicy, mashed potato recipe. The ingredients that flavour are mustard oil, chillies, garlic scapes and ngari (fermented fish). in this vegetarian version, we have omitted the fermented fish. The raw onions served with it or mixed in as pieces with the mash flavour it different from classic mashed potatoes. 

Dietary profile for alu kangmet

Traditional alu kangmet has fermented fish paste added to it so it will not really be a vegan vegetarian recipe. However, the recipe we have made today is with most of the flavours without the fish paste making it vegan.
The recipe uses a bit of oil, but not enough to deep fry so I would say they are still low-oil recipes. However, don’t skip using mustard oil for the best flavour.
The aloo kangmet is certainly grain-free, nut-free and nightshade-free.

Ingredients and substitutions

Potatoes: The potatoes are the main ingredient for this recipe. Any variety of potato that cooks soft and mashes well like the Yukon gold or white potato is perfect for this recipe. You can use the same variety that we have used to make jeera aloo.

Garlic greens: The traditional recipe for alu kangmet uses green onions rather than regular onions. I had a small batch of green onions and that is what I have used for this recipe. If you don’t have any red Spanish onion or sweet pink onion can be substituted, 

Dry red chillies: Ooo this is a spicy recipe that packs in a punch. The dry red chillies roasted in oil are the ones that are mashed in with the potatoes. Use the spicier serrano dried or the milder bydigai (Kashmiri chilli)

Mustard oil: The mustard oil is absolutely needed to bring that classic Manipuri flavour to this dish. You will find these in the Indian grocery stores. Most of them say external application only, but read through and you will notice that it will be used for cooking in certain cuisines. The restriction is because of the high euric acids. There are tolerable limits established in certain countries that are deemed safe. The quantity used for this recipe is really small and under regulatory limits. If this is not an option for you, try olive oil or vegetable oil. I will not recommend coconut oil or sesame oil as it imparts a distinct South Indian flavour and takes away from the recipe.  

Salt: Can’t make this spicy mash without salt! Regular sea salt or Himalayan pink salt will make just the same. 

Let’s make alu kangmet

There are only a few steps that lead you to this spicy lip-smacking potato mash.

Prepping the potatoes: Boil and cool the potatoes. Peel them, gently mash them with a fork and set them aside. 

Making the spicy mix: Wash and clean the green garlic leaves. Remove all the dry leaves and chop them half half-inch pieces. Into a frying pan add oil and as it warms up add the mustard oil. Saute the green garlic
(garlic scapes) and then the dry red chillies till they are crisp. 

Bringing it all together: Add all this to the potato and mash the spices into the potatoes with salt. roll them up into small balls to serve with rice.  In the recipe card below are the details of this recipe and you can pin from here too to your board.

Serving aloo kangmet

Aloo kangmet is often served with tan (bread) at breakfast time. However, the small ball of aloo kangmet is so soothing to have with rice. If on a soft diet have this with porridge or congee.

Meal prep alu kangmet

Aloo kangmet stays so good for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator to have for the week, However, potatoes leach water and lose that soft texture you don’t want it frozen.Hence, I haven’t quite come to be successful in freezing this recipe.

If you are serious about meal prep, invest in a good set of glass boxes for storage. Check out these ones if you are in Australia. They are really a great investments. 

Other recipes from North Eastern India

North Eastern Indian cuisine is rarely blogged about. But each state and tribe brings out some unique flavours. Here are a few recipes we have blogged about earlier. Try some?

Chia al meh

Kechuri

Rosep aon

Phuklein

Collaboration

This recipe is a part of the Sunday Funday collection of “cook with roots”. The bloggers, under Mayuri have collaborated to put some useful recipes together that range in cuisine. Try these recipes that use potato,beets, sweet potato, ginger, parsnips, carrots etc.

Mayuri’s Jikoni : Arbi Ka Paratha

Cook With Renu: Beetroot Paneer Rice With Leftover Rice (Easy Lunchbox Recipe)

Food Lust People Love: Chantenay Carrot Ginger Soup

Sneha’s Recipe: Ginger Almond & Poppy Seed Vadi

A Messy Kitchen: Maple Miso Root Vegetable Medley

Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Parsnip and Leek Soup with Cumin and Mustard Seeds

Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Roasted Beet Galette

Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking: Roasties

Making Miracles: Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

Stay connected

Hope you enjoy this spicy kick recipe that helps you explore the Manipuri vegetarian cuisine. When you make this simple recipe, do comment how you like it and how you served it. While you are here, subscribe to receive further updates.

In this post there are some highlighted links in blue. Some of these lead to products that will pay me a small commission if clicked on or bought. Use these links if it is helpful to you and using your discretion.

This post updation had huge help from both Mayuri and Kayani who have introduced and guided me through the new group, with much motivation.

See you in the next post.

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Ingredients to make sugar plum crumble

Gather the equipment and baking dish

Lets make sugar plum crumble

Meal prep and storage

I love to bake a crumble and pop it in the fridge after cooling to last the week. Mid week when workload gets heavy is when I actually love a scoop. You can leave it covered in the baking dish itself in the fridge. The corning ware bake and serve sets are really awesome for storing this. I love the chip resistant nature of the bake ware too.
I have not focussed on freezing it for longer, so if you have do share the knowledge. 

What if you need a regular sugar levels?

Can I make this recipe vegan?

Why are sugar plums better in this recipe?

Recipes related to this recipe.

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