Topic: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please

[colin grigson]

Hi fellow forum members ..

Could somebody help me out please. I'm curious as to the best way to par cook my potatoes for a chicken vindaloo so that they have that BIR flavour ... I am making a huge assumption here that there is a particular way to cook them so they don't end up tasting like a couple of boiled potatoes thrown into a curry ( which it could be although as I remember those potatoes in BIR vindaloo were a treat ). Any assistance would be appreciated ..

[solarsplace]

Hi Colin

Some people & restaurants go to quite a lot of trouble to pre-cook their potatoes.

I remember a post on this forum by Curry Barking Mad where he shows photos of pre-cooking in a restaurant using the same method as described here - http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=7825.msg68452#msg68452 - unfortunately cannot find that link now.

If you are not able for what ever reason to go to this much effort, then potatoes boiled in salted water with a little turmeric are a more than reasonable effort and still very enjoyable. Just remember to very slightly under-cook them so they do not disintegrate into your curry!

I always find I need to keep testing the potatoes every 30 seconds with a fork near the end of cooking, fine line between too under and over cooked!

Cheers

[Salvador Dhali]

Yep - as solarsplace says, salted water with enough turmeric to turn them that gorgeous yellow colour is all you need to do (especially for use in a spicy curry such as vindaloo.

Make sure that they're new potatoes, otherwise you may end up with a (very pleasant) mash...

[bamble1976]

Hi

i also add a tsp panch poran  it is essential you have them on a slow simmer to stop the starch molecules breaking down and the potatoes going mushy.

Barry

[colin grigson]

Thanks for the replies peeps ,

I'll do these this afternoon ready for tonight's vindaloo .. it may take a few goes to get the potatoes accurately par boiled since I assume they'll carry on cooking themselves a little whilst cooling too but it's all part of the fun !!     

[colin grigson]

My first disaster !!

The potatoes were gopping ... I don't know if they were bad potatoes or I overdid something ( maybe too much turmeric .. 0.5 TSP ? ) .. I added the panch phoran as well as bramble suggested and a good pinch of salt .. they weren't under or over cooked just tasted horrible .. I only tried to make the dish look more authentic .. I've never been mad keen on potatoes in a curry anyhow and this has confirmed my natural aversion .. fun trying though 

[mickdabass]

My first disaster !!

The potatoes were gopping ... I don't know if they were bad potatoes

Hi Colin
I grow spuds for a living and supply a lot of asian shops around Brum. They usually prefer the reds even though at the moment they are nearly twice as expensive as the whites! I find that red potatoes - more specifically Romano are an excellent potato for curries. They hold up better after boiling.  Because they hold up better, they do take longer to cook tho. When I use spuds in a curry I cook them thoroughly beforehand and add them right at the end of cooking to merely heat them through - just like using cooked meat.
Hope this helps
Best Regards
Mick

[Stephen Lindsay]

Mick

These potatoes you describe - I take it they are more of the "waxy" variety than "floury". In terms of your average range of potatoes in the local supermarket what would be the nearest equivalent?

Steve

[mickdabass]

Hi Steve.
There are over 2000 varieties of spuds out there!!!
Go for a floury spud rather than a waxy one. Watery/waxy potatoes soon fall apart in the boil. Avoid Nadine & Maris Piper and go more for Mozart, Romano types. King Edwards have a high dry matter content and are probably good too but I dont know for sure because we dont grow them. Some varieties like Rooster have a v high dry matter content so probably stand up well after the boil, but might be too dry for most tastes, but again I dont know for sure. Her Indoors does stews and cassaroles using romano and even after 3 hours on a low heat they still havent started to disintegrate. Estima is a very popular variety. They are fairly dry too so probably stand up well too.

Seasonal factors affect the dry matter content, so there is quite a bit of regional variation too depending on the amount of irrigation etc.
Hope this sort of helps

[Stephen Lindsay]

cheers Mick

I have actually been using Rooster potatoes when I do bombay potatoes, more by luck than design, I will look out for the Romano also.

Steve