Tiny potatoes Masala roast - chinna urulai kizhangu masala varuval

I had seen these tiny tiny potatoes a long time ago in a lunch box when we all used to eat lunch under trees. I must have been in the sixth/seventh grade maybe. These were the tiniest potatoes I had ever seen. I initially thought they were peas or chickpeas but these were slightly larger than peas. On closer inspection and inquiry they were potatoes!

It took me a while to find them but the ones I found were slightly bigger. These are not that unattainable anyway they are found more or less all the time at Whole Foods. Sometimes they are really small other times a tiny bit bigger.

The tiny size that I want probably have to grow them myself. The sprouted potatoes I planted this time did not fare well so have to wait till next year for that experiment.

I wanted to oven roast the potatoes as per idea on FB but with soaring temperatures did not want to fire up the oven so settled on a trusty old recipe that my mother uses.Readers from FB had a lot of ideas. I have them on the list the next time I buy these potatoes.

Tiny Potatoes Masala Roast - Chinna Urulai Kizhangu masala varuval
Preparation Time:15 minutes
Cooking Time:20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 lb small potatoes
2. 1/4 cup red onion or shallots roughly chopped + 1 tbsp finely chopped
3. 5 garlic cloves
4. 6 red chilies
5. 1 inch piece of ginger
6. 1 tomato roughly chopped
7. 1 tbsp oil
8. 1/2 tbsp coriander powder or kuzhambu thool or any curry powder
9. salt to taste

Method

1. In a saute add a tsp of oil and saute the onions, ginger and garlic till the onion starts to turn brown. Add in the chilies and saute for a couple of minutes, followed by the tomatoes. Saute till the tomatoes are nice and mushy. Add in the masala powder give a good mix and transfer to a blender and blend to a smooth paste without adding water.
2. Scrub the potatoes (we are not going to peel the skin so make sure it is clean) and boil them for about 10-12 minutes till they are just part way cooked.
3. In a wide mouthed pan heat 1/2 a tbsp of oil and saute the finely chopped onions and then add in the potatoes and saute for 4-5 minutes.
4. Add the masala paste and saute along with the potatoes on medium heat for another 10 minutes or so adding a bit of oil if it sticks too much. Add salt part way through.

Serve as a side for rice dishes or for chapathis.