Ode to Potato: Grand Finale

“A man who prides himself on his ancestry is like the potato plant, the best part of which is underground”
- Spanish Proverb quotes

The humble, modest and unassuming Tuber grows out of sight, underground and when pulled up it looks like a part of earth. Have you ever seen it competing with any of the vegetables? Have you ever heard a vegetable vendor calling attention to this humble Tuber? When he is praising the goodness and beauty of other vegetables you will find a sack of these Spuds sitting quietly in some dark corner. Unlike other vegetables, Potatoes may not be even being considered when it comes to looks. It doesn’t have clear complexion of white Eggplant, glow of tomato, frills of cauliflower, slenderness of Ladies finger, nor radiance of Sweet Corn. One thing what it has is popularity and you wonderful bloggers proved it again how much this modest looking tuber is loved by everyone, aged from eight to eighty.
Make a way and cheer… Let us celebrate and sing along an Ode to Potato. The bright lights are on, Cameras are clicking away, people are cheering and there it is, Potato playing on center court… Pick your choice from these 135 wonderful, delicious entries… Chips, Chats, Soups, Fries, Masalas, Curries, Breads, Roties, Parathas, Mash, Pulao, Biriyanis, Raitas and even Sweets all made using Potatoes. Here I am spreading Potato Buffet… Pick your plates and help yourself…

Click here or on the image above to view the gallery...

“Pray for peace and grace and spiritual food,
For wisdom and guidance, for all these are good,
but don't forget the potatoes.”
-John Tyler Pettee, 'Prayer and Potatoes'

I have posted the entries in the order I recieved them. I have tried my best to collect all the entries and post them. If there is any errors or omissions, please mail me or leave a note in comment section. An Ode to Potato logo poasted in the side bar of Monsoon Spice will bring you to this event round-up page for future reference.

1. Ramya of Mane Adige's Baby Potatoes in Tamarind
2. Carnation of Red Carnation's Potato Cheese Omelet
3. Miri of Peppercorn Mill's Mutton Kurma
4. Siri of Siri's Corner's Potato Pulao
5. Meera of Enjoy Indian Food's Batatya Talasani
6. ISG of Daily Musing's Potato-Cheese Enchilada
7. Srivalli of Cooking 4 all Season's Spicy Potato Roast
8. Kalva of Curry in Kadai's Aloo Matar
9. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Aloo Bonda
10. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Aloo Mattar Sabzi
11. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Aloo Mattar Kofta
12. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Aloo Paratha
13. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Aloo Peas Paratha
14. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Aloo Fry
15. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Chatpata Aloo
16. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Jeera Aloo
17. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Aloo Matar Kurma
18. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Pav Bhaji
19. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Puneri Aloo
20. EC of 100% Microwave Cooking's Ragda Pattice
21. Ramya of Kitchen Corner's Brinjal Potato Veggie
22. Dhivya of Dhivya's Kitchen's Bread Potato Cutlet
23. Kalai of Samaithu Paarkalaam's Roasted potato with Bell Pepper Poriyal
24. TBC of The Budding Cook's Potato-Leek Soup
25. Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Season's Aloo Paratha
26. Coffee of The Spice Cafe's Potato Thai Style
27. Seema of My Randap's Batata Song
28. Divya of Dil Se's Aloo Paratha
29. Jai & Bee of Jugalbandi's Getting Potatoes off your Couch
30. Deepa of Recipe and More's Potato Curry
31. Bhags of Crazy Curry's Hash Browns
32. Sreelu of Tasty Travel's Aloo Paratha
33. Vijaya of Daily Meal's Potato Curry with Green Chilli Paste
34. Shilpa of Aayi's Recipe's
35. Seena of Simple & Delicious's Aloo-Pepper Masala
36. Sushma of Cook Spot's Aloo-Methi
37. Eskay of A Bon Vivant's Chow Chronicle's Fenugreek'ed Potatoes
38. Arundati of Escapades's Potato Rosetti
39. Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Season's Potato Kurma
40. Dhivya of Culinary Bazaar's Baby Potatoes-Edamame Curry
41. Supriya of My Kook Book's Bataate Kaatla
42. Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen's Baby Potato's with Sesame Seeds
43. Madhu of Ruchii's Potato-Broccoli Cutlets
44. Padma of Padma's Kitchen's Aloo Poha
45. Radha of In Kitchen's Stuffed Potato Balls
46. Jayashree of Spice & Curry's Drumsticks and Potato Curry
47. Nags of For The Cook in Me's Gujarati Khattai Aloo
48. Maya of Konkan World's Sindhi Aloo
49. Meera of Enjoy Indian Food's Batatyachi Suki Bhaji
50. Priya of Priya's Kitchen's Dum Aloo
51. Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasure's Gratin Dauphinois
52. Cham of Spice Club's Potato Sukka
53. Vimmi of Possibilities's Spicy Bread Rolls
54. Raaga of Chef at Work's Potato Cutlet
55. Suman of Heavens Garden's Phuchka Plate
56. Archy From Archy's Recipe Book's Aloo Bartha
57. Bhawana of Bhawana Loves Cooking's Dum Aloo
58. Bhawana of Bhawana Loves Cooking's Aloo Raita
59. RP of My Workshop's Baked Samosas
60. Sra of When My Soup Came Alive's Potatoes with Curd-Cashew Paste
61. Mansi of Fun & Food's Spicy Vegetarian Potato Cutlets
62. Namratha of Finger Licking Food's Spicy Oven Fries
63. Namratha of Finger Licking Food's Hash Browns
64. Madhu of Ruchii's Aloo Pachadi
65. Sunita of Sunita's World's Rosti
66. Asha of Foodie's Hope's Aloo-Gajar Rezala
67. Asha of Foodie's Hope's Aloo-Rajgaro Pooris
68. Sandhya of Sandhyas Kitchen's Potato Latkes
69. Meera of Enjoy Indian Food's Batatyache Thalipeeth
70. Meera of Enjoy Indian Food's Ratalyacha Kees
71. Renuka of Fusion's Potato Gulab Jamun
72. Sig of Live to Eat's Eggs n' Potatoes Curry
73. Pooja of My Creative Idea's Spicy Suki Bhaji
74. Home Cooked's Bombay Toast
75. Suma of Veggi Platter's Potatoes with Lemon
76. Lavanya of Home Cook's Recipe's Spicy Potato Curry-For Rice
77. Menu Today's Saabhudhana Vada
78. Michelle of Greedy Gourmet's Hash Browns
79. Seena of Simple & Delicious's Potato Bonda
80. Lisa of Food and Spice's Potato Tempeh Hash Browns with Salsa
81. Ewa of Milk & Pumpkin's Polish Walnut-Potato Fritters (Kotleciki Orzechowe)
82. Purnima of Fantasy Cook Blog's Toast Sandwiches
83. Ewa of Milk & Pumpkin's Slovak Dumplings (BryndzovΘ HaluÜky)
84. Priya of Spicy Thali's Eeda Batata (Eggs on Potato)
85. Vaishali of Earth Vegan's Oven-baked Rosemary-Pepper French Fries
86. Pim of A Peek Inside My Kitchen's Alu Dum
87. Uma of Telugu Ruchi's Itsy Bitsy Potato
88. Ben of What's Cooking's Turkey and Potato Tacos
89. Deeba of Passionate About Baking...& Beyond's Oven Baked Potatoes
90. Shriya of Spicy Tasty's Dum Aloo
91. Vanamala of Nalapaka's Tandoori Aloo
92. Annu of Annu's Kitchen's Potoato with Brocolli
93. Naina of Naina's Recipe's Potato Nest
94. Suganya of Tasty Palette's Baked Sweet Potato Fries
95. Linda of Out Of The Garden's Stuffed Lauki
96. Annu of Annu's Kitchen's Aloo Gobi
97. Annu of Annu's Kitchen's Aloo Kurma
98. Annu of Annu's Kitchen's Aloo Mutter Fry
99. Mer of Playing With My Food's Oven-roasted Red Potatoes
100. Sowmya of Creative Saga's Easy Bread Roll
101. Veena of Honey & Butter's Aloo Paratha
102. Veena of Honey & Butter's Potato Chops
103. Miri of Peppercorn Mill's Urulai Roast
104. Recipe for Aloo Chat:
     Ingredients:
     Boiled potatoes : 200 gms
     Tamarind pulp: 1 tbsp
     Black salt: 1/4 tsp
     Salt to taste
     Sugar : a pinch
     Coriander leaves finely chopped
     For Masala:
     1 tbsp coriander seeds
     1 tbsp jeera
     3-4 whole red chillies
     
     The coriander and jeera need to be dry roasted and finally the chillies should be added. Once cooled dry grind them in a mixer.
     
     Method:
     Cut the potatoes in small pieces and add all the ingredients and toss and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves. The masala and the tamarind pulp should well coat the potatoes .A few drops of water can be added if needed to coat the potatoes better...Now sit back n enjoy!!!!!

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105. Vanamala of My Kitchen World's Vada Pav
106. Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasures's Oven Fried Potatoes
107. Siri of Siri's Corner's Aloo Kurma
108. Mallika of Quick Indian Cooking's Aloo Makha
109. Usha of Samaikalam Vanga's Potato Bhath
110. Bharathy of Spicy Chilli's Spicy Baby Potatoes
111. Archana of Archana's Kitchen's Aloo Bonda
112. Liberal Foodie's Shepherd's Pie
113. Anuzi of Living Life with a Little Bit of Spice's Spicy Batata
114. Lakshmi of Taste of Mysore's Potato Sticks
115. Uma of Telugu Ruchi's Potato Fusion
116. Rama of Andhra Kitchen's Potato Gravy
117. Ramya's Kitchen Corner's Potato Kurma
118. Ramya's Kitchen Corner's Vegetable Biriyani
119. Ramya's Kitchen Corner's Egg Cutlet
120. MS of Food Travail's Norwegian Potato Roti: Lefse
121. Saswati of Potpourri's Alu Chops
122. Rupa of Simply Aroma's Potato Onion Rasa Palya
123. Manasi of Cook @ Heart's Til Aloo
124. Dee of Ammalus Kitchen's Potato Crisps with Goat Cheese
125. Latha of Masala Magic's Potato Buns
126. Latha of Masala Magic's Mixed Vegetable Palya
127. Trupti of Recipe Center's Potato Puffs
128. Sia of Monsoon Spice's Peas-Aloo Paratha
129. Latha of The Yum Blog's Samosa
130. Pooja of Creative Idea's Potatoes in Yogurt Sauce
131. Valli's Kitchen's Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup
132. Mandira of Ahaar's Alur Dom
133. Srivalli of Cooking 4 all Season's Aloo Subzi

Thank you all dear Bloggers and non-bloggers for participating. Some of you resumed your blogs and some even started blogging just to participate in this event. I greatly appreciate you taking time and cooking delicious entries for me and giving due respect to this humble Tuber. Thank you once again….

Finally... I did it: Aloo Paratha

I have had seen his larger than life pictures in many blogs, glossy cookbooks and magazines, cooking shows. He had tempted and seduced me enough to touch his well toned body, caress his face, and smell his heavenly fragrance! Oh!!! How badly I wanted him. He was always out of my reach and it was my friends whom he favoured. I envied them and the way they seemed to compliment each other. He never seemed to mind the way my friends treated him and never complained about it when most of them seemed to take him for granted. I never knew I was capable of loving someone so much but all I could do was admire him from distance. I was scared of rejection and couldn’t bear the thought of him or my friends laughing at my poor attempt to attract him. I had attempted few times to lure him and failed miserably until two months back… Yes, at last I conquered my fear of rejection and I can’t stop beaming stupidly. It was just few weeks back that I got hold of necessary ingredients to get his attention and since then there is no looking back. Like every fairly tale or M&B's it is happily ever after for me and my round, dark, handsome Paratha!!!
Mastering the art of making perfectly round, well shaped Paratha is not an easy task. And it’s more so when you make stuffed parathas. My Roties and Chapattis are (in)famous among my friends as they use them as examples for Geography classes. It seemed I somehow didn’t manage to inherit ‘perfect round chapatti rolling’ genes from my Amma. To make things worst, it seemed I skipped making ‘soft chapatti’ genes too. There was no trick and tips that I didn’t follow to get soft, round chapattis and the more I tried, the more it resembled some country map. Just when I was thinking of shooting the person who said ‘practice makes perfect’ everything changed drastically. Nope, I didn’t stop making chapattis. I just happened to find the purr-rrr—fect Atta (whole wheat flour). Well, I am not kidding when I say that 90% of credit goes to Atta for delicious Roti/Chapatti/Paratha I make. Using good quality Atta has always been the secret for soft, fluffy roties which you can tear using your thumb and fore finger. Three brands which Amma likes in India are Pillsbury Chakki Fresh Atta, Annapurna and ITC’s Ashirwad. I use Pillsbury Chakki Fresh because that’s the only brand I get in my Indian grocery store and I am happy with the soft, fluffy chapattis it makes. And since then it’s been stuffed Parathas at our place every weekend. Don’t be surprised if you see Stuffed Paratha Parade coming in Monsoon Spice because I am kind of enjoying (read obssesed with) making stuffed parathas these days. And please do share about the brand of Atta, little tricks and tips you follow at your home to make soft, fluffy roties. :)
Today I am posting Aloo Paratha. I used Fresh Green Peas in Atta to give it colour, taste and also little boast of nutrition. The green chillies give bit of heat and mint leaves gives little kick of freshness to the dough. The filling I used is usual mashed potatoes flavoured with kalonji and jeera powder. You can also add Garam Masala if needed but I like the subtle flavours of pungent garlic and hing which compliments sweet taste of potato. This Aloo dish is my humble entry for my an Ode to Potato event and lovely Dhivya's The Potato Fe(a)st.

Stack of Aloo Paratha

Print This Recipe

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Aloo Paratha
Prep Time: 20-30 mins
Cooking Time: 15-30 mins
Makes: 10 Medium Parathas

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Ingredients:
For Dough:
3 cups Chapatti Atta/Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Fresh Green Peas
2 Green Chillies
Few Fresh Mint Leaves
Salt to taste
Warm water to knead

For the Stuffing:
2 large Potatoes
2 tbsp Onion, finely chopped
2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp Garlic, finely chopped
¼ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
¼ tsp Nigella Seeds/Kalonji
A big pinch Hing/Asafetida
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds(Optional)
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Aloo Stuffing

Method:
For Dough:
Grind fresh/frozen green peas with green chillies and mint leaves to smooth paste adding very little water.
Sift chapatti atta, salt to taste and make stiff dough by adding green peas puree and warm water as needed. Cover the dough with wet cheese cloth and keep it aside in a warm place for at least half an hour.

For the Stuffing:
Cook potato chunks with little salt and turmeric powder. Drain water, cool completely and mash it with a wooden masher without leaving any lumps.
Mean while heat oil and add jeera and kalonji. When they sizzle add finely chopped garlic, green chillies and onion and sauté for few seconds. Switch off the flame and mix jeera powder and amchur.
Transfer these contents to mashed potatoes and mix well. Make small lemon sized potato balls and keep aside.


Aloo Paratha- Work-in-Progress

To Make Stuffed Paratha:
Take dough and knead again for about minute and make big lime sized balls.
Dust it with wheat flour and roll it into thick poories of about 4 inch in diameter.
Place the Potato balls in center. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Place Stuffed Paratha on griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked and brown spots start to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Aloo Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Aloo Paratha

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Note:
Before mashing the potatoes let them cool completely. This way the filling will remain dry and filling will not ooze out from covering.
Make sure that the potatoes are mashed without leaving any lumps. This helps in rolling the parathas with even surface.

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Announcing: Ode to Potato

The year 2008 has been declared the International Year of the Potato (IYP) by United Nations to raise awareness of Solanum Tuberosum. IYP was officially launched on 18th October, 2007. Did you know that the plastic bag of humble potatoes you casually pick up at the local supermarket is in fact vital food source for hundreds of millions of people in the developing world? Almost 213 million tonnes of potato are grown to eat every year from which half of it was plucked from the soils of developing countries, making it the fourth most important food crop in the world preceded by Rice, Wheat & Maize. Potato output has grown double in the past fifteen years and is expected to double again by 2020. This unassuming tuber is playing a strong role in developing countries due to the fact that it is more nutritious and it can grow very quickly on less land even in harsher climates than any major crop. In a right sense this humble Potato has become a Global Crop.

Image Source: IYP

According to the International Year of the Potato (IYP), "The celebration of the International Year of the Potato (IYP) will raise awareness of the importance of the potato - and of agriculture in general - in addressing issues of global concern, including hunger, poverty and threats to the environment."

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Mission Statement
The mission of the International Year of the Potato is to increase awareness of the importance of the potato as a food in developing nations, and promote research and development of potato-based systems as a means of contributing to achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Image Source: IYP

IYP 2008: Challenges and opportunities
The International Year of Potato aims at raising the profile of this globally important food crop and commodity, giving emphasis to its biological and nutritional attributes, and thus promoting its production, processing, consumption, marketing and trade. Celebration of IYP 2008 is an opportunity to make a valid and effective contribution towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals:

• Food Security - improving access to safe and nutritious food
• Poverty alleviation
• Sustainable use of biodiversity
• Sustainable intensification of potato-based farming systems

IYP Logo
The logo of the International Year of Potato was created by Italian graphic designer Giancarlo de Pol. The main graphic elements - above, a bowl with harvested potatoes and below, in the earth, a golden tuber - symbolize the intimate link between humanity and agriculture. The slogan, "Hidden treasure", highlights the often overlooked importance of the potato for rural people, the economy and global food security. The IYP logo is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

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Because of the importance of this underestimated tuber, I have decided to host an event noting the key role of the potato as a staple food in the diet of the world’s population. I am hoping that our strong food blogger community will get together and increase the awareness of International Year of the Potato (IYP). Hence I invite you to participate in this one-off event - “Ode to Potato”.



The Guidelines:

1. Potato recipes in Indian and International cuisine are plenty. Mashed, boiled, grilled, fried, sautéed; you are spoiled for choices. Simple everyday potato recipes are most welcomed but it would be really interesting to try something new, something that you have bookmarked from your fellow blogger and wanting to try.
2. Any information and pictures of Potato you want to share are welcome.
3. Please remember that this is a fun event and don’t stress yourself if you are unable to participate. No one is gonna chase you with broom stick :) Send your entries if you are cooking up something in your kitchen and think it could be an entry to this event.
4. Feel free to use the logo in your post or on blog sidebar and please don’t forget to link back to this post. 2008 being a international year of the potato, you are welcome to use this logo whenever you post any potato dish but do link back to this post.
5. Once you have posted your recipe with a link back to this post, send your entries by March 15, 2008 to sia[at]monsoonspice[dot]com with the subject line ‘Ode to Potato’. Don’t forget to include your name, your blog’s name, the permalink of the entry, and picture of your recipe in your email. Don’t worry about resizing the image.
6. If you don’t have a blog but wish to participate in this event, send your entries with a picture, your name and recipe to sia[at]monsoonspice[dot]com before the deadline. I will post the recipes with your picture in my blog and include it in the round-up.
7. I will post the round-up by the end of March 08.

Please note that, I may not be able to leave comment in your blog due to time constraint but I’ll try to respond to your emails within 3 days. Please go through the guidelines carefully and mail me your entries. I'll not include your entries in the round-up unless I get them through emails as it's not feasible for me to check individual blogs and pick your entries. If you don’t get reply to your mail within 3 days, please send me the entries again as there is a high chance of your mail being sent to my spam folder.
Thank you friends. I am hoping to see grand round-up of this humble tuber:)

Cheers
Sia

Update:
Looks like it’s gonna rain potato this season in blogsphere. Our fellow blogger Dhivya of Culinary Bazaar is also hosting an event- The Potato Fe(a)st. Yup, another Potato event. So hop in all you wonderful foodies and let’s celebrate double dose of Potato;)