Potato 65 is a crispy and spicy potato snack where parboiled, cubed potatoes are doused in a spicy batter and fried until golden. Perfect as a snack or side dish with fresh coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Andhra

Ingredients

  • 4 to 5 potatoes (- medium-sized)
  • water (as required, for pressure cooking)
  • 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour (or you can use all-purpose flour)
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch (- known as corn flour in India)
  • 7 to 8 curry leaves (- chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder (or cayenne pepper or paprika)
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder ((ground coriander))
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder ((ground cumin), optional)
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons ginger garlic paste (or crushed ginger-garlic)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • salt (as required)
  • water (as required to make thick or medium-thick batter)
  • oil (as required for deep frying or shallow frying)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (or chopped mint leaves for garnish)

Method

  1. Parboil the potatoes in a 2 litre pressure cooker for about 1 whistle on medium heat. Add water enough to cover the potatoes in the cooker.
  2. The potatoes should be about 20% to 30% cooked. Let the pressure fall naturally in the cooker and then only open the cooker.
  3. Drain the water and set the potatoes aside to cool. When they become warm, peel and chop the parboiled potatoes in 1 inch cubes.
  4. In a bowl, make a thick to medium-thick batter with all the ingredients listed under the heading "For Batter" above. The batter should be without any lumps and should not be thin.
  5. Add the diced boiled potatoes to the batter and coat them evenly with the batter
  6. In a kadai or pan heat the oil. When the oil becomes hot then take each batter coated potato and shallow fry or deep fry till golden brown and crisp.
  7. Turn them as needed for even frying.
  8. Once done then remove with a slotted spoon draining as much oil as possible. Then drain them on kitchen paper towel so that the extra oil is abosbed.
  9. Serve aloo 65 hot garnished with coriander or mint leaves or both along with some green chutney or tomato sauce.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.